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City and County of San Francisco
Commission of Animal Control & Welfare Archived Meetings

Meeting Information


2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 

May 14, 2009

5:35PM

 

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

 

Present, Commissioners: Sally Stephens, Andrea Brooks, Philip Gerrie, Pam Hemphill, Vicky Guldbech – ACC, William Herndon – SF Police, David Gordon DVM

 

Absent, Commissioners: Laurie Kennedy-Routhier, Angela Padilla, Bob Palacio – Rec & Park

 

2. General Public Comment

 

Richard Fong – Would like Commission to send recommendation for or against State spay/neuter bill SB 250.

 

3. Approval of Draft minutes  for May 14. 2009

 

3. Public Comment

 

Kim Durney – Wants  correction to numbers rescued from ACC, ‘80’,by adding ‘%’.

 

Richard Fong – Wants punctuation change to his  statement made in  General Public comment.

 

Minutes approved unanimously with minor corrections.

 

4. Chairperson’s report and opening remarks

 

Comr. Stephens – Talked with Clerk of Rules Committee about when appointments would be made for ACWC. Four seats are open. Guesses, will meet on June 18th or beginning of July. Application information will be available from ACWC’s website or Supervisors website or contact Clerk of the Board.

  April 27th was meeting of JZC. Focused on financial. Difficult year due to economy and legal and capital costs due to tiger mauling. Zoo has not been reimbursed by Park Bond money so far for capital costs. Day is changed for future JZC meetings to Mondays.

 

Comr. Brooks – Are animal welfare issues being more actively addressed?

 

Comr. Stephens – Yes, by my asking questions. Has meeting set up with executive director of zoo to talk about how to address those type of  issues. Welfare issues can be broad and can be specific. Still trying to figure out how to integrate the two new advisory seats rolls.

 

Comr. Gerrie – Has the vet come to a meeting? Has he asked animals welfare questions?

 

Comr. Stephens – He didn’t ask animal welfare questions at the last meeting. The focus was on the financial aspect.

 

Comr. Gerrie – Seems that not much has changed from our efforts to transform the zoo to a rescue zoo.

 

Comr. Stephens – See this as a test for the zoo. They said they want more transparency to consider welfare issues. Doesn’t expect quick change.

 

4. Public Comment on Joint Zoo  Report

 

Mark Ennis – Asks Comr Stephens to ask zoo director to update JZC website to reflect new meeting days. Missed last meeting because didn’t check website for change of day.

 

Comr. Stephens – Had been away before last JZ meeting and was unable to notify of change. Will work to notify of change of dates in the future.

 

5. Status and tracking of letters of recommendation, requesting action by the board

 

A) Update on status of Commission recommendation to the Board to develop ordinance banning renting of pets in SF.

 

Comr. Brooks – Resolution passed by Commission to ban pet renting had been set aside because company that was trying to start in SF went out of business. Feels important to follow through to completion as concept is still out there. Bevan Dufty is drafting the ordinance. Unsure when that will go to committee. Perhaps June  or July. Will notify public when date is set.

 

6. Unfinished business

 

A) Discussion only of no-kill policies in SF shelters. Anne Feingold from Urban Cat Project and Lana Bajsel from Give Me Shelter will be invited speakers.

 

