{"id":7489,"date":"2015-08-30T02:32:25","date_gmt":"2015-08-30T02:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=7489"},"modified":"2015-08-30T20:28:49","modified_gmt":"2015-08-30T20:28:49","slug":"want-to-help-solve-the-loose-dog-problem-start-with-our-readers-digest-of-animal-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=7489","title":{"rendered":"Want to help solve the loose dog problem? Start with our Readers Digest of Animal Issues."},"content":{"rendered":"

First, yes, we know this is a long-ish document. It\u2019s a complicated problem, but the good news is that we have condensed\u00a0years of\u00a0conversation into just a few pages. Please read it all to help understand the issues from a user\u2019s and tax payer\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n

Animal issues are the number one complaint heard by city council members across the city.<\/strong> Loose animals, aggressive animals, dumped animals, unvaccinated and unneutered animals are all part of the challenges facing our city. These issues are often associated with high crime rates and quality of life issues and they make our neighborhoods, schools, tourist areas, and targeted areas of economic development unsafe.<\/p>\n

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Downtown Dallas during the Final Four<\/p><\/div>\n

This crisis level issue has received both national attention and coverage from all the local media outlets\u00a0(we\u2019ve collected some of the press here<\/a>), including a recent Dallas Morning News expose which included: front page of the Sunday paper with content above and below the fold with a huge color photo<\/a>; a double-page spread inside with eight photos, the graphic with Scott Griggs\u2019 memo to the Mayor<\/a>; yet a third inside page with another photo and graphic and another sidebar on how suburban shelters are dealing with the problem<\/a>; PLUS the entire editorial space in the Points section, with “four things that would go a long way toward fixing<\/a>” the problem, along with contact information for the mayor and all council members. This is massive! Add to the print edition all the online coverage, with the slide shows<\/a>, a heart wrenching video<\/a>, interactive map<\/a> and, of course, Sharon Grigsby’s blog posts that started it all<\/p>\n

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Our girl Tasha knows, it is a vicious cycle indeed<\/p><\/div>\n

In recent years, Dallas Animal Services (DAS) has made a conscious shift away from animal control and enforcement. This shift disregarded the requests and orders of Council as well as the will of the taxpayers and voters. This shift in policy has led us to today, where loose animals are a crisis level safety and quality of life issue in our southern sector neighborhoods and this problem is creating unhappy citizen who are ready to move out of the city<\/a> to get away from their unsafe neglected neighborhoods. The issue is not only driving people away, it is blocking investment and the success of the Mayor\u2019s Grow South initiative.<\/p>\n

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These third generation street puppies were born under a house that was for sale. The momma dog would not let investors and realtors on the property.<\/p><\/div>\n

After a full spread in the Dallas Morning News<\/a>, we should not waste another minute debating whether or not there is a problem (Check the Dallas Morning News\u2019 311 interactive loose animal map<\/a>) or if the problem will spread to other areas in the city\u2026it will (see the Dallas Morning News article about animals issues in City\u2019s that border Dallas<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Crisis level animal issues have been on the agenda in District 1 for several years. After several years of high levels discussions<\/a> with DAS about animal issues in his district and three recent separate dog attacks in District 1 in a week, District 1 Councilman Scott Griggs was compelled to send a memo<\/a> to the Mayor asking for a the full council to receive a briefing <\/a>on the DAS budget and their plan to address the crisis level issues. The memo included\u00a0<\/a>concerns some\u00a0regarding: improved governance, budgeting, a friends policy, policy and procedure review, and metrics.<\/p>\n

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Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n

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He is essentially telling The Mayor and the Council that there are ethical issues with the head of DAS being on an advisor board designed to advise the head of DAS. He wants to remove conflicts of interest and give the Animal Commission the power to serve and support the needs of the people.<\/p>\n

He is kindly asking that the city look into why when the City gave DAS the money and headcount for a large number\u00a0of staff, DAS did not hire the staff. To add insult to injury, DAS continued to tell the public they didn\u2019t have enough budget or people to address\u00a0our loose animal issues. \u00a0The council will look into if DAS is mismanaging their money and not doing what is requested of them by Council and the citizens. Griggs is asking for answers and accountability.<\/p>\n

