Animal Care Alternative Not Dead Yet

Tuesday night the Lake Forest City Council took one step forward in getting better care for their residents and pets. If you recall, two months ago Council members Voigts, Robinson, and Hamilton ordered the staff to stop looking for alternatives to using the OC Shelter. That made Lake Forest the only City in South Orange County that doesn’t have a no kill shelter or is isn’t actively looking for one. Hardly a distinction one covets.

Despite the opposition from the Councilmen in December, I have been working with a group of individuals to develop an alternative that takes the best practices of the current animal care system and sculpts them to the needs and reality of Lake Forest. The preliminary report was presented to the Council, and with unanimous approval, the Council instructed the staff to analyze the report and determine whether or not the assumptions and calculations were correct, and whether or not the alternative was viable. The staff will report back to the Council in March, in advance of the Council’s need to vote on whether or not to continue with the County Shelter.

The proposed model will eliminate the need for any physical shelter. Instead, animal control officers will deliver animals directly to local Veterinarians, who will provide the initial care and treatment and then transfer the animals to an adoption center or appropriate rescue group.

The advantages of the proposed system are better service, better care, and lower costs.

Better service

· Trips to recover your pet take minutes not hours

· Advice and support (“Help Desk”) is available locally, to assist in keeping your pet in your home, thus reducing admissions.

· Important services (microchip, spay and neuter) are available locally and less expensive.

Better care

· Animals come directly to Vets instead of going to the OC shelter where disease is more prevalent and behavioral disorders more likely. As a result pets are easier to adopt and less costly to care for.

· Animals are housed in modern conditions or in foster homes, with less stress and better health conditions, making them more adoptable.

◦ Animals spend a few minutes in the truck instead of all day.

◦ Ratio of volunteers to pets is increased, providing better care and making animals more sociable, hence more adoptable.

◦ No more killing for space, or killing because they are too young.

Better Financial Picture

· Increased revenue for local businesses and residents ($700,000 stays in Lake Forest)

· Preventive programs lower “at risk” animals and pets, meaning fewer animals in the system, lowering costs

· “Zero admissions” policies reduces admissions, lowering costs.

· Projected operating costs and expenses are in balance.

· Start-up costs are projected at $150,000 vs. staying with OC Animal Care for which the City may pay up to $900,000.

Jobs and Opportunities in Lake Forest

In addition to providing better service, better care, and lowering costs, the proposed program would bring 4 jobs into the City along with providing opportunities for dozens of people to get involved in helping animals. The jobs would be in the area of animal control and in administering the program. As currently envisioned the program would be administered by a nonprofit group that would contract with the City.

PS - The photo is courtesy of Kristy McLean

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be on Mar 26 at 2 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library