Lana Bajsel – Give Me Shelter- GMS – Founded in 2003. Identified critical need for adult, older cats, and savable cats with medical and behavioral issues to be saved from being killed. There were no cat rescue groups in SF then. Became 501c3 in 2004. GMS has 8 core volunteers. Budget in 2008 was $80,000. Fundraising strategies, include small-scale fundraising, semi-annual newsletter, adoption fee of $100, grant from PetSmart  Charities. GMS adoption strategies include mobile outreach, cats at PetSmart inDaly City, and petfinder.com and the GMS website. Extensive screening process for potential adopters includes extensive interview, pre-adoption home visits, and post-adoption follow up. Want to insure adopted cat will be permanently placed. Rescue efforts are 90% of cats come from ACC. 10% owner/surrender/other. Since 2004 rescued 763 cats. 689 adopted. 74 in foster homes. 10 humanely euthanized for untreatable medical conditions. GMS does not euthanize for behavior. Reasons cats are declined in city shelters are; behavior, URI, heart murmur, diarrhea, abscess, constipation, anemia, age, FIV+, gingivitis, miliary dermatitis or flea allergy. Example of owner surrendered cat named Roisik. Declined by ACC and SPCA for behavior. Pulled from ACC to PetSmart. Adopted 36 hours later. Gives two more examples of cats rejected for behavior at ACC & SPCA. One 18 year-old described as “shy & hides” the other had miliary dermatitis. “Animal warehousing” myth. Cats typically do well in shelter environment. No correlation between length of stay and time to adapt to new home.  If cats could choose, would they prefer to live in confinement for a period of time or be killed? Right and wrong ways to care for a homeless cat in a long-term situation. Took in two cats from Peninsula Humane that had been in cages for over a year. Successfully rehomed them. Methods for long-term care include; monitor medical and behavior daily, enrichment opportunities, adoption & marketing plan, maintain hygienic protocols, such as quarantine period. Successful examples are Pets Unlimited community room. SPCA recently sent out a flyer featuring the adoption of a cat after a long stay in the shelter. Cannot just warehouse animals and be called a no-kill shelter. Defines euthanasia versus killing. Euthanasia is humanely ending the life of an animal who is either suffering with no hope of relief or is a public safety concern. Killing is ending the life of an animal who could be saved with behavior or medical help. Killing of savable animals  in SF shelters must end. Rescue groups can do so much. Saving animals requires organized effort between all SF shelters and rescues. To end killing of savable animals; focus on SF animals first before going out of county, provide free behavior hotlines, improve medical diagnostics, use resources better, example are that animals have been refused treatment at the SF/SPCA hospital because owners couldn’t pay. need complete disclosure of shelter operations. There is no organization that oversees or regulates public and private shelters and rescues. Need to monitor any agency that can kill vulnerable populations. Lives of animals subject to discretion of shelter directors. Government ignores failure. Killing continues. Must work together to make animals a top priority.  SPCA had a meeting May 6th to discuss behavior evaluation protocols with the community. Received phone call from VP requesting GMS not attend the meeting. Divisive conduct is self-defeating. Commission should take action to adopt Nathan Winograd’s Companion Animal Protection Act, CAPA, and urge Supervisors to adopt same. Rescues can only do so much. Shelter must work harder and only use rescues as last resort. Website for GMS is, www.givemeshelter.org

 

Comr. Brooks –Concerning the study of cats doing well in a shelter environment with no correlation of length of stay, what are the stay-times they evaluated?

 

Lana Bajsel – Julene would know. Cats can do well in for long periods of time in enriched environments such as at Pets Unlimited.  Better to be stressed for a year than be killed prematurely.

 

Comr. Hemphill – The behavior hotline is a good idea. How can we make it happen?

 

Lana Bajsel – SPCA downsized their behavior hotline services. They do reply by e-mail to questions in two or three days. That is not as effective as phone calls. By phone, you can ask pertinent questions to understand the situation better and make better recommendations. Have to be cautious in staffing behavior hotline. Need trained personal. Traditionally, a trained behaviorist is a PhD in animal behavior. Perhaps a behaviorist could have a seminar to train volunteers at SPCA.

 

Comr. Stephens – Similar to people staffing suicide-prevention hotlines. They are not trained psychologists but are trained on what to say. SPCA could do the same. Mentioned an adoption marketing plan. Didn’t know you had that.

 

Lana Bajsel – We have that at PetSmart. Worked well for us.  Compelling personal stories of cats in local papers works well. Brings people into shelter looking for a similar animal. Can they redirect to other similar animals that need a home.  GMS  brought back Hurricane Katrina cats. Everyone wanted one.  Had “Hurricane-Katrina” cats for months.

Have to be creative in engaging public.

 

Comr. Stephens – Are most adopters from word-of-mouth? Or more traditional outreach?

 

Lana Bajsel – Use unconventional approaches. Engages people whenever possible. Pet sits for living. Encourages single-cat owners to adopt more. Has home euthanasia service called Rainbow Bridge in conjunction with several SF veterinarians.  After period of mourning, calls up former owners to ask about adopting a new animal. Is creative in presenting older cats to the public. We make the decision on what the public wants which is unfair to the animals.

 

Comr. Stephens – Do you have many fosters? How do you find them?

 

Lana Bajsel – Foster numbers go up and down. Work to match animals with foster’s availability. Is working out presently.

 

Comr. Gerrie –  Question on allocation of resources.  Dr. Kate Hurley had stated last month that the expense of warehousing one cat for a year was equal to adopting out 15 or 50 cats who stayed for a shorter time with the same amount of energy. There are finite resources for animal welfare and animal adoptions. It is hard point to make that one cat was fine living for a year in cage in which ten cutter cats could have been adopted out in its place. There’s the argument in the other direction between merchandising  of many cats versus the life of any one cat.

 

Lana Bajsel – Is a complex question. Pets unlimited and Peninsula Humane have limited resources yet keeps some cats for over a year. From an animal welfare point, doesn’t think one life should replace another.  Objects to animals being referred to retail merchandise commodity. Marketing strategies of individuals stories can move them out faster. Everyone must work jointly to make this possible. Would like a task force to brainstorm ideas.

