Lake Forest Animal Network. Part 2 - Needs Assessment

Yesterday we looked at the current status with regard to the provision of animal care services to the City of Lake Forest. For about $600,000 per year, the County provides poor service and poor care and kills a high percent of the animals who come in. Going forward, the County wants the City to pay them up to $900,000 to help build a new shelter in Tustin, with no indication that service or care are going to be increased. In the unlikely event that either service or care was improved, the annual costs would escalate proportionately.

Based on the animal care population and the associated issues, is there an alternative model that could provide better service, better care, at an equivalent price?

The animal population requiring attention in Lake Forest is different from many other cities. In the first place, the numbers of animals that go through the system are small, and on a proportional basis even smaller. For every 1,000 residents, we have 2.4 dogs, 1.5 cats, and a total of 6.25 animals in the system. Our neighbors like Laguna Hills and San Juan Capistrano have 2.9 and 3.2 dogs per 1,000 residents, 1.9 cats, and 6.4 and 6.5 total animals per 1,000 residents.

Another difference is that the bulk of the stray dogs and cats are in pretty good shape and don’t require extensive veterinarian treatment.

Because of these differences, meeting the needs of the residents and animals in Lake Forest need not necessarily follow the old service delivery models. Before we discuss alternative models, let’s explore the data more intensely. Based on an intensive analysis of every intake during the year of 2014, here is what we found –

ADMISSIONS

Including live and dead animals, on an average day, fewer than 2 animals were picked up, and in fact for 92 days not a single animal was picked up. On the busiest day, 8 animals were picked up, but that happened only once, and on only 17 occasions were more than four animals picked up on any one day.

In terms of live dogs and cats, less than 1 animal per day went through the system, with an average of 6 animals every week. On 177 days, no dogs or cats were picked up.

Bottom line – the intake of animals is relatively low.

CAPACITY

With such low intake, you can imagine that capacity is also relatively low. Capacity refers to how many live animals enter the system and stay until adopted, transferred to a rescue group, or euthanized.

In 2014, on average, 5 Lake Forest animals were in the shelter. The range was from 0 (only a few days) to 14 (only 4 days). Generally speaking fewer than 4 dogs were in residence at any one time, and only once were there as many as 8.

Cat admissions were seasonal, peaking in January and March with an average of 3 to 4 per day. From mid May through mid November there were rarely any cats.

“Other” animals (like raccoons, possums, skunks) came into the shelter but most were wounded and died shortly thereafter. Only two dozen animals survived long enough to be returned to the wild or transferred to a rescue group.

Bottom line – at any one time, only a handful of animals were in residence. Bear in mind, OCAC is not known for its adoption services, so with a more aggressive adoption process, the average stay for animals is likely to be even less.

SERVICES BASED ON NEEDS

Looking at the needs outlined above, we can begin to extrapolate the services that are required.

Animal Health

Nearly half of the animals that came through the system in 2014 were seriously injured and most of those died shortly after admission. Of the ones who came in relatively healthy, only 79 dogs, 4 cats and 2 “other” were returned to their owners. That left 64 dogs, 58 cats, 23 birds, and 27 “other” animals who required some attention by a Veterinarian.

In terms of Veterinarian care, about 1 or 2 live animals per day required at least a cursory exam. The number and nature of the problems doesn’t justify any permanent staff, so the best way to provide the appropriate care is to contract with local Veterinarians. Fortunately Lake Forest is blessed with an abundance of highly skilled and compassionate Veterinarians, many of whom have agreed to cooperate.

Animal Control

With fewer than 2 animals picked up every day, along with less than 1 dead animal, the animal control service could be adequately maintained by two Field Officers (FO) who would provide coverage 7 days a week and overlap a few days a week. Bear in mind that there are many days when no animals are picked up at all. Thus, with the overlap and the no animal pickup days, FOs could also conduct many of the investigations that are necessary, including animal bite investigations, wild animal reports, animal cruelty investigations, etc. On any given day there is an average of 6 of these types of investigations. If needed, personnel from STARS could supplement the investigations.

Lake Forest is 18 square miles, so we would have 1 FO for every 9 square miles. Mission Viejo uses 1 FO for every 10 square miles, and Newport Beach uses 1 FO for every 8 square miles.

Licensing

Lake Forest is estimated to have over 16,000 dogs living in the City, of which 8,201 were licensed in 2014. Our overall compliance rate is about 42%, which is about average, however, next door in Mission Viejo the compliance rate is greater than 60%, and in some cities it is higher than 70% and some can be as high as 90% (e.g., Calgary). A more aggressive and more intelligent licensing program has room to generate considerably more revenue, and for that reason, a full time staff member whose sole focus is licensing is recommended. This person could be aided by STARS personnel as needed.

Animal Care

With a few dogs and the occasional cat, animal care can easily be given by a group of volunteers and coordinated by a single staff member. That same staff member can handle the administrative needs that include reporting requirements, etc. . .

This person, or the Pet Center Manager, should be a licensed Vet Technician, so that any questions about animal health and wellbeing can be addressed quickly and effectively.

Pet Center

Having a handful of dogs and a cat or two does not a shelter require. The American Humane Association recommends 100 square feet for each dog and 50 square feet for each cat. On this basis, a Pet Center that houses no more than 8 dogs and no more than a dozen cats would require 1,400 square feet which would be sufficient to handle the busiest day. Bear in mind that on most days there are no more than 4 dogs and no more than 1 cat, so 1,400 square feet is a lot of space. This is the size of the average home on a single level.

Summary

Based on an intensive analysis of the animals from Lake Forest who came through the OCAC system in 2014, our need for service includes

· Contract services from local Veterinarians for 1 to 2 animals per day

· Two animal control officers

· One licensing specialist

· Two animal care workers, one of whom is a licensed Vet Technician

· A Pet Center at least 1,400 square feet

Tomorrow we’ll look at the way the model would work and on Thursday we’ll look at the budget implications of this service delivery model. On March 15 the Council will consider whether or not we adopt a model based on this analysis.

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 March 26 at 2 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.

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