Hope for a Better Tomorrow!

I recently attended Mayor Winnecke's initial traveling town hall meeting.  It wasn't what I expected.  I thought we would have to line up to tell of our issues one by one.  However, it wasn't like that at all.  Each department had the Director, Chief, etc.. or representative there.  Odd though it may be, The department of Transportation and Services oversees Animal Control. 

The connection between those services alludes me.  Although I did notice Transportation and Services also oversees the city cemeteries and given the death rate at Animal Control, perhaps it is fitting after all.

Mr. Todd Robertson is now Director of Transportation and Services.  He was on hand to answer all questions regarding those areas which came under his jurisdiction.  

Since I expected it to be a long drawn out affair, I didn't come prepare to speak at this event.  But given the layout where I'd be allowed to talk one on one with Mr. Robertson, I did take advantage of that opportunity.  I will say he was extremely patient in listening to my issues regarding Animal Control.

It was apparent that Mr. Robertson is unfamiliar with animal rescue.  But that may be a favorable characteristic.  That means he also has no preconceived notions on how Animal Control must be ran.  One of the main components of the No Kill paradigm is a compassionate director.  While he may or may not be compassionate, that is yet to be seen, at least he has not been inundated with the old school adage of "Save what we can, and kill the rest."  Therefore, his lack of experience may allow him to see with open eyes what others cannot. 

When we spoke, one of the first comments from Mr. Robertson was that during a recent visit to the 'shelter', there were an overwhelming number of cats.  According to him, they were literally EVERYWHERE, stacked in every area.  Clearly the cats cannot be well cared for in this manner.  It tore at my heart to hear this because I was aware that more than likely, all the cats he'd seen were already dead or would be shortly.

One of the initial issues facing Evansville Animal Control is lack of space.  What I've seen of the facility, there is barely enough room to turn around in the cat room.  The animals either can't be or aren't quarantined when ill.  Therefore, respiratory infections, fleas, and much more are passed around among the cats on a regular basis.

Another major obstacle facing the city's cats is a general, antiquated leash law.  Feral cats cannot be collared and made to wear a leash.  They are unsocialized animals.  That would be like expecting all raccoons in the area to wear a collar and leash!  If the leash law could be amended to exclude feral or community cats {preferably cats in general}, then we could put Trap Neuter Release {TNR} programs in place. 

The cats would be cared for in feral colonies.  Each colony would be registered so that any cat belonging to that colony could be returned if picked up by Animal Control.  It would also ensure that the cats were being appropriately cared for.   For more information on TNR, go to:  http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=1013  

Another topic Mr. Robertson and I discussed was foster homes and volunteers.  One point I brought up was that there would be many more foster homes and volunteers available if the facility was a no kill facility.  As I explained to him, those who care about animals don't want to become attached and then know that 90+ % will die before leaving the facility.  {That number is a direct quote from Ms. Freeman}.  I, myself would volunteer if I didn't know nearly every cat in there was going to die.  Dogs don't fare much better. We have two fosters from a no kill organization that we ended up adopting. 

Another concern I expressed to Mr. Robertson was the issue of grooming / animal care.  As I was waiting to speak to someone in the lobby one day I overheard an staff member tell a visitor that they didn't do grooming there, that "if you come back next week, that dog is going to look exactly the same."   This poor dog appeared to have been involved in some muddy, leafy activity and had quite a bit of hair.  As a cat to a cat lover, I'm certain some dog lover somewhere could see the beauty in that animal.  {Indeed, they took the dog home looking like that}.   But why not give each animal the very best shot at adoption that is possible by making them a little more presentable?   Even just so much as a simple bath.

A cat that we adopted from Evansville Animal Control was believed to be a black and white cat until we got her home where we were able to look closer.  She was a flea infested solid white cat!  These kind of things do nothing to encourage adoption. 

The facility itself does nothing to inspire adoption either.  It's a tiny, dismal,building that doesn't allow the animals to be seen at their best.   One suggestion I had for Mr. Robertson was to keep the existing facility as an intake / quarantine facility, then locate a larger, city owned building that could be refurbished to function as an adoption center.  I have no doubt that if they were promised a no kill facility many volunteers would step up to assist in the efforts in getting the new facility ready for the animals. 

Mr. Robertson was extremely kind and patient in hearing me out on my issues.  He has promised to look into these matters and get back to me.  For now, I will place my faith in Mr. Robertson until he gives me some indication that it's foolish to do so.  I realize that change takes time, particularly when he is unfamiliar with the situation.  However, every day that passes mean lives that are lost.  Innocent lives. 

I fervently hope that Mr. Todd Robertson, along with Mayor Winnecke and the newly elected council / commissioners will be the officials who hears their cries, see their fears and feel their pain in order to make the changes necessary to allow these innocent animals to live out the remainder of their lives in peace. 

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In order to have a No Kill shelter the following mandatory programs and services include:
 1. TNR Program
 2. High-Volume, Low-Cost Spay/Neuter
 3. Rescue Groups
 4. Foster Care
 5. Comprehensive Adoption Programs
 6. Pet Retention
 7. Medical and Behavior Prevention & Rehabilitation
 8. Public Relations/Community Involvement
 9. Volunteers
10. Proactive Redemptions
11. A Compassionate Director

REFORM BADLY NEEDED IN EVANSVILLE ANIMAL CONTROL

The official title is Evansville Vanderburgh Animal Care and Control. {EVACC}  However, I see very little caring for animals going on at this facility. I have spoken with the Director, Monica Freeman. She is either unwilling or unable to give me any concrete information that I have asked for. According to Ms. Freeman, she is unable to give me any kind of numbers regarding the animals coming in and out of EVACC. This means she is either withholding public information or she doesn’t even bother to keep count of the number of animals taken in and killed at her facility. She states she is unfamiliar with Excel spread sheets so she is unable to keep count of the animals. At her “best guess” [and that is a quote], she thinks maybe less than 10% of all cats entering Animal Control leave alive. According to one insider recently, they were killing cats / kittens at a rate of 15 per day! And dogs don’t fare much better. That is completely unacceptable!

Our tax dollars pay for this facility. It is suppose to care for and protect the animals… hence the “care” part of the name. I don’t want my tax dollars being spent to needlessly kill innocent animals. It’s time there was some accountability in this department. It’s a public facility. What goes on there is a matter of public record. The number of animals taken in and killed / adopted should be listed in the Public Records portion of the Sunday paper each week. Then if Ms. Freeman can’t manage to keep track of them, the public can. When asked about this once, Ms. Freeman said it would just get people fired up and they would be calling them murderers, etc. Perhaps the public should be fired up! It sounds to me like they have every right to be upset.

I have tried repeatedly to work with Ms. Freeman. She finally spoke to me when I filed a complaint. But still she gave little or no real information. I attempted to work with both this department and VHS to change the ordinances so feral cats could be afforded more protection, but I was eased out of the loop. They seemed to feel I had no value as I didn’t represent any organization, I was merely one individual. This is part of the reason I created No Kill Evansville and Surrounding Counties.

According to Ms Freeman, she doesn’t have time to check out potential foster homes, so there are few available. I question what kind of medical care an injured or ill animal receives since they know they will most likely be killed in a few days anyway. There is little done in the way of attempting to get the animals out there for adoption. Adoption from EVACC is difficult at best from my experience.

Recently we had the misfortune of one of our cats going missing. My son went to the EVACC to see if he had been taken there. While viewing the cats, he fell in love with a certain one. Knowing the high kill rate they have, he was eager to get her out of there. It took SEVERAL phone calls to get even a release date for the cat. The initial call was answered by an older woman who had no idea about anything. She told me I’d have to call back. But she assured me that no cats were being killed that day. On the second phone call, I reached a young woman who was so distracted by her other conversations she could barely give me the information to call the volunteer coordinator who might know something about the cat. She advised me that “as far as I know” the cat was safe from being killed. On the third phone call, I was advised that the volunteer coordinator, whom I’ve met and feel is a knowledgeable and caring person, didn’t work with the cats, so I’d have to contact another person. Meanwhile she said they were “euthanizing” right now… so she would call to make certain this cat was safe. On the fourth phone call I reached another nice young woman who did care for the cats, but since she wasn’t at the facility, she couldn’t tell me anything about the cat either. She did call my son later that day and advise him we could pick the cat up later in the week. It wasn’t until the day before pick up that we learned the cat was a female. Only while picking her up did we find she was not spayed [though we received a voucher for that as part of the adoption]. She had not been tested for Feline Leukemia Virus or FIV [feline AIDS]. Both of which are contagious to other cats. [I had to call back to get this information. Ms. Freeman told me there was not a vet on staff to do that type of thing]. After getting the cat home we discovered she had a respiratory infection which is also easily spread. This is very common in the cats from this facility. Very few people would go to the trouble we had to go to in order to adopt an animal. We knew her chances if we didn’t adopt her, so we were willing to jump through the hoops to get to her. However, most people eager to adopt a cat or dog wouldn’t do that on an ordinary basis.

While the cages do appear to be clean, I question the medical care of ill or injured animals. The facility is far too small for the number of animals I assume the facility is taking in. [since we don’t have actual numbers]There is very little attempt made to get these animals adopted or into a foster home. And I’d hazard a guess that the budget set aside for this department is far too minimal to cover the expenses that are necessary as well from what I know. Vanderburgh county CAN become a no kill county,but not with this type of leadership, management or attitude. It takes more than just saying, “no one wants to be out of business more than I do”, it takes MAKING it happen. And it CAN happen.

No Kill Evansville and surrounding counties wants transparency in Animal Control. But we also intend to host fund raisers to pay for spay / neuter vouchers, set up a Pet Food Bank, and a medical fund for animals in need of medical care. We want to make changes in the local ordinances which will afford community cats and their caregivers more protection. We’d also like to initiate a Colony Registry for that same purpose. We’re open to other suggestions as well. Our goal is a no kill area where the animals are safe and protected.

The animals deserve far better than they are getting here. The taxpayers deserve better. Evansville Animal Care and Control desperately needs to be looked at and many changes made. There is absolutely NO excuse for less than 10% of the cats to survive entering a so-called shelter. Their chances on the street are higher. Reform is necessary and the sooner it starts, the better!