Councilman Griggs\u00a0is recommending to the Mayor that things would go a lot smoother if DAS would work out a policy and procedure to work with active communities like ours to help address the animal issues.<\/p>\n

He continues to then point out that the policy and procedures need to be re-written and reviewed and that council needs to help set their goals and hold DAS\u00a0accountable to their goals.<\/p>\n

The last most fabulous point is that he is recommending the council needs to review data on loose dogs so it can inform enforcement and educational initiatives and the budget needed to enact those efforts.<\/p>\n

What a powerful\u00a0memo. As the City Council hears a briefing from DAS, it is\u00a0also important\u00a0\u00a0for citizens to help City leadership fully understand the identified and documented issues and to help\u00a0them to be accountable to a plan that solves our animal issues in both the short and long term.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where the people\u2019s voice is important: what will the City\u2019s goals be ? What will our measure of success be across each step along the way? What are we trying to accomplish for our neighborhoods, our residents, and our City\u2019s overall reputation<\/p>\n

Business plan 101 \/ Budget<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to address animal issues across Dallas, the city must examine the needs and the roadblocks. Funding and staffing are always the first lines of defense against any criticism of the current failing system. In order to understand what is the proper level of funding, DAS must have measurable goals and a short and long term business plan which includes a high level focus on animal control.<\/p>\n

Agreed upon goals and metrics are important. As every business owner knows, you only improve what you measure. Let\u2019s make sure everyone is aligned and accountable to what the citizens<\/strong> ask of the City and their leaders. Hiring more officers will not ensure the problems will be addressed. Headcount and budget are not the real issues.<\/p>\n

Take the opportunity to restructure and modernize<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps from years of making due with a reduced budget, Dallas Animal Services\u2019 policies and best practices have fallen behind. Countless dogs slip through the cracks via mistakes, miscommunication, poor training, and confusion around DAS policy everyday. Too long animal issues have been dismissed and neglected by the City and now citizens are paying the price with \u201cblood and bone\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best you can do with what you have\u201d is no longer\u00a0good enough. Our city and its residents are suffering harm and they deserve better. Today we stand at a cross roads as we face this crisis level issue, let\u2019s not just ask our City leaders to raise the bar, let\u2019s ask our world class City to be an industry leader as we search for solutions to this systemic problem.<\/p>\n

Embrace Change<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In order for DAS\u00a0to address the known problems and to realize full success with the citizens they serve, they must reorganize and revamp their best practices to reflect modern behaviorally sound SOPs, roll out a Field Services model that uses behaviorally sound practices to catch loose animals, and they need to embrace and adopt a community service model of prevention, intervention, and enforcement to achieve their short and long term goals. Without this systemic change and evaluation, animal issues and the safety of our communities cannot be fully addressed.<\/p>\n

Current best practices and training<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lack of appropriate training endangers employees, citizens, and animals on a daily basis. Current best practices and training are so ineffective and insufficient tragic mistakes are made everyday. Mistakes in life and death temperament assessments, mistakes in simple tasks like documenting people\u2019s contact information, mistakes in contacting a chipped pet\u2019s owners, in adoption practices, and even mistakes that leave dangerous dogs on our streets. There is plenty of documentation to support these cracks and weakness in the foundation of the organization. Let\u2019s rebuild a new framework to hold up the organization and give them the tools to allow them to succeed.<\/p>\n

Use the Public Information Office (PIO) <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

What does Dallas Animal Services stand for? Kill? No-Kill? Catch and Kill? Working through the PIO allows the marketing and message house to be consistent with the City\u2019s objectives, brand, and goals. This ensures a consistent City approved<\/strong> message house<\/strong> that aligns City Council, DAS, the Animal Shelter Commission, and DCAP; currently, their goals and message house are not aligned (see the HSUS 2010 report<\/a>\u00a0– section 9).<\/p>\n

This oversight will also ensure that the messaging will come from a trained, experienced marketing professional. Social media is an increasingly important vehicle to elevate the City\u2019s brand and create a crafted impression the City wants to leave on citizens, visitors, and international business and events. Official websites and Facebook pages are branding tools, let the DAS and other city websites and Facebook pages reside under the PIO.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, the PIO can help align department like 311, 911, Parks and Rec, Code, and Animal Services under one umