So Whats The Answer

[AmandaJ]

Ive had three beagles and 2 Maremmas in 35 years.

Any chance of a copy of your "owner criteria" check list please - I'd like to compare notes....

OOPs sleping rerror

Edited November 17, 2010 by AmandaJ

[Steve]

Ive had three beagles and 2 Maremmas in 35 years.

Any chance of a copy of your "owner criteria" check list please - I'd like to compare notes....

OOPs sleping rerror

I dont have one. I talk to them and listen a lot. I dont just talk about the dogs but everything - just nice comfortable chats.

I learned a long time ago if anyone really wanted to scam me they would have every question I could have on a criteria list down pat but the longer I make you chat and relax with a conversation little clues give you away.

Julie

[shortstep]

They've done it without BSL, restricting ownership, pet number limits, ownership licences or mandatory desexing.

Because their community see them as a resource, not someone 'out to get them', there is an enormous amount of trust. You just can't get that if people are hiding their pit bulls or their 'extra' pet.

They come down hard on people who do the wrong thing, but all their staff are trained in mediation so they use it as a chance to bring about change in owner behaviour, not just deem the owner 'irresponsible' and wait for something bad to happen. They also take proactive action; if you register four large breeds for example, they'll come around for a chat to make sure you know how to care for them appropriately.

This video is long, but it outlines their whole program and approach:

** edited for spelling **

That is just brilliant and the best thing I have heard in ages!

I have been to Calgary a few times back in the 1990s for dog activities, they are a very dog friendly city. I also note that the video was taken in Santa Barbara California, another place I have been and also a very friendly dog area. I wonder if they took up this program, I will try to find out.

Everyone on here should watch this video.

Just a few highlights from the first few minutes.

In North America (US and Canada) we do not have a problem with over population, strays or vicious animals. What we have as problem with irresponsible pet owners.

We can not do things the same way all the time and think we will get different results.

4 goals to responsible pet ownership.

1. Lic and permanent ID for pets

2. Encourage spay or neuter pets

3. Promote training, physical care, socialization, medial attention.

4. To not allow pets to become a threat or a nuisance in the community.

Pet owners rights are them protected, may have as many pets as they like. They do not want to regulate everything you do, what they want is for you to be a responsible owner and not come to their attention because the dog was a threat or nuisance.

Talk about doing things differently!

Too much conflict between interested groups, need mediators between Government vs owners vs welfare groups vs breeders vets trainers, all should have the same goals and need to be on the same page and give the same message to the public.

Minimum standard of behavior must be a law.

Path to compliance, mediation over prosecution

Based on agreed rules

How do you know it is working,

Want roaming animal come down

More dogs lic

More dogs return faster to owners and not taken to shelter.

Number of charges goes down

Citizen satisfaction goes up

Costs goes down

Compliance

Special truck units just for this program

Air and water in trucks. Ramps and large kennels so can accommodate all dogs. Less physical contact better for dog less like to provoke aggression in dog on ranger.

For example ranger has information on chip in his truck, find owner from truck and will return dog to owner at the time. Then the ranger evaluated the history of this owner/dog. Is this the 10th time then maybe they need a ticket, education is always the preferred choice over prosecution.

It goes on and on.

This really is a great idea and I think it would be wonderful if we could try to get this going.

[shortstep]

More good stuff from Canada video.

They map out where animals are picked up, found most cats came from Low income areas. So they offer spay neuter based on income to ehlp control population in low incoma areas.

Lot on how they work to rehome the dogs. Problems dogs are screened out and go to foster homes for help!!!!

Dogs Ok for adoption go to shelters made to be better places, nice calm clean place, nice for people and animals.

Purebreds returned to breeders.

All dogs with photo are posted on web site within 15 min of reaching shelter. Breeders often get tattos on their pups and is registered to them, shelters will call them.

Heaps more, this is a get video and great method with heaps of new ideas.

Edited November 18, 2010 by shortstep

[moosmum]

'Dumpage' rates and euthanasia rates are two quite separate issues.

There will always be a percentage of pets who for a myriad of reasons will not stay in their homes.

Sometimes its because the person is genuinely 'irresponsible', but if that is the case it is our job to recieve and protect pets from them. To suggest 'animal management' could fix a problem that is a reality of society (people aren't perfect; some drive without a licence, beat their kids, take drugs) is unrealistic.

But more often it is a good owner with a problem they see as insurmoutable. Their personal situation has changed (10-15 years is a long time - many marriages don't last that long!), or the pet was an incorrect choice, or the owner had problems they couldn't overcome. We need to focus on these factors; pet friendly housing, pet selection help and training and behavioural support... the more accessible these support systems are, the lower the surrender rate will be.

Although we don't give them much credit, most people are trying to do the right thing. If they're given the right support and tools we could get better outcomes.

Euthanasia rate is not tied to surrender rate. News today that twice as many people are adopting dogs as ten years ago DOUBLE! Smarter marketing, less blame culture, a more welcoming environment, a breakdown in the perception that rescue dogs are all 'abused', online tools and pounds who have moved shelters from being 'garbage disposal agents' to actually taking responsibility for finding new homes for the animals in their care.

We only need about an extra 250,000 homes each year for the shelters to be empty. 'They' reckon 10% of pets come from pet shops (and that number is about half a million), so we have 90% (4.5million per year) being purchased elsewhere. Shelters only need to grab 5% of that to have the 'problem' licked.

But the best thing? For both of these issues we don't have to speculate or guess.

There are communities who have solved the problem.

Calgary has a 90-95% dog licensing compliance rate (most Australian councils sit around 50-60%) and 94% of the dogs AND CATS who enter their system come out alive. They also saw in 2008, the lowest number of aggressive dog incidents they’ve had in over 25 years.

Every dollar that they raise from animal licensing (and fines for non-compliance) go back into funding animal control — not back into the city’s slush fund. So with an operating budget of $3.5-4.0 million, they are able to really do some things right with their animal control department.

They strongly encourage all people who license their dogs to also have them microchipped (which allows the dogs to be scanned and the owner determined immediately). Every animal control vehicle is equipped with a scanner — so if they find a stray dog, the animal control officer can instantly scan the dog for the chip, and deliver the dog home free of charge (although there are fines if your dog becomes a frequent flyer).

This home delivery a) is a service for people who obey the rules and b) saves money in animal control costs because stray dogs seldom even make it to their shelter. They are returned home where the dog belongs. The city then doesn’t incur the costs of putting the dog in the shelter, maintaining the dog while it’s in the shelter, food etc. Bruce’s goal for next year is to gett 50% of the dogs returned directly home without ever reaching the shelter.

If a dog does end up making it to the shelter, its photo is taken immediately and placed on their webpage within 15 minutes of the dog reaching the shelter. All the dogs in the shelter are treated for the basic diseases – -and if a dog is found injured, animal control will take the dog to a vet. The vets treat the dogs because a) animal control is usually able to find the owner of the dog because they’re all licensed and b) if they don’t, animal control will cover the medical costs associated with treating that dog. Wow.

Calgary built a new shelter for their animals about 5-8 years ago that is state of the art…and has never been filled to its capacity.

Calgary also focuses a lot of its energies on education and encouraging responsible dog ownership. They have a full time staff member, that is trained in education, that puts together a public education program. They have six specific programs that are part fof their public school’s curriculum that emphasizes respect for living things.

Calgary also has 140 dedicated off-leash areas for dogs — so that’s 140 “dog parks”. Kansas City, MO is struggling to find a way to get a second one. These off-leash areas provide a ton of areas for socialization for the dogs to learn how to interact with other dogs and other people.

The net results of their efforts have been impressive. Over the past 18 years, the city of Calgary has cut their number of dog bites and chases by more than 50% (all the while, the human and dog population of Calgary has doubled). Last year calgary only had to euthenize 256 animals (Kansas City, KS alone euthenized 5,000 DOGS last year, the KC metro area kills in the neighborhood of 40,000 dogs and cats each year). Almost all of the euthenizations came from dogs that had behavioral or health issues. Bruce estimates that Calgary will become a true no-kill city within the next 3-5 years.

They've done it without BSL, restricting ownership, pet number limits, ownership licences or mandatory desexing.

Because their community see them as a resource, not someone 'out to get them', there is an enormous amount of trust. You just can't get that if people are hiding their pit bulls or their 'extra' pet.

They come down hard on people who do the wrong thing, but all their staff are trained in mediation so they use it as a chance to bring about change in owner behaviour, not just deem the owner 'irresponsible' and wait for something bad to happen. They also take proactive action; if you register four large breeds for example, they'll come around for a chat to make sure you know how to care for them appropriately.

This video is long, but it outlines their whole program and approach:

** edited for spelling **

Sorry,I'm not computer savy enough to do it,but maybe this video link should be posted on the news section of DOL,it deserves better coverage than its going to get in this thread.