tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-373745222024-02-18T21:34:07.332-06:00The FixAustin.Org BlogBlogging for Austin's Homeless Pets Since August 2007Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-90343242227228283832012-05-02T13:57:00.000-05:002012-05-04T15:37:40.246-05:002012 Austin City Council Animal Welfare Voter Information Guide<br />
<i><b>Each year, volunteers for FixAustin.org comb through City Council candidate questionnaires, ask candidates tough questions, and debate the candidates' responses and records in order to create an Animal Welfare Voter Information Guide for Austin citizens interested in animal-welfare issues. This year, Council Member Mike Martinez stood out with our highest ever Five+ Paws rating for his continued excellence and leadership in making Austin, Texas, America's safest large city to be a homeless animal. Newcomer Dominic Chavez also impressed us. Here's our take on this year's slate of candidates.</b></i><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Mike_Martinez_2012_Forum_Answers__1_.pdf">Mike Martinez</a>: 5+ Paws </b><br />
With compassionate stewardship of homeless pets becoming more entrenched in Austin’s culture, every candidate committed to retaining Austin’s status as America’s largest “No Kill” City. Even so, Council Member <b>Mike Martinez</b> rose above the rest. Martinez’s commitment to animal welfare is plainly evident in his steadfast leadership on City Council. Martinez is unafraid to challenge City management and animal advocates alike to do more and better, has spearheaded efforts to utilize the former Town Lake Animal Center (TLAC) to save pets, and he—along with Council Member Laura Morrison—deserves the most credit for leading the City Council’s successful effort to turn Austin’s municipal shelter into a lifesaving, compassionate, and loving place for homeless pets.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Dominic_Chavez_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">Dominic Chavez</a>: 5 Paws</b><br />
Newcomer<b> Dominic Chavez </b>demonstrated an impressive understanding of animal-welfare issues, and a no-nonsense approach to solving continuing<br />
challenges to success. Chavez is committed to keeping the old TLAC site open in order to offset the City’s poor decision to relocate Austin’s main shelter, and wants the City to surpass its current 90% save-rate goal. We were particularly impressed with Chavez’s insight into misunderstood dog breeds.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Lee_Leffingwell_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">Lee Leffingwell</a>: 4.5 Paws</b><br />
Although we disagreed with then-Council-Member <b>Lee Leffingwell</b>’s vote to relocate Austin’s main shelter back in 2007, as Mayor, Leffingwell has held firm in his unwavering commitment to keeping open TLAC in its current capacity and footprint. Leffingwell has grown in his understanding of animal-welfare issues, and we particularly appreciate his appointment of Dr. Ellen Jefferson of Austin Pets Alive to the Austin Animal Advisory Commission.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Brigid_Shea_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">Brigid Shea</a>: 4 Paws</b><br />
Former Council Member <b>Brigid Shea</b> demonstrated insight and interest in key animal-welfare issues, but probably due to her time away from the Council, was not quite as up-to-date on current challenges as Mayor Leffingwell. Shea brought smiles to animal lovers when she committed to keeping Dr. Jefferson on the Animal Advisory Commission should she prevail, and was very interested in finding a way to reduce unfair breed discrimination in local housing.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Sheryl_Cole_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">Sheryl Cole</a>, <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Bill_Spelman_2012_Forum_Answers__1_.pdf">Bill Spelman</a>, <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Tina_Cannon_2012_Forum_Answers_v2.pdf">Tina Cannon</a>, & <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Laura_Pressley_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">Laura Pressley</a>: 3 Paws</b><br />
Since all candidates committed to retaining Austin’s No Kill status, finding things to criticize wasn’t easy, and we think Mayor Pro Tem<b> Sheryl Cole</b> and Council Member<b> Bill Spelman</b>, along with newcomers <b>Tina Cannon</b> and <b>Laura Pressley</b>, are more than capable. Still, each left us with some concerns. Cole and Spelman have solid animal-welfare voting records to stand on, but Cole’s interest in the issue has sometimes waned, and we worry deeply about the influence of Spelman’s office staff, who have been hostile to No Kill programs and local animal-welfare leaders. We loved finding out that Cannon founded a successful pet-related business, but her remarks about certain dog breeds worried us. And while Pressley is clearly bright and talented, her undeveloped answers on our questionnaire left us scratching our heads. All of these candidates would do well with regard to animal-welfare issues on council; they simply did not exhibit the full strength of some others.Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-74570321952852486912012-04-20T20:47:00.003-05:002012-05-04T15:34:05.501-05:00Austin City Council Candidate Animal-Welfare Questionnaire Answers Reveal Critical Differences of Opinion on Important Issues<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello pet lovers--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are some very real and important differences of opinion among Austin City Council candidates on critical animal-welfare issues in our community. We will have a more specific report later, but we wanted to get you the candidates' answers to our animal-welfare questionnaire as soon as possible. Please forward these questions and answers to anyone in Austin who is interested in animal welfare.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mayor:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mayor Lee Leffingwell: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Lee_Leffingwell_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Lee_Leffingwell_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Brigid Shea: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Brigid_Shea_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Brigid_Shea_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Place 2:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Council Member Mike Martinez: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Mike_Martinez_2012_Forum_Answers__1_.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Mike_Martinez_2012_Forum_Answers__1_.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Laura Pressley: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Laura_Pressley_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Laura_Pressley_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Place 5:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tina Cannon: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Tina_Cannon_2012_Forum_Answers_v2.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Tina_Cannon_2012_Forum_Answers_v2.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dominic Chavez: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Dominic_Chavez_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Dominic_Chavez_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Council Member Bill Spelman: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Bill_Spelman_2012_Forum_Answers__1_.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Bill_Spelman_2012_Forum_Answers__1_.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Place 6:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sheryl Cole: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Sheryl_Cole_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Sheryl_Cole_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Shaun Ireland: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Shaun-Ireland_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Shaun-Ireland_2012_Forum_Answers.pdf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And don't forget! The Austin No Kill Coalition's City Council Candidate Forum is *this Sunday*, April 22, at 4pm at Abel's on the Lake (next to Hula Hut). Please be there to show your support for our community's lost and homeless pets. It's a fantastic location too!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Best,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The FixAustin.org Team</span>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-10903358597707211102011-09-19T12:09:00.001-05:002011-10-25T18:52:48.692-05:00Texas Shelter Budget/Performance ComparisonLast night, we spent some time gathering information on area shelters. The results were pretty shocking, and we'll continue to release more information as we can.<br /><br /><u>Shelter</u> <u>Intake</u> <u>Expenses</u> <u>Live Release</u><br />Town Lake (Austin) 24,542 ('09-'10) $5.5 million ('09-'10) 71% ('09-'10)*<br />SPCA of Texas (Dallas) 8,280 (2010) $8.45 million (2010) 65% (2010)<br />Houston SPCA 21,767 (2009) $6.83 million (2009) 49% (2009)**<br />Dallas Animal Services ~34,000 annually $7.7 million (2010) 26% (2010)<br />Houston Humane Society 17,552 (2004) $3.36 million (2007) 12% (2004)****<br /><br /><br />*Town Lake Animal Center is on pace for a 90% or higher live-release rate for calendar year 2011.<br />**Intake and outcomes reported to Guidestar.com<br />***Figures reported in Dallas Observer.<br />****Intake and outcomes reported by Mayor's Task Force.Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-15086728742620994822011-05-02T15:22:00.009-05:002011-05-14T09:47:56.130-05:00Austin City Council Candidates Answer No Kill Questionnaire<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BJFB8P0WlKo/Tb8SxvXQnII/AAAAAAAACcU/di510MRFo_k/s1600/Tiny%2B1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 143px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BJFB8P0WlKo/Tb8SxvXQnII/AAAAAAAACcU/di510MRFo_k/s200/Tiny%2B1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602217107209100418" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The top-five major candidates for the 2011 City Council elections answered a series of questions from the Austin No Kill Coalition regarding No Kill issues in Austin, Texas. The Coalition also held its first-annual City Council Candidate Forum on May 1, 2011, before a standing-room-only audience. FixAustin.org will be rating the candidates' answers in a full-page Chronicle advertisement this week. Forum co-sponsors included Love-a-Bull, Austin Pets Alive, the Austin No Kill Coalition, and FixAustin.org. Here are the candidates' answers to our No Kill Questionnaire.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kathie Tovo: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Kathie_Tovo_No_Kill_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Kathie_Tovo_No_Kill_Answers.pdf</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Randi Shade: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Randi_Shade_No_Kill_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Randi_Shade_No_Kill_Answers.pdf</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Chris Riley: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Chris_Riley_No_Kill_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Chris_Riley_No_Kill_Answers.pdf</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Max Nofziger: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Max_Nofziger_No_Kill_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Max_Nofziger_No_Kill_Answers.pdf</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Laura Morrison: <a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Laura_Morrison_No_Kill_Answers.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/Laura_Morrison_No_Kill_Answers.pdf</a></div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Update!</b></i></div><div><b>FixAustin.org has released its annual City Council Voter Information Guide on animal-welfare issues. We rated the candidates based on their answers to the No Kill Coalition questionnaire as well as on their voting records. To read our short voter information guide, click here: </b><a href="http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/2011_FixAustin_Election_Ad.pdf">http://www.fixaustin.org/pub/2011_FixAustin_Election_Ad.pdf</a></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-86422956595464237622011-03-30T13:03:00.003-05:002011-03-30T13:07:05.208-05:00House Bill 3450 Will Save Lives, Ban Painful Gas Chambers<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span">I</span><span class="Apple-style-span">t is a great time to be an advocate for lost and homeless pets in Austin, Texas. Last year, thanks to you--- the animal-loving community of Austin--- our City Council mandated that our municipal shelter implement proven and cost-effective programs and policies to dramatically reduce unnecessary shelter killing in Austin. And it worked. Since the Austin No Kill plan was passed in March of last year, our community's "kill rate" has plummeted, and more lives are being saved than ever before.</span></span></b></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Through the combined efforts of <a href="http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/health/pets/" target="_blank" mce_href="http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/health/pets/">Town Lake Animal Center</a> and its placement partners (especially <a href="http://www.austinpetsalive.org/" target="_blank" mce_href="http://www.austinpetsalive.org">Austin Pets Alive</a>), Austin's shelter is having great success. In December 2010 and January 2011, the shelter saved 88% of all dogs and cats surrendered to or found by the shelter. And in February 2011, that number jumped to 92%, the best "live outcome" rate ever in history of Austin's shelter. Thanks to you, Austin is quickly becoming the most humane city in the United States. And we also warmly welcome the shelter's new director, Abigail Smith, a proven leader in the national No Kill movement. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >But now we have an even greater opportunity--- to help spread Austin's success to the rest of the State of Texas. Just days ago, <a href="http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/member-page/?district=148" target="_blank" mce_href="http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/member-page/?district=148">State Representative Jessica Farrar</a> of Houston filed a bill to comprehensively reform Texas's animal shelters. That bill, called the <a href="http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/pdf/txcapa.pdf" target="_blank" mce_href="http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/pdf/txcapa.pdf">Texas Companion Animal Protection Act</a>, goes a long way to protect companion animals at Texas's shelters. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The bill: </span></p> <ul> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Bans the use of painful, unnecessary, and expensive gas chambers at Texas's shelters.</span></li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Bans the practice of killing healthy adoptable animals "for space" when cages sit empty.</span></li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Requires all animals adopted from Texas shelters to be spayed or neutered prior to adoption.</span></li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Bans breed discriminatory adoption policies at Texas shelters.</span></li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Requires shelters to collaborate with 501(c)(3) rescue groups to save animals.</span></li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Bans shelters from selling live shelter animals to research laboratories.</span></li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Requires shelters to honestly and publicly release their intake and outcomes data.</span></li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Simply put, this bill makes Texas's animal shelters treat animals humanely, respect their lives, and work smartly and efficiently to find loving homes for animals. But, like Austin's No Kill plan, it is being opposed by groups who would rather the public not know what goes on behind many shelters' closed doors. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Here's how you can help pass this historic bill. Please: </span></p> <ul> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Call, write, and/or e-mail your Texas Representatives and ask them to support HB 3450 (the Texas Companion Animal Protection Act). You can find out who your representatives are here: <a href="http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/" mce_href="http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/"><span>http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/</span></a>. (Here is a sample letter if you would find it helpful: <a href="http://bit.ly/gBOliI" mce_href="http://bit.ly/gBOliI">http://bit.ly/gBOliI</a>)</span></li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Call, write, and/or e-mail the members of the Texas House of Representative's Public Health Committee (who will be considering the bill), and ask them to support HB 3450. You can find the members' contact information here: <a href="http://bit.ly/huspbu" mce_href="http://bit.ly/huspbu">http://bit.ly/huspbu</a></span></li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Sign Change.org's petition supporting HB 3450 here: <a href="http://bit.ly/gtdGMp" mce_href="http://bit.ly/gtdGMp">http://bit.ly/gtdGMp</a></span></li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Forward this message to all of your animal-loving friends, family members, and colleagues and ask them to do the same.</span></li></ul> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Thank you, in advance, for your important help! </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Warmest regards, </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The FixAustin.org Team </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >P.S. To stay in touch on animal-advocacy issues, please "like" us on Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/FixAustin.org" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/FixAustin.org"><span>http://www.facebook.com/FixAustin.org</span></a></span> </p>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-58890737065831168112011-02-16T14:15:00.004-06:002011-02-16T14:43:35.342-06:00Fosters Needed for Gatesville Rotties!<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>We've received new information on the <a href="http://oisforonward.com/2011/02/houston-spca/">Houston SPCA/Gatesville seizure</a>. One highest-level need right now is to line up fosters to volunteer to provide temporary (one-to-three months) foster care for seniors, medically compromised, and behaviorally challenged (rambunctious teenagers and timid females) Rotties. At this point, they are looking for 30-40 foster homes for these categories of higher-needs dogs.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dogs are currently located in Houston, Texas, in the custody of the <a href="http://www.houstonspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage_new">Houston SPCA</a>. But once the legal process is over (a week to two), most of the dogs will be transferred to the custody of non-profit rescues as organized by the <a href="http://www.amrottclub.org/">American Rottweiler Club</a>. There is a preference for fosters to be in Texas or nearby states so that the dogs do not have to travel too far. Fosters will need to keep the dogs as in-house pets (not "yard dogs" or in kennels 24/hours/day) and may need to house train and leash train the dogs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once the dogs are available for adoption, they will be adopted out through local non-profit rescue groups. In addition, the dogs will be marketed on the website <a href="http://rottnet.net/">RottNet.net</a>, and through adoption events.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you are interested and available to help save these magnificent and abused dogs' lives, please send an e-mail to <b>Lew Olsen at lewolson@earthlink.net.</b> In your e-mail, please provide your name, location, and contact information, as well as any experience you might have with medically compromised dogs and timid females.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Together, we can save these dogs. We're just going to need your help to do it!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks,</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The FixAustin.org Team</div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-29015645136382831762011-02-06T17:17:00.003-06:002011-02-06T17:28:23.729-06:00What's the Deal with the Houston SPCA Raid?<div style="text-align: justify;">We don't know why the Houston SPCA was called in to rescue 240+ rotties from a ranch outside of Killeen, Texas, rather than various animal-welfare groups in Austin (which is much closer to the ranch than Houston is). But we do know that there is reason to be concerned for the seized animals: According to animal advocates in Houston and public information, the Houston SPCA has a 65% kill rate, won't release its current intake, adoption, and euthanasia data, won't commit to putting the rescued animals up for adoption, and has an official breed-discrimination policy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can read OisforOnward's analysis of the HSPCA raid here: <a href="http://oisforonward.com/2011/02/houston-spca/">http://oisforonward.com/2011/02/houston-spca/</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And stay up-to-date on the dogs' care on NoKillHouston's Facebook page here: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Kill-Houston/117281633060">http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Kill-Houston/117281633060</a></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-87522594976750412052011-01-30T20:42:00.003-06:002011-01-30T20:44:55.895-06:00Other Cities' Leaders Could Learn a Lot from Austin's Government Leaders!If you haven't already seen it, check out the latest blog post on OisforOnward.com, which champions Austin's government leaders who have shown intelligence, compassionate, and integrity when it comes to Austin's lost and homeless pets. The new post highlights the great work of Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez, Council Member Laura Morrison, and State Representative Eddie Rodriguez. Check it out!<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://oisforonward.com/2011/01/dear-politicians-be-like-mike-and-laura-and-eddie/">http://oisforonward.com/2011/01/dear-politicians-be-like-mike-and-laura-and-eddie/</a></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-46070754686252898232011-01-14T10:47:00.000-06:002011-01-14T10:48:14.390-06:00Austin Hires Abigail Smith!This Just In From a City of Austin Press Release:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; "><div dir="ltr" lang="en-us" align="left"><span ><b></b></span></div><blockquote><div dir="ltr" lang="en-us" align="left"><span ><b>From:</b> City of Austin Communications<br /><b>Sent:</b> Friday, January 14, 2011 10:37 AM<br /><b>Subject:</b> City of Austin Media Release: Chief Animal Services Officer selected<br /></span><br /></div><div></div><div><span ><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; ">For immediate release</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; ">Jan. 1<span>4</span>, 2011</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; ">Contact:<span> </span>Communications and Public Information Office, (512) 974-2220</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; "> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; ">City Manager selects Abigail Smith as Chief Animal Services Officer</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; "> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; "><span> </span>City Manager Marc Ott announced today, Jan. 1<span>4</span>, the appointment of Abigail Smith, Executive Director of the Tompkins County SPCA in Ithaca , N.Y. , as Austin ’s new Chief Animal Services Officer. <span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; "><span> </span>She will begin her duties in Austin March 15.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; ">Smith is recognized nationally for her work on animal welfare issues, presenting at numerous conferences.<span> </span>In August 2010, she spoke at the national No Kill Conference on the topic “90% Club: Sustaining No Kill in an Open Admissions Shelter.”<span> </span>The City of Austin has set the 90 percent live outcome goal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; "><span> </span>“Abigail has a wealth of knowledge and experience to bring to Austin ,” City Manager Ott said.<span> </span>“As a renowned expert in no-kill, she understands what Austin needs to do to reach its goal of becoming the first major metropolitan no-kill city. We are excited to have her join the City of Austin family and lead this very critical priority for our community.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; ">Smith served as Executive Director for the past four years at the Tompkins County SPCA which has operated as an open-admission, no-kill shelter for the past decade.<span> </span>While leading the agency, Smith focused on three major initiatives: animal control contracts, fundraising and spay/neuter programs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; ">Smith worked with Cornell University ’s College of Veterinary Medicine Program to implement a comprehensive shelter medicine program; created and strengthened collaborative partnerships, including those with civic organizations and animal rescue groups; expanded humane education programs; and secured funding for the Trap Neuter Release Program for feral cats.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; ">Before her position in Ithaca , Smith served as Director of Development/Marketing and Manager of the Volunteer Program for the New Hampshire SPCA from 2004-2007.<span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; "><span> </span>She is a current member of the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators, the National Animal Control Association, the New York Animal Protection Federation and the Ithaca Rotary Club.<span> </span>She’s earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Pre-Medicine and English from Hamline University in St. Paul , Minn.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; "><span> </span>Smith was chosen after a nationwide search and an extensive interview/evaluation process that included a meet-and-greet forum with the public and a site visit to Ithaca by City staff and community stakeholders.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; ">In March 2010 the City Council approved the No-Kill Implementation Plan for Austin . <span> </span>Since Oct. 1, 2010, the City of Austin Animal Services Office is actively working on the plan with the support of its partners and community.<span> </span>The City is making great strides in reaching the goal of 90 percent live outcomes, reaching 88 percent in December.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; ">Filip Gecic, who served as Acting Animal Services Officer, did not apply for the position.<span> </span></span></p></span></div></blockquote><div><span ><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 19px; text-indent: 0.5in; "><span style="line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; "><span></span></span></p></span></div></span></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-80938552992168693152011-01-12T13:56:00.003-06:002011-01-12T14:16:49.402-06:00Why We Join the National Consensus Against Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Every single data-based study of mandatory spay/neuter laws has demonstrated that such laws do <i><u>not</u> </i>increase spay-neuter compliance rates, nor do they reduce shelter intake, nor are they cost-effective, nor do they save lives. In fact, the opposite is true: in community after community that has passed a mandatory spay/neuter law, shelter killing and intake actually increase because in poor communities, families who cannot afford the money or time to have their pets surgically altered are forced to surrender their pets (or the pets are seized). These pets are quickly replaced in the communities with additional unaltered animals, creating an enhanced cycle of killing. These laws do not work, have never worked in any community, and will not work. </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several points are important here:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Mandatory spay/neuter laws do not work: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) did an extensive study on such laws (in many varieties), and concluded that there is absolutely "no credible evidence" that such laws have ever worked. <i>See</i> <a href="http://www.aspca.org/about-us/policy-positions/mandatory-spay-neuter-laws.aspx" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.aspca.org/<wbr>about-us/policy-positions/<wbr>mandatory-spay-neuter-laws.<wbr>aspx</a>. Another national organization, Alley Cat Allies, did a study of its own and concluded that such laws are "counterproductive, costly, and unenforceable." <i>See</i> <a href="http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=794" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.alleycat.org/<wbr>NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=794</a><wbr>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. Mandatory spay/neuter laws are based on a number of false policy assumptions. Mandatory spay/neuter advocates falsely assume that most people aren't currently spaying and neutering their pets, and that if there were a law requiring spay/neuter, they would do so. Both of these assumptions are false. According to empirical evidence, the overwhelming majority of Americans have already spayed or neutered their pets. In fact, a recent study demonstrated that over 90% of Americans earning $35K or more have already spayed or neutered their pets (<i>see </i><a href="http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=650" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.alleycat.org/<wbr>NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=650</a><wbr>), and at least half of those families earning <i>less </i>than $35K/year have already done so. As a result, the population of Americans who haven't spayed or neutered their pets is relatively small, and it's near-entirely a matter of financial means--- not legal motivation. That's why study after study after study has concluded that the <i>only proven way</i> to increase spay/neuter compliance is through the provision of low-cost and free spay-neuter services, <i>not</i> through regressive laws that focus on punishing poor families rather than empowering responsible behavior. <i>See</i> <a href="http://www.aspca.org/about-us/policy-positions/mandatory-spay-neuter-laws.aspx" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.aspca.org/<wbr>about-us/policy-positions/<wbr>mandatory-spay-neuter-laws.<wbr>aspx</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3. There is universal opposition to mandatory spay/neuter laws among national animal-welfare organizations who have spent time to empirically study such laws' effects. Indeed, given the frequent hostility between national animal-welfare organizations, the universal opposition to mandatory spay/neuter laws is telling. The organizations against such laws include: The ASPCA (cited above), Alley Cat Allies (cited above), the American Veterinary Medical Association (<a href="http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/may09/090515j.asp" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.avma.org/onlnews/<wbr>javma/may09/090515j.asp</a>), the No Kill Advocacy Center (<a href="http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/pdf/mandatorylaws.pdf" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.<wbr>nokilladvocacycenter.org/pdf/<wbr>mandatorylaws.pdf</a>), Pet Connection (<a href="http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2010/08/24/mandatory-spayneuter-sacrificing-animal-lives-to-ideology/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.petconnection.com/<wbr>blog/2010/08/24/mandatory-<wbr>spayneuter-sacrificing-animal-<wbr>lives-to-ideology/</a>), both the American College of Theriogenologists and the Society for Theriogenology (which are the two groups of veterinarian specialists in spaying and neutering (<a href="http://www.theriogenology.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=59" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.theriogenology.<wbr>org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&<wbr>subarticlenbr=59</a>), and the Anti-Cruelty Society (<a href="http://www.anticruelty.org/site/epage/69344_576.htm" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.anticruelty.org/<wbr>site/epage/69344_576.htm</a>), <wbr>among many, many others. USA Today's veterinary expert has also come out against such laws (<i>see</i> <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/pets/2010-09-12-vetviews10_N.htm" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.usatoday.com/<wbr>life/lifestyle/pets/2010-09-<wbr>12-vetviews10_N.htm</a>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. There are a number of significant, negative unintended consequences to mandatory spay/neuter laws:</div><div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 15px; ">According to the experts, the passage of mandatory spay/neuter laws not only doesn't increase spay/neuter compliance rates or responsible pet ownership, it actually <i>reduces</i> the provision of veterinary care to animals because the small group of remaining unaltered-pet owners (who either won't or cannot afford to alter their pets) will avoid getting veterinary care for their animals. According to the American College of Theriogenologists, "[m]aking spay/neuter mandatory . . . may make the public more hesitant to seek veterinary assistance because they are afraid of fines and legal repercussions as a result of failing to spay or neuter their pets. . . . By avoiding veterinary care for their pets, animals will be at increased risk of inadequate routine vaccination (including rabies) and inadequate deworming programs which may in turn result in increased transmission of disease to the public." <i>See</i> <a href="http://www.theriogenology.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=59" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.<wbr>theriogenology.org/<wbr>displaycommon.cfm?an=1&<wbr>subarticlenbr=59</a>. </li><li style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 15px; ">The risk of higher rabies rates (which is nearly always deadly to children) is not purely theoretical. According to the Anti-Cruelty Society, Fort Worth's mandatory spay/neuter law resulted in a significant reduction in rabies vaccinations, and to "an increase in reported rabies cases" in the city. <i>See</i> <a href="http://www.anticruelty.org/site/epage/69344_576.htm" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">http://www.anticruelty.<wbr>org/site/epage/69344_576.htm</a>. </li><li style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 15px; ">In addition, San Mateo, California, experienced a 35% decrease in pet licensing registrations after passing such a law, meaning that fewer animals brought to the shelter were able to be reunited with their owners. (Same source.)</li><li style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 15px; ">Fort Worth changed its law due to the reduction in rabies vaccinations. Spay/neuter is no longer mandatory due to the ordinance's failure (one can now have an unaltered pet without penalty or payment so long as they attend a free class).</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. The passage of a mandatory spay/neuter law has never led any community to a 90% save rate. And every No Kill community in America does <i>not</i> have a mandatory spay/neuter law. </div><div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 15px; ">The communities in America with the highest shelter save rates are: Reno, NV (90%), Ithaca, NY (95%), Charlottesville, VA (90+%), and San Francisco, CA (86%). None has a mandatory spay/neuter law. The communities with the highest shelter save rate in Texas are Austin (72%), Plano (77%) and Williamson County (77%). None has a mandatory spay/neuter law.</li><li style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 15px; ">Los Angeles, CA, recently passed a mandatory spay/neuter law, and its shelter killing and intake increased by 30% following the law's passage. Kansas City, MO, recently passed a breed-specific mandatory spay/neuter law, and intake and killing of those breeds increased by a jaw-dropping 80% according to local experts. Waco, TX, just passed a mandatory spay/neuter law, and even before the law's passage, it has seen a substantial spike in owner surrenders (and shelter killing) due to financial inability to pay.</li><li style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 15px; ">San Antonio has a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance, and its shelter kills more than 70% of all impounded animals. In fact, every large city in Texas other than Austin kills more animals than it saves. Austin, this past year, saved 72%.</li><li style="text-align: justify;margin-left: 15px; ">Contrary to local talking points in favor of a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance, not every large city in Texas other than Austin has a mandatory spay/neuter law. Houston, for example, does <i>not</i> have a mandatory spay/neuter law. Houston does have an ordinance that requires shelters to either alter pets before adopting them out, or get the adopter to sign a contract agreeing to alter the adopted pets. The ordinance does not reach out and affect owned pets or pets from sources other than animal shelters. Austin's policies are actually much more strict than Houston's. No Austin shelter adopts out unaltered pets, and Austin's pet-trader ordinance requires altering prior to retail pet sales. In addition, as mentioned above, Fort Worth's ordinance is not mandatory; it permits free unaltered pet licensing upon attending a class.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. Austin's animal-welfare policy and results, without a mandatory spay-neuter law, are not only among the best in Texas, they are among the best in the country for large cities. By implementing proven and cost-effective programs and policies (including low-cost and free spay-neuter services, foster programs, off-site adoptions, etc.), Austin has recently and quickly made dramatic improvements in animal-welfare, and now has among the lowest shelter-killing rates in the United States (Note: This is due in substantial part to Austin Pets Alive.). In 2005, Austin's shelter killed over 14,000 animals. In just a few short years of implementing proven life-saving policies in our community, that number dropped below 6,800 in fiscal-year 2009-10. 2010 was the best life-saving year in Austin's history, and the best of any large city in Texas by a large margin (Houston, Fort Worth and San Antonio kill around 70%). While San Antonio's recent "No Kill" effort, which relied on a mandatory spay/neuter law, has been a miserable failure, Austin's effort, which relies on proven programs and policies, has been a dramatic success. In fact, December 2010 was the highest save-rate on record in Austin, with an 88% save rate of all impounded animals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. It doesn't matter whether you call it "mandatory" or not, the effect is the same. A local mandatory spay/neuter advocate has recently stopped saying "mandatory" when advocating for a mandatory spay/neuter law. The name of the ordinance makes no difference. If a government mandates a penalty for failing to alter an animal (in the form of either a fine, a seizure of the animal (or its surrender), or a "fee"), it is commonly referred to as a "mandatory" spay/neuter law in the national animal-welfare community, and based on empirical evidence, we know it will fail.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">8. There is no evidence whatsoever that a mandatory spay/neuter law would increase public safety or decrease dog-fighting. Indeed, the opposite is true with regard to rabies and public health, and it is egregiously illogical to think that a criminal who willingly risks felony dog-fighting charges and prison time would somehow be swayed by a unaltered-pet registration fee. In addition, because we know that mandatory spay/neuter laws do not increase spay/neuter compliance rates, we can logically conclude that they will have no impact on dog bites either (even assuming that dog bites are correlated with lack of spay/neuter). In fact, the most preeminent national expert on dog bites and dog-caused deaths concludes that dog-caused deaths are nearly always caused by unsocialized, "backyard" dogs who have never been cared for, loved, or treated responsibly by a loving owner. There is absolutely no logic or evidence to suggest that such an irresponsible owner would be swayed by a fee or fine; again, the empirical evidence demonstrates that the opposite is true: the laws don't change irresponsible behavior.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">9. Mandatory spay/neuter laws unfairly target the poor. It has been empirically proven that the lack of financial resources is the primary reason for the failure to alter pets by the small percentage of remaining unaltered-pet homeowners. Persons who cannot afford to alter their pets will be the primary targets for enforcement, therefore. In Kansas City, this resulted in Animal Control authorities doing "sweeps" through poor neighborhoods in which they would literally pull dogs and cats out of the arms of poor children and families. And, contrary to popular belief, there are not enough free spay/neuter resources to provide such services to all unaltered animals. According to estimates of the unaltered pet population by the ASPCA compared to the number of free spay/neuter resources in Austin, for example, it would take an astonishing 31 years to provide free spay/neuter services to the current population of unaltered pets. That means that only 1 in 31 pets could be altered in year one (much less in month 1) if such a law was passed in Austin. The remaining pets would be either surrendered to animal control, or seized, if the pet owner cannot afford the surgery. Such laws pit poor pet owners in an adversarial relationship with law-enforcement officers, dramatically increasing tensions in poor communities. Again, in Kansas City, animal advocates have had to go into communities to teach families about their legal rights in order to protect them from unlawful searches and seizures purportedly resulting from "enforcement" of the mandatory spay/neuter ordinance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you've read this far, we thank you. We care deeply about this issue and have studied it for years. We would absolutely, positively, be in favor of a mandatory spay/neuter law if such laws worked. All of our pets are spayed or neutered, and all of our rescues are spayed or neutered before we adopt them out. We have paid to alter the pets of total strangers, and heavily support low-cost and free spay-neuter services. Once made mandatory, however, all results point to dramatic failure, negative unintended consequences, more killing, and higher rabies rates. That we can't support that. We hope you won't either.</div></span>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-85320668354953766232011-01-01T13:35:00.001-06:002011-01-01T13:36:57.188-06:00A No Kill Austin Is Within Reach!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><p style="text-align: justify;">Happy Holidays & New Year, Animal Lovers!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This year, great stides have been made towards Austin, Texas, joining the ranks of America's "No Kill" cities. Town Lake Animal Center celebrated its highest save rate ever: a full 72% of all animals that entered the shelter left alive this fiscal year! There is still a ways to go before we reach our goal of becoming a "No Kill" city--- defined as saving 90% of all impounded animals--- but it is inescapable that we're headed in the right direction.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of improvements, how about the amazing <a href="http://www.austinpetsalive.org/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); ">Austin Pets Alive</a>!?! Seemingly out of nowhere, Austin Pets Alive has saved nearly 6,000 dogs and cats straight from the "kill list" at Town Lake Animal Center. The organization celebrated landing its own two-building complex this year (at 2807 Manchaca Road in South Austin), officially becoming the largest non-profit animal-rescue group in all of Austin! And to top off their amazing year, they are having an end-of-year adoption blow-out where you can name your own price for dogs and cats over 6 months old. Take a few seconds to watch this fun (and funny) YouTube ad for their sale: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUi5kw25Thk&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); "><span>http://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=DUi5kw25Thk&feature=player_<wbr>embedded</span></a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The upcoming year will bring some additional major (and, we hope, positive) changes for Austin's homeless pets. The City will shortly be hiring a new animal-shelter director from a set of talented finalists (the City is currently focusing on Tompkins County SPCA Executive Director Abigail Smith), and we'll also find out whether Austin Pets Alive will be partnering with the City to run its adoptions program at the shelter. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">And lastly, Town Lake Animal Center and animal-friendly Council Member Laura Morrison issued a public statement today asking animal owners to please keep their dogs secured inside during New Years fireworks celebrations so that they won't escape and end up at the shelter. They also announced that for the month of January, all dogs weighing over 45 pounds can be adopted from TLAC for free! Read more about how you can safeguard your pets during the fireworks (and about the January sale) here: <a href="http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/health/pets/hpnews_details.cfm?nwsid=2934" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); "><span>http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/<wbr>health/pets/hpnews_details.<wbr>cfm?nwsid=2934</span></a>. Council Member Morrison has been a powerful advocate for Austin's homeless pets ever since she joined the Council, and she just announced that she is running for reelection. Although FixAustin.org does not endorse candidates, you can sign up as a "supporter" of Council Member Morrison, and/or make a donation to her campaign, by vising her campaign website here: <a href="http://www.lauraforaustin.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 65, 112); "><span>http://www.lauraforaustin.com/</span></a><wbr>. The campaign told us that any support would be greatly appreciated, but early support--- before the January 1st reporting deadline--- is especially appreciated.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's it for now. We'll keep fighting for Austin's homeless and lost pets, and thanks so much for your support!</p><p>Warmest regards,</p><p>The FixAustin.org Team</p></span>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-86448840666736137232010-11-10T12:05:00.002-06:002010-11-10T12:06:08.917-06:00FixAustin Endorses Jefferson, Smith, & Hinze for New Shelter Director, Rates Two Others "Unacceptable"<div>AUSTIN, TX – November 10, 2010 – On Monday, four of five finalists vying to become the new director of Town Lake Animal Center interviewed with City officials, stakeholders, and the public. Today, Austin’s No Kill advocacy organization, FixAustin.org, gave its seal of approval to three of those candidates: Dr. Ellen Jefferson of Austin Pets Alive, Abigail Smith of the Tompkins County SPCA, and Laura Hinze of PAWS Chicago.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Jefferson, Smith, and Hinze were the clear leaders among the shelter finalists. Because we believe Austin’s animals would be in good hands with each of them, we publicly endorse all three of their candidacies,” said Austin appellate attorney and national No Kill advocate Ryan Clinton, founder of FixAustin.org.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div><b>Dr. Ellen Jefferson</b>, the only local candidate with direct insight into the shelter’s operations, founded and led low-cost spay/neuter provider EmanciPet, which recently celebrated its 100,000th low-cost or free spay/neuter in Austin. Dr. Jefferson currently serves as the Executive Director of Austin Pets Alive, a non-profit adoptions group that has saved over 5,000 from Town Lake Animal Center’s “kill list” in just two years.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Abigail Smith</b> is the Executive Director of the Tompkins County SPCA in Ithaca, New York. Her shelter boasts the highest save rate—96%—of any open-admission shelter in the United States, and she is a sought-after national speaker on No Kill programs and policies. Before joining the Tompkins County SPCA, she was the Director of Development and Marketing at the New Hampshire SPCA.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Laura Hinze</b> is the Operations Director at PAWS Chicago, where she manages the shelter’s spay/neuter program, shelter-medicine program, and humane-education program. She manages a paid staff of 15 and an army of volunteers. Among her most innovative programs is one in which persons who might not otherwise be able to spay or neuter their pets can earn free surgeries by providing volunteer hours to PAWS Chicago.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div>While Jefferson, Smith, and Hinze were endorsed by FixAustin.org, the organization deemed the two other candidates—Linda Haller and Julie Seal—“unacceptable” for the position. </div><div><br /></div><div>“Linda Haller and Julie Seal seem like fine human beings whose hearts are absolutely in the right place, but we believe they are both very poor fits for the Austin animal-welfare community and its drive to achieve No Kill success,” said Clinton. “In fact, both candidates distanced themselves from No Kill as a community goal, and both said they do not even like the words ‘No Kill,’” Clinton added. “This obviously won’t work for a community aiming towards achieving No Kill.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The group also pointed to what they say are Haller and Seal’s poor records of performance, and lack of qualifications for the position. Linda Haller, for example, has been a shelter director in three communities but has never achieved a save rate of more than 53%. Austin’s save rate was 72% during the last fiscal year, and the City Council mandated that the shelter achieve a 90% save rate within 18 months.</div><div><br /></div><div>Julie Seal also has underwhelming credentials for the position, the group said. She has held and left multiple positions in a short period, including spending nine months or less at two shelter-fundraising positions in Arizona and California. She more recently was a fundraiser for an autism-related non-profit, but her position was eliminated. “There is no doubt that Seal is a smart and caring person, but neither her background or animal-welfare interests match Austin’s commitment to No Kill. She has never worked at a No Kill shelter, she expressed no interest in the No Kill movement in America, and she said she didn’t even like the words ‘No Kill.’ She’s far out of line with Austin’s goals or beliefs regarding companion animals.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The group noted that Abigail Smith, one of their preferred candidates, was unable to participate in the interviews this week due to a serious family emergency. They have urged the City to offer Smith an opportunity to make up the missed interview sessions. “When the shelter director with the highest save rate in America is considering working for you, you’ve got to figure out how to give her a chance. We would be making a huge mistake not to give Smith a chance to interview for the position,” said Clinton.</div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-31719009862196739252010-11-07T17:06:00.003-06:002010-11-07T17:29:20.020-06:00CRITICAL MEETING: Who Will Be Austin's Next Shelter Director?<b>Attention Austin animal advocates:</b> Tomorrow, Monday, November 8th, the City of Austin will be releasing the names of the two or three finalists for the new animal-shelter director position, and will be making the finalists available to meet the public from 6pm to 8pm at Austin Energy, <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=921+Barton+Springs+Road&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=921+Barton+Springs+Rd,+Austin,+TX+78704&gl=us&ei=6zPXTJyQD8GAlAer8J39CA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQ8gEwAA">721 Barton Springs Road</a>.<div><br /></div><div>This is perhaps the most important meeting in the history of Austin animal welfare because it will be the public's only opportunity to meet the candidates and give immediate feedback to the City regarding the hiring decision. And it goes without saying that the new shelter director will have an enormous impact on whether Austin reaches its dream of joining the nation's No Kill cities.</div><div><br /></div><div>How much of an impact will the new hire have? Well, according to a <a href="http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/pdf/leadershipstudy_000.pdf">study</a> by the Oakland, California-based <a href="http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org">No Kill Advocacy Center</a>, a shelter's leadership--- not its budget--- is the #1 factor in how that shelter will perform.</div><div><br /></div><div>Please be there tomorrow: 6pm, Austin Energy, 721 Barton Springs Road.</div><div><br /></div><div>The animals of Austin will thank you!</div><div><br /></div><div>Best, </div><div>The FixAustin.org Team</div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-61985691392767942192010-09-09T14:35:00.003-05:002010-09-09T14:56:50.490-05:00No Kill Works! August 2010: Highest August Save Rate in Austin's History!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Just wanted to send you all a note to share some fantastic news:</b> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u>As a direct result of Austin, Texas's No Kill Implementation plan, a whopping 77% of all dogs and cats impounded at Town Lake Animal Center left the shelter alive in August 2010. This figure marks the highest August save rate (and lowest kill rate) in the history of Town Lake Animal Center-- by a significant margin</u>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Of course, there is still hard work to be done, and there is still considerable room to improve. We will be No Kill when we reach a 90% save rate, and there are core No Kill Implementation Plan programs that remain to be implemented.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nonetheless, today should be a day of celebration and recognition of dramatic improvement. Thank you to Council, the Animal Advisory Commissioners, City Management and TLAC, and the non-profit groups that have helped make this a reality--- Austin Pets Alive, the Austin Humane Society, Animal Trustees of Austin, Emancipet, and the amazing rescue groups in this town.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">No Kill works, and it's working in Austin. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Warmest regards,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The FixAustin.org Team</span></div></span>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-57387548149168863152010-08-20T13:59:00.003-05:002010-08-20T16:48:32.872-05:00Better Off Dead?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; "><span class="UIStory_Message"><span><span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h3><b>Who do you side with? </b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span><span>The No Kill Advocacy Center's Nathan Winograd, who says we should keep all shelter cages full to promote adoptions, isolate sick animals when necessary, foster baby kittens until they are old enough to be adopted, give every animal a chance at adoption, and keep up a strong cleaning protocol? </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span><span>Or the ASPCA's assessment team member Dr. Sandra Newbury, who says we should "euthanize" animals to keep only half of available cage space open, "euthanize" animals that are sick or too young to be adopted at the moment (or too old to be adopted quickly), and keep a much smaller number of animals in foster homes? </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span><span>This is a very real debate, with very serious consequences in Austin, Texas, because the ASPCA assessment team is about to release recommendations for Town Lake Animal Center. What do YOU think?</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span><span>Read More Here: <a href="http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=16192">http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=16192</a></span></span><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=16192"></a></span></span></div></h3><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; "><span class="UIStory_Message"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "></span></span></span></span></h3></span></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-71656772054264259482010-08-17T20:41:00.008-05:002010-08-18T11:35:40.514-05:00With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies (or, on Mandatory Spay-Neuter Laws)<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">W</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">hy animal advocates should never, ever, advocate for mandatory spay-neuter laws: They do not work, they have never worked, they increase shelter killing, and they divert limited funding away from programs that actually do work to decrease shelter intake and increase lives saved.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This is not to say that additional spay/neuter isn't needed in most communities. It is. Rather, it is to say that passing mandatory spay/neuter ordinances isn't an effective way to achieve greater spay/neuter compliance rates. If you want to learn more about how to effectively decrease shelter intake and increase live outcomes, read the No Kill Equation here: http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/nokillequation.html. If you want to learn why mandatory spay/neuter laws are absolutely not the answer, read on.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mandatory spay-neuter ordinances do not work.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> The ASPCA did an extensive study on mandatory spay-neuter laws and concluded that they have failed to decrease shelter intake. According to the ASPCA, there is no "credible evidence demonstrating a statistically significant enhancement in the reduction of shelter intake or euthanasia as a result of the implementation of a mandatory spay-neuter law." </span><a href="http://www.aspca.org/about-us/policy-positions/mandatory-spay-neuter-laws.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.aspca.org/about-us/policy-positions/mandatory-spay-neuter-laws.html</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mandatory spay-neuter ordinances target the wrong population.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> The largest category of animals entering the shelter are feral and community cats and their kittens. These are unowned or "loosely" owned animals who no person will claim ownership of. As a result, instead of targeting the population that needs spay-neuter (community cats), the ordinances target the population that largely is already spaying and neutering their animals to the tune of 80 or 85% (pet owners). Money is virtually thrown out the window by targeting pet owners rather than the unowned animals contributing most to shelter intake. The non-profit group Alley Cat Allies has a long article explaining this phenomenon. As Alley Cat Allies explains, "Mandatory spay/neuter laws do nothing to address the real issue[s].... Instead, these laws divert public resources away from beneficial programs and into administering an unenforceable law." </span><a href="http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=794"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=794</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mandatory spay-neuter is extremely expensive.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Enforcing the ordinance would require additional Animal Control officers and additional trucks and equipment. Just one employee and one truck would cost more than $100,000 in year one and more than $50,000 each additional year. Two would cost at least $200,000 to start. That money would come out of programs that work to save lives, like low-cost and free spay-neuter programs, Trap-Neuter-and-Release programs, foster programs for baby kittens, as well as adoption programs. In Los Angeles, mandatory spay-neuter required millions of dollars worth of additional funding at the cost of proven and workable solutions to shelter killing.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mandatory spay-neuter laws kill more animals than they save.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> In Los Angeles, intake and shelter killing increased 30% after the City began enforcing its new mandatory spay-neuter program. In Kansas City, mandatory spay-neuter has been enforced by sweeps of poor neighborhoods, where healthy and loved dogs are handed over to Animal Control due to lack of funds for spay-neuter. Some cities (like Fort Worth, Texas) have abandoned their mandatory spay-neuter ordinances because the ordinances did not work.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mandatory spay-neuter laws have negative and dangerous side effects</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. Cities such as Fort Worth, Texas, have experienced a decline in rabies vaccinations following implementation of mandatory spay/neuter ordinances. As a result, the public has become more at risk of rabies due to implementation of the ordinances. In addition, nearly every city to pass a mandatory spay-neuter ordinance has experienced a significant decrease in pet registrations, meaning that fewer pets who arrive at shelters are able to be reunited with their owners.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Mandatory spay-neuter laws unfairly target the poor. </b> 90% or more of pet owners with the financial means to do so already spay or neuter their pets. The largest category of pet owners who haven't done so simply cannot afford to do so. For this group, cost--- not unwillingness--- is the primary obstacle to spay/neuter. As a result, Animal Control in Kansas City, for example, has done "sweeps" through poor neighborhoods picking up animals and killing them at Animal Control.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mandatory spay-neuter laws promote backyard breeding and possibly even puppy mills. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">When Animal Control sweeps through a neighborhood and either seizes or, by "owner surrender" takes animals that families cannot afford to have spayed or neutered, families who lost their animals to the Animal Control authorities will replace it with another, feeding the backyard breeding industry and possibly even puppy mills.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Every major animal-welfare group who has studied the effects of mandatory spay-neuter laws is against them.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> The ASPCA is against them. So is Alley Cat Allies, the No Kill Advocacy Center, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and Best Friends Animal Society. We're not generally a group that defers to authority (and we're proud of it!), but the consensus against mandatory spay-neuter laws--- even among groups that rarely agree--- is highly compelling.</span></div><div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span><span><span><br /><br /></span></span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><li style="margin-left: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></li></span></div></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-89367147352890241402010-08-12T16:10:00.004-05:002010-08-12T16:41:37.554-05:00The Last Throes of the Status Quo Continue<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The last throes of resistance to a No Kill Austin continue: In this article, KUT complains of shelter employees having to work harder to save animals, and reports on allegations of "impropriety" in the No Kill movement brought by a notorious opponent of No Kill. After reading this, would it surprise you to find out that TLAC's Program Development Manager is married to KUT's Associate General Manager? The more important question is: Why isn't KUT disclosing their direct conflict of interest when they report on the shelter and specifically its employees?</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And that notorious No Kill opponent who takes issue with No Kill advocates being on the Austin Animal Advisory Commission: why didn't he ever object when No Kill opponents were on the Commission? Double standard, anyone?<br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://kut.org/items/show/22106">http://kut.org/items/show/22106</a></span></span></span></div></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-61766171543697721032010-08-10T17:53:00.009-05:002010-08-11T00:24:23.935-05:00Blaming No Kill for Killing: the Desperate Last Stand of Austin's Status Quo<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div class="gmail_quote"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Friends,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It looks like the old-guard animal-welfare status quo in Austin is finally rearing its head to unleash one final and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">very</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> desperate fight </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">against</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> the grassroots movement of hope, change, love, and life for the animals at Austin's Town Lake Animal Center. We hoped this wouldn't happen, but honestly predicted that it would because this is exactly what happened in other communities that have achieved No Kill success: the status quo lashes out against the effort intended to change it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">First, the ASPCA "Mission Orange" program has hired a pro-killing, anti-No-Kill activist to "assess" Town Lake Animal Center right as the City embarks on its historic plan to end the unnecessary killing of lost and homeless pets in Austin. The activist in question is a notorious opponent of uncontroversial No Kill reforms (like increased adoptions and foster programs) who has gone on record arguing that (1) shelters should only use half of their cage spaces; and (2) shelters shouldn't have robust foster programs to save puppies, kittens, and medically treatable animals. Her advice has been followed--- then abandoned--- by at least one shelter in another state after following it led to a significant increase in shelter killing--- no surprise when you only use half of your adoption spaces and you indiscriminately kill to make those spaces available. We hope we're wrong, but we have every reason to believe that the Mission Orange "assessment" team will reach the same conclusions in Austin as they have reached in other cities: that we should kill more animals--- and use less of the shelter--- in order to somehow "save" animals. It doesn't make sense now, and it won't when they release their assessment either.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And now, incendiary and false anti-No Kill propaganda from the Austin Humane Society fills our inboxes. Et tu, Brute? As hard is this is to say, the Austin Humane Society will not receive another dime of support from me. Anyone pay attention to Fox News on occasion? One of the things Fox News likes to do is ask emotionally charged, incendiary questions to imply veracity to an argument that facts do not actually support. Now we see the Austin Humane Society doing the same thing, asking in their July 2010 newsletter: "Is No-Kill Killing Kittens?" </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Well why don't we just answer the question for them: No, it isn't. Here are the facts:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1. AHS's newsletter states that since the Austin City Council unanimously approved the No Kill plan and banned the shelter from killing healthy, adoptable animals when there are available cages to house them, "adoption numbers are not increasing." That is false. Since the No Kill plan passed, adoptions of all animals at the shelter have increased 30% this year over last year. Adoptions of cats and kittens have increased 48% this year over last year. And transfers to rescue groups have increased 59%. Far more animals are leaving the shelter alive since the Austin City Council acted.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">2. AHS's newsletter says that the city has allocated "no additional resources to accomplish [the No Kill] goal." That too is false. The City's new budget allocates an additional $800,000 to the shelter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">3. AHS's newsletter claims that "the misconception that TLAC is now a no-kill shelter" is causing "more kittens than ever [to be] surrendered to the shelter." False again. First, while it is true that cat intake is up after the No Kill vote this year over last year, it is also true that cat intake was up </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">before</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> the No Kill vote. It is impossible for something that was happening before and is happening after an event (in this case, the No Kill vote) to be caused by that event. Second, dog intake is actually down this year over last year. If the No Kill vote was actually causing pet owners to surrender their animals, then why on earth would dog intake actually be down this year over last year? Is AHS suggesting that cat people watch the news but dog people don't? And third, as a requirement of the No Kill plan, Town Lake Animal Center is now informing all persons wishing to surrender an animal that the shelter is </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">not </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">a No Kill facility. If the "misconception that TLAC is now a no-kill shelter" actually caused someone to take a kitten to TLAC, then they would turn around and leave--- with the kitten--- once the "misconception" was cured by the shelter staff. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">4. AHS's newsletter claims that "[d]espite the hard work of TLAC staff, foster volunteers . . . are not increasing." While we have seen no published report on the number of TLAC fosters this year as compared to last year, we do know of at least one documented instance of a foster volunteering to foster a TLAC dog--- but being turned away by TLAC employees--- because the dog wasn't "young enough" to be fostered. That's right, TLAC has decided that if an animal isn't young, it's better off dead than in a foster home.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I am, personally, incredibly disappointed in the Austin Humane Society. They have harmed the Austin No Kill movement before. They have claimed that No Kill advocates were actually barriers to success in Austin. They have supported a (now-replaced) shelter director responsible for the deaths of over 100,000 lost and homeless pets. They heavily supported closing Austin's downtown shelter and moving it to an industrial area on the outskirts of town. But falsely blaming the Austin City Council's unanimous No Kill plan, which is demonstrably saving animals, for "killing kittens" is the last straw for me. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As a humane movement, we simply cannot support groups--- regardless of their name and history in Austin--- who wage incendiary and false attacks against No Kill reforms and policies in an attempt to take power away from a movement dedicated to saving lives. Let us not forget--- the Austin Humane Society carried the "No Kill" mantle in Austin in 1994 and, even with a multi-million-dollar grant from Maddie's Fund--- utterly failed to reach its promised goal. AHS was incapable of leading Austin to No Kill in 1994, and they evidently have not changed. Not a penny more from me. Not a penny. [Note: I'm sure AHS is shaking in its shoes not to receive my paltry annual donation...]</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What can you do? E-mail the Austin Humane Society and tell them to stop blocking No Kill reforms in Austin. Either get on the No Kill bus, or go away. Here is their e-mail address: info@austinhumanesociety.org</span></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Regards,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ryan Clinton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">[Added note: It is absolutely true that AHS does great work both in its adoptions and in its wonderful TNR program. This blog is in no way intended to communicate anything but the greatest respect for those programs (and probably others we don't know about). But when the powerful falsely attack the No Kill movement, as AHS did in its newsletter, their attacks deserve to be met with equivalent force. Of course we are stronger if we are all together, but that does not mean that we cannot or should not disagree. Only by questioning the status quo could we ever hope to change it.]</span></div></span>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-78932566663883111292010-07-26T18:16:00.003-05:002010-07-26T18:20:37.969-05:00Austin No Kill Workshop Tickets on Sale Now!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">T</span>ickets to the Austin No Kill Workshop are now available! Prices start at just $25 for the "early bird" registrants, but will move up to $35. For that price, you'll get speeches from the nation's top No Kill sheltering experts, a gourmet vegetarian (or vegan) lunch, and a copy of the award-winning </b></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Irreconcilable Differences</b></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b> by Nathan Winograd.</b></span><div><br /></div><div>To purchase tickets, visit: <a href="http://nokillaustin.org/austin-no-kill-workshop">http://nokillaustin.org/austin-no-kill-workshop</a></div><div><br /></div><div>To learn more about the conference, visit the Austin No Kill Workshop Facebook page at: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Austin-Texas/Austin-No-Kill-Workshop/134047909964371?ref=ts">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Austin-Texas/Austin-No-Kill-Workshop/134047909964371?ref=ts</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Hope to see you there!</div><div>The FixAustin.org Team</div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-78087458402805349102010-07-25T19:29:00.003-05:002010-07-25T19:43:39.192-05:00Tix On Sale Soon for the Austin No Kill Workshop!<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">W</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">e're very pleased to present an unbelievable line-up of No Kill experts at the September 28, 2010, Austin No Kill Workshop!</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b> The event will take place at the Westin at the Domain in Austin, Texas, from 8:30am to 5:30pm. Tickets will be available very shortly.</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The speakers list for the No Kill Workshop include the nation's preeminent No Kill sheltering experts: </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Bonney Brown</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, Executive Director of the Nevada Humane Society; </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mike Fry</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, Executive Director of Animal Ark of Minnesota; </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nathan Winograd</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, Executive Director of the No Kill Advocacy Center; </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mitch Schneider</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, Director of Washoe County (Reno) Animal Services; </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Michael Mountain</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, co-founder and former President of Best Friends Animal Society; </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dr. Ellen Jefferson</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, Executive Director of Austin Pets Alive and founder of EmanciPet, and </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dr. Linda Wolf</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, renown veterinarian and dog-behavior expert. (There's a rumor that another speaker may join the list too!)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The animal-welfare community has come together to support this amazing line-up of No Kill experts. Event sponsors include the</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> James J. Wolf Family Foundation for Animals</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Animal Ark of Minnesota, Animal Wise Radio, the No Kill Advocacy Center, the Austin No Kill Coalition, the Central Texas Animal Alliance, and FixAustin.org.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> In addition, the event is supported by Town Lake Animal Center, the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter, No Kill Houston, Love-a-Bull, Animal Defense League, and the Alamo Area Partners for Animal Welfare.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">For the latest information, please join the Austin No Kill Workshop Facebook page: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/cKvSuD"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://bit.ly/cKvSuD</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">See you there!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The FixAustin.org Team</span></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-86119323238375020082010-05-09T12:44:00.009-05:002010-05-09T15:30:23.692-05:00Statesman Embraces "Whacking" Baby Kittens... On Mother's Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-ydLJ26i09M/S-cLKoI6u8I/AAAAAAAACDY/Io6OXWewLyA/s1600/kittens.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-ydLJ26i09M/S-cLKoI6u8I/AAAAAAAACDY/Io6OXWewLyA/s200/kittens.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469352549666175938" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><b>The </b></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Austin American-Statesman</b></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>'s Outdoors Editor Mike Leggett likes to kill animals. </b> He gets a </span><a href="http://bit.ly/9bmaxf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"thrill" out of killing deer</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. He enjoys </span><a href="http://bit.ly/bZcYFs"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">killing fish</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. And Mikey likes to kill birds too; boy, does he: Mikey </span><a href="http://bit.ly/9iiuzN"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">likes to kill quail</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. He thinks talk of </span><a href="http://bit.ly/9PFmCP"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">killing doves is funny</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. And he just loves </span><a href="http://bit.ly/d7vjax"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">killing turkeys</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. In fact, he's mad as heck that the lefties who craft the State of Texas hunting guidelines are reducing the </span><a href="http://bit.ly/b3DXcy"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"joy" he gets from killing turkeys</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mike Leggett likes killing animals so much that you're just going to have to forgive us for rolling our collective eyes when he waxes philosophical about how </span><a href="http://bit.ly/9gUySA"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"necessary" it is to kill the kittens a momma cat brought into his buddy's garage because they may one day grow up and turn into the kind of efficient bird hunter he is</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. And you'll also have to forgive us for being unable to let go unnoticed the blatant hypocrisy in Leggett opining that (1) it's okay to "whack" kittens because they might one day hunt birds (like he does), and (2) his friend feeding birds in his backyard even though it attracts feral cats (and squirrels, presumably) is perfectly natural, normal, and defensible, but the lady he saw feeding a colony of feral cats is messing with God's will.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Putting aside Leggett's alarming lack of perspective, however, let's focus on the "science" he uses to justify "whacking" kitties in order to save birds (presumably, so that he can whack them later). To support his argument, Leggett relies on two allegations: (1) that a "study" proved that cats kill 39 million birds in Wisconsin alone; and (2) that a "published . . . article" demonstrated that the humane alternative to "whacking" cats--- trapping them, spaying or neutering them, and releasing them ("TNR")--- doesn't work. Both are illogical, unpersuasive, and wrong.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The first "study" that Leggett relies on is, in fact, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">not</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> a study. It is an </span><a href="http://bit.ly/bBO6Kh"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">essay in a non-peer-reviewed magazine published in 1996 by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (or maybe it was a </span><a href="http://bit.ly/cZgJnO"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">similar essay published by the Wisconsin Parks & Wildlife Department</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">). In the essay, the authors assume out of thin air that there are 1.7 million free-roaming cats in Wisconsin. They assume (based on un-cited and unnamed "other studies") that cats in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">rural</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> areas kill 91 animals each year. And they assume (again, based on un-cited and unnamed "other studies") that 25% of the animals killed by cats are birds. Multiply all of those together--- 1.7 million x 91 x 25%--- and you get roughly 39 million bird deaths in Wisconsin. This is not a "study," Mr. Leggett. It is not peer-reviewed. It is not replicable. There is no way to double-check unnamed findings, and one of the key factors is based on a guess.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Had Leggett analyzed the essay, he would have easily figured out that the number was nothing more than a guess--- it was not a study and is was not intended to be one. In fact, had Leggett spent even a few moments on Google to determine whether the numbers were accurate, he would have discovered</span><a href="http://bit.ly/dBJ3OT"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> this quote from the essay's author himself</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">: </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"The media has had a field day with this since we started. Those figures were from our proposal [for a study]. They aren't actual data; that was just our projection to show how bad it might be."</span></i></blockquote></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Plus, had Leggett bothered to look, there are, in fact, a large number of published studies concluding that the feral cat population does not significantly affect the population of American birds. This is a list provided by the nation's preeminent animal-sheltering expert, Nathan Winograd, from the same source as the last quote:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:monospace;"><blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Roger Tabor found that cats have low success as bird hunters and that the bulk of their diet is garbage, plants, insects, and other scavenger material. In short, cats are not impacting bird populations on continents. Fitzgerald & Karl found that "cats suppress populations of more dangerous predators such as rats and thus allow denser populations of birds than would exist without them." Robert Berg found that cats were not impacting quail population in San Francisco even though quail nest on the ground. Mead found no evidence that cats are impacting overall bird populations. Colemand & Brunner concluded that "The common belief that feral cats are serious predators of birds is apparently without basis." A Worldwatch Institute 1994 Study found that birds are in decline due to drought, habitat loss, overtrapping, and water pollution. Cats are noticeably absent as factors. A 1988 study by the University of Georgia blamed forest fragmentation across Southern U.S. for decimating songbirds. A Colorado Wildlife Dept. study in 1994 blamed drought. National Geographic lined declines to poisons in environment, particularly lawn care products."</span></i></blockquote></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Leggett could have figured this out. It's not that complicated. But we think he was too busy trying to justify his friend "whacking" the kittens in his garage. Or, perhaps, he didn't care.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The next "article" upon which Leggett relies to justify his friend's cat "whacking" is even less persuasive. To support his argument that "trap-neuter-release" does not work, Leggett cites an article about a small TNR operation on an ecologically sensitive area on Catalina Island that </span><a href="http://bit.ly/aWfbFW"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">demonstrated that spayed and neutered cats roamed just as far as non-spayed and non-neutered cats</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. That's right-- the study concluded that unaltered cats roam just as far as altered cats. But what Mr. Leggett did not point out (probably intentionally) is that the study concluded that the program </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">would work to eliminate the feral-cat species on the island in about 10 years</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. <u>It did </u></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><u>not</u></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><u> conclude that TNR was ineffective at reducing the feral cat population; it concluded the opposite</u>. Mr. Leggett citing this study to disprove the efficacy of TNR is like the birthers pointing to President Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate as evidence that Obama was born elsewhere. It makes no sense at all.