.
What a difference six-months can make!
For all of Washoe County, cat and dog adoptions increased about 100%. The euthanasia rate for cats and dogs dropped about 50% in one year. The Washoe Co. public shelter alone takes in 13,000 animals a year.
From the NHS website:
Thanks to our wonderful partnership with the terrific team at Washoe County Animal Services, all the hard working rescue and humane groups, the many fantastic volunteers, and our dedicated staff, we continue to see a dramatic reduction in the number of dogs and cats dying in animal shelters in Washoe County.
Our save rate for dogs is 91%. This put us among the safest communities in the county for dogs, though still not as high as we aim to be.
For comparison: Charlottesville, Virginia saves 92% of their dogs, Tompkins County NY saves 91% of their dogs, and San Francisco saves roughly 86% of their dogs.We still have some considerable work to do for our feline friends as the save rate for them, while dramatically better than last year, was 77%.
Comparing the period Jan 1 – May 9 for both 2007 and 2006, combined for NHS and WCAS:
The kill rate for dogs dropped 53.36%, from 18.4% in 2006 to 8.6% in 2007
The kill rate for cats dropped 46.74%, from 43.2% in 2006 to 23.0% in 2007
The kill rate for dogs more than halved, and the kill rate for cats almost halved.
The adoption rate for dogs increased 96.5%, from 22.2% in 2006 to 43.6% in 2007
The adoption rate for cats increased 90.65%, from 19.9% in 2006 to 37.9% in 2007
The adoption rates for both dogs and cats almost doubled.
It is important to note that even no-kill communities kill some animals. Euthanasia can be the most humane alternative for animals who are seriously ill or injured, and vicious dogs who pose a threat to public safety cannot be put up for adoption.
Humane Society Website:
http://nevadahumanesociety.org/
Statistics
http://nevadahumanesociety.org/pdf/NHS_YTDstats5-9-07.pdf
Apologists for LAAS will say no matter what happened there, LAAS is different and much more difficult. Many LAAS don't perform. There is civil service here. There is a union here. We are an 8 cylinder dept operating on 4 cylinders.
Let's be clear about this. LAAS has either 321 employees as per the budget, or 400 as per Boks to Council. We take in 46,000 animals and kill 41%.
Philadelphia has 60 and takes in 25,000; SF has 50 employees and takes in 11,000; Charlottesville has 40 employees and I forgot how many they take in.
That is respectively, 417 animals per employee, and 220 per employee.
LAAS takes in far less, 141 animals per employee.
Even if only half of LAAS's staff showed up per day, we'd have about the same ratio of employees to animals, and about 1/3 the number per employee as Philadelphia.
Therefore, blaming LAAS' poor statistics on staff incompetence is a non-starter. Spending a lot of time reforming the department's infrastructure rather than saving animals now is a waste of time and lives.
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