 

Comr. Gerrie – Have a hard time hearing criticism of larger shelter institutions such as SPCA. Agrees with Dr. Kate Hurley’s comments that everyone is doing the best they can for the animals and there are no villains. One can cite unfortunate cases where it didn’t work out right, which might be one out of 20 or 50 success stories. I would like to hear respect for each other versus Nathan’s criticism of leaders not doing their job.

 

Lana Bajsel – Point taken. Looks at SPCA that did warehouse a cat for a long time and the empty cages that are available at the SPCA & ACC.

 

Comr. Stephens – You got a small grant from PetSmart Charities. For a small non-profit grants can come with strings and financial requirements. Wonders if someone might be able to help groups like yours get these grants.

 

Lana Bajsel – Would love to get such a person dedicated to that. We don’t have the time to focus on obtaining grants. Would be wonderful to have someone help rescue groups in grant writing.  Maddie’s Fund does community grants. Berkeley Humane received $200,000. Berkeley ACC received $200,000. Home At Last Rescue received $97,000. Requirements to receive their money are that community must work together and embrace the Asilomar Accords. Could be beneficial to SF rescue groups. Money is based on how many animals each group takes. $97,000 to GMS would be a godsend. SPCA might have dilemma to receive Maddie’s grants because it requires not taking animals from out-of-county. Maddie’s  Fund has up to $30 million  to spend overall.

 

Anne Feingold – Director, Urban Cat Project – UCP – Started at ACC in the late 90’s. Saw many animals killed there and couldn’t take it anymore. Joined with One At A Time Rescue. Prime focus of UCP is to rescue cats but also is trying to end the use of cats in medical research. Shows slides of several cats rescued by UCP from various shelters. Several cats were declined for adoption by ACC and SPCA. Reasons cats were declined includes; needed dental work, declawed, miliary dermatitis, and behavior issues.

 

Comr. Stephens – When ACC and SPCA reject a cat do they call you or Lana? How does it work?

 

Anne Feingold – SPCA has stricter guidelines than other Bay Area shelters. UCP takes cats not accepted by SPCA. Believes public should make decision on most animals whether or not to adopt. Only those cats on the extreme edge of the spectrum should be rejected.

 

Comr Stephens- Are there practices at other shelters that you have seen that we could or should do here?

 

Anne Feingold – ACC has made tremendous strides in last year. Has loosened up. Always empty cages at ACC.  Yet many cats are in the 208 holding area. Thinks more cats should be put up for adoption at least for a trial period of 10 days. Then they can call a rescue, not call the rescue first.

 

Comr. Stephens – Do you have fosters?

 

Anne Feingold – Built a cottage on own property in 2004 for rescues. Built a second in 2006.

 

Comr. Hemphill – Why do declawed cats get rejected?

 

Anne Feingold – Ask ACC and SPCA. Myth that they have behavioral problems. Has not seen it. SPCA has put out that myth to deter people from declawing.

 

6A. Public Comment

 

Nadine May – Volunteer Pets Unlimited for seven years –  Addresses warehouse issue. Some cats were at Pets Unlimited for as long as 9 years. Cats were never killed for behavior issues. Long term cats were in individual rooms as well as communal room. Many cats were there for a brief time. Doesn’t like to decide who shall live or die. 

 

Julene Johnson – FixSanfrancisco.org – Close to goal of saving all adoptable animals. Wants to save  SF animals before animals from other counties. Should solve our problems first, then can help other communities solve theirs.

 

Lisa Vittori – Adopted dog deemed  unadoptable by ACC. Had to sign a waiver of liability from ACC. Fosters and adopters pay for a lot. Some animals given up for adoption because owners don’t know what to do. Should have ways to help owners deal with these problems.  Other resources besides money spent by rescue groups is from the volunteers. Middle class woman gave her three cats to ACC because her toddler was playing in litter box. Her problem became ours. A liability.

 

Kin Tso – feral cat volunteer – Concern by how many dogs are killed by SPCA needlessly. Berkeley animal shelters and groups received significant money from  Maddie’s fund for achieving no-kill numbers. SF/SPCA received million dollars from former hearing dog program. Did nothing for it. SF/SPCA not doing their job.

 

Anne Feingold – Familiar with Dr. Kate Hurley’s  argument against over-crowding in shelters. Believes animals would prefer long shelter stay to being killed.

 

Comr. Gordon – Disagrees with interpretation of Kate Hurley’s position. Issue is more cats dead from disease and over-crowded conditions.