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In the end, none of the science mattered to Leggett or the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Statesman</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. His article wasn't about that. Instead, it was about his need to figure out how to justify his buddy killing the kittens that a momma cat mistakenly brought into his garage. But you know what, Mr. Leggett? Not every act of killing can be justified--- even if performed by your buddy.</span></div><div><div><br /></div></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-50215760404556161402010-04-26T00:13:00.003-05:002010-04-26T00:24:07.008-05:00No Kill Foot-dragging by TLAC Management<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I</span>t has been a month and a half since the Austin City Council passed the historic No Kill Implementation Plan, which required the City's Animal Services Staff to issue a formal Request for Proposal ("RFP") from non-profit entities to run the Adoptions program at TLAC next year. Yet alarmingly, Animal Services has not released any information regarding the RFP, what it might contain, when it will be issued, or even a basic time frame for the process.</b></span></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The public has a right to know: Why has the RFP not been issued? Has a deadline been set by which the RFP must be issued? If not, why not? </span></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If the RFP does not go out soon, the City Council's will may be entirely thwarted by a shelter management that continues to embrace killing over obvious lifesaving solutions. Sadly, once again, it seems we are faced with a reluctant and stonewalling attitude by management to implementing the policies and procedures approved by Council on March 11th--- stonewalling that shows just exactly how right the <i>Austin American-Statesman</i>’s Editorial Board was when it wrote on March 18th: </span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>…”the city needs to get moving on hiring a nonprofit to manage the city's animal adoption programs and make good on its promise to keep the current shelter open for at least six months (preferable longer) after the new one opens next year…For their part, Austin residents must continue their vigilance to make sure that Ott does not permit those directly overseeing the Town Lake Animal Center to again drop the ball on this priority…Austin has a good plan. But even the best plan can languish without a champion. And that is what Austin needs now.”</blockquote></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The citizens of Austin must demand that the City's Animal Services be accountable, and that the will of the people--- and the City Council--- not continue to be thwarted. Please take a moment to e-mail the Austin City Council and ask that the City issue the No Kill RFP immediately. You can e-mail all of them at once at this link: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/groupemail.htm">http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council/groupemail.htm</a></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Thank you,</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The FixAustin.org Team</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p></span><br /></div></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-64685794614460593712010-04-12T15:56:00.005-05:002010-04-12T16:10:20.339-05:00Not Yet No Kill Austin<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">J</span>ust a quick note on the status of No Kill in Austin, Texas. </b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Last month, the Austin City Council enacted a historic list of No Kill programs and policies. Many of the policies were enacted immediately--- such as the ban on killing healthy, adoptable animals while cages sit empty at the shelter. But other, larger programs have not yet been implemented and will not be for many months.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So if you are thinking about surrendering your animal to Town Lake Animal Center because you think it's a No Kill facility now, please think again. It is not. In the month of March alone (two-thirds of which occurred after the No Kill vote), the shelter killed 441 animals. Please do not take your beloved pet to TLAC unless you absolutely have no other option.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So what are your other options? First, ask for help. There are great resources available to you to find solutions to common pet challenges. Here's one from the ASPCA on </span><a href="http://www.aspcabehavior.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">common pet behavior issues</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Or you could contact Austin Pets Alive's </span><a href="http://www.austinpetsalive.org/get-pet-help/pass/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Positive Alternative to Shelter Surrender program</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Second, before surrendering your pet to a pound, please also contact local rescue groups in your area to see if they might help you solve your issues or find another home for your pet. You should also contact your local limited-admission no-kill shelters (like Austin's </span><a href="http://www.austinhumanesociety.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Austin Humane Society</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">). Third, you should attempt to use other resources (like Craigslist) to re-home your pet, or your family friends, or church members, etc. Here's another site with helpful information on re-homing a pet from </span><a href="http://www.bestfriends.org/nomorehomelesspets/pdf/howtofindhomesforpets.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Best Friends</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The point is: TLAC is not yet a No Kill shelter. It will get there, but it isn't there yet. Please don't let your pet be another statistic by surrendering it to TLAC at this time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Best,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The FixAustin.org Team</span></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-26172739985372979672010-04-08T12:39:00.003-05:002010-04-08T12:51:56.398-05:00Keeping Them Honest: TLAC Grossly Overstating Owner-Surrender Increase<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Hi folks,</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Some of you may have seen news stories reporting an argument made by Town Lake Animal Center's management team that there has been a huge increase in animals surrendered to the shelter by their owners since the Austin City Council passed the historic No Kill resolution on March 12, 2010. It is appropriate for the shelter to let people know that the shelter </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">is not yet No Kill</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and won't be until after all of the Council's No Kill reforms have been enacted. But it is </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">not</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> appropriate for the shelter to grossly overstate their case for a dramatic increase in owner surrenders, as the shelter is doing.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:small;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Here's the case being made by TLAC in the news: because owner surrenders over the 26 days following the No Kill resolution are up 46 over the same period last year, the resolution is causing an increase in owner surrenders. First of all, let's just say that any mathematician would giggle at the idea that because one thing happened after the other that the second was caused by the first. Mathematicians would also giggle at the idea that one could prove causation by statistics; to the contrary, one can only prove correlation by statistics.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But regardless, a plain look at the historical data demonstrates that TLAC is grossly overstating its case for the assertion that the No Kill resolution is causing an increase in owner surrenders. Why? Because the number of animals surrendered to the shelter by their owners</span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> was already increasing this year over last year before the No Kill resolution was passed</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. As a result, one cannot conclude that the resolution caused the increase because there was an increase </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">both before and after</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> the resolution was passed.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Please note that this is </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">not</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to say that Austin going No Kill will not increase owner surrenders. That may happen when people think the shelter is a safe place. And given that intake is considerably higher in Summer months, we should anticipate a greater increase in owner surrenders this year over last year if the trend is already demonstrating an increase in owner surrenders. In any event, we make this point only to demonstrate that TLAC is grossly overstating its case now. The data simply does not prove what they claim.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Here's the data:</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><div><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Change in Per-Month Owner-Surrenders from Last Year to this Year:</span></u></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">26-day Period After 3/12 Referendum (reported by KXAN):<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>+46</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">March 2010:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>Not Yet Reported by TLAC</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">February 2010:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>Not Yet Reported by TLAC</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">January 2010:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>+37</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">December 2009:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>+29</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">November 2009:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>+36</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">October 2009:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>+31</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Best,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The FixAustin.org Team</span></div></span></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37374522.post-61577657943352046892010-03-06T12:34:00.003-06:002010-03-06T12:39:57.080-06:00Austin City Council to Decide Whether to Make Austin a No Kill City This Thursday, March 11, at 10am<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">T</span>his is perhaps the biggest news in the No Kill world since Reno, NV, went No Kill in 2007. This Thursday, March 11, the Austin City Council will decide whether Austin, Texas, will join the ranks of America's No Kill cities. The Council is considering a plan of proven methods to produce No Kill success: (1) low-cost and free spay-neuter programs; (2) a comprehensive adoption program including off-site adoptions; (3) keeping open the downtown shelter once the city's new shelter opens outside of the city center; and (4) a large-scale foster program.</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The No Kill plan has now been posted on the City Council's website in </span><a href="http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/council_meetings/item_attachments.cfm?meetingid=206&itemid=12515&item=21"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Agenda Item #21</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If you want to help make Austin a No Kill City, we ask that you please send an e-mail to the Austin City Council members asking them to pass the plan. Their e-mails are: lee.leffingwell@ci.austin.tx.us, mike.martinez@ci.austin.tx.us, laura.morrison@ci.austin.tx.us, chris.riley@ci.austin.tx.us, randi.shade@ci.austin.tx.us, bill.spelman@ci.austin.tx.us, and sheryl.cole@ci.austin.tx.us.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">THANK YOU for your help!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The FixAustin.org Team</span></div>Fix Austin!http://www.blogger.com/profile/17990000272775674413noreply@blogger.com