 

Mark Ennis – SF shelters are not overcrowded. Kate Hurley is citing shelters in other areas. Has declawed cat. His paws are sensitive and shows discomfort but doesn’t bite. SPCA needs to not reject cats just for being declawed. Change won’t happen is outlying areas until we change how we do things in “enlightened” SF

 

Lana Bajsel – Give Me Shelter – Doesn’t think SPCA should bring out-of-county animals. Doesn’t think it is helpful to other shelters to do so. Need to educate to reduce numbers coming in by implementing TNR, spay/neuter programs, active volunteer program. Hasn’t heard from Merced county Shelter in three years because they got their act together. Taking out-of-county  animals is enabling them to continue as before. Need to help them help themselves. Tragedy is that SPCA empties out out-of-county shelters and they’re full  again the next day.

 

Kathleen McGarr – Hasn’t been a major medical outbreak in  community room at Pets Unlimited since 2002. Distemper outbreak then that shut the room down briefly. No cat was killed however. Has been in correspondence with Best Friends in Utah . May send representative to speak at future Commission meeting.

 

Eric Joe – SPCA volunteer – Wants clarification of difference between SPCA taking an animal from another shelter versus a rescue group doing the same. Question for  Lana.

 

Public comment closed

 

Comr. Stephens – Item is discussion only. Will continue in future meetings.

 

Comr. Gerrie – Wants to know if it is the will of this Commission to hold further hearings on this issue. Has occupied Commission for six months. When and how do we decide enough has been heard?

 

Comr. Brooks – Question best asked to Comr. Padilla who is not here. Has found speakers informative and helpful. Would like to hear from Comr. Padilla to see what ideas she might have.

 

Comr. Gerrie – It seems to come down to an issue of to mandate something or not. I don’t see us agreeing to mandate anything.

 

Comr. Stephens – We don’t know what we’ll agree on because we haven’t talked about it yet.

 

Comr. Gerrie – Yes, so let us begin to talk about it in public now.

 

Comr. Hemphill – Would like to talk about other possibilities besides a mandate like a behavior hotline.

 

Comr. Brooks – Doesn’t know about mandate or not. Have talked about best practices or community agreements in the past. Hope to find ways to work together. Would like to start having conversation about, “What can we do?” 

 

Comr. Gerrie – Supports putting that on the next agenda. That would be “Sunshineable”

 

Comr. Stephens – Unclear of use of “sunshineable”

 

Comr. Gerrie  - Just that we agree now, in public, to put that onto the agenda next month.

Comr. Stephens – I just put on the agenda what the Commissioner, leading the discussion, wants. Has no editorial voice.

 

Comr. Gerrie – Would like to see this move ahead for discussion. This has gone on for some time.

 

Comr. Stephens – This is an important issue. Many people have come for these meetings. Whatever we decide should be well thought out and supported. In the past, we have moved too quickly and paid for it by nothing happening.  Wants to hear as much as possible.

 

Comr. Gerrie – Would like to consider the welfare of other animals besides cats & dogs. This issue has taken a lot of the Commission’s energy.

 

Comr. Stephens – Commission has not addressed dog & cat issues except for these recent meetings. Commission has addressed many other animal related issues, zoo, wild life, foie gras, etc. Feels this has not been a disproportionate amount of time. Encourages Commissioners to synthesize what to do with what we’ve heard. Think creatively.

 

Comr. Hemphill – Would like to put on agenda possible action areas to work on.  Much of speakers comments have been criticisms of ACC & SPCA which have been fragmenting. Would like to work together to answer questions raised.

 

Comr. Stephens- May seem that hearings have been going on for a long time but speakers have addressed very different aspects of the question. Speakers included; ACC, SPCA, Nathan Winograd, Dr. Kate Hurley, and the rescue groups.

 

Comr. Brooks – We are here to meet the needs of the community and this is what has been brought to us. Wants to begin talking about specifics.

 

Comr. Stephens - Agrees. Doesn’t want discussion to be artificially set.

 

7. General Public Comment

 

Lisa Vittori – Thanks Commissioners for unfolding thoughtful process. Contrasts to right-to-life thinking. Deals made behind closed doors pitting wildlife and recreation.  Time well spent listening. Heard only options are crowding or killing. Paradigm should be, “You’re here, we take care of you.”  Would like to see wildlife issues discussed in same careful way.

 

Martha Hoffman – SPCA feral cat volunteer – Approves of the hearings so far. Outstanding. Is safe forum for diverse opinions.  The way to resolve differences. Rec & Park is in next stage of Natural Areas Program, NAP, which is negative too feral cats. ACC & SPCA should have input in decisions of the NAP.

 

8 & 9. Items to put on Calendar for future Commission meetings

 

Comr. Brooks – Possible update on pet rental ban - Comr. Padilla should have more items  for no-kill discussion –  Discussion on issue of pet-friendly housing.

 

10. Adjournment  7:45 PM

 

Respectfully submitted by

Philip Gerrie

Commission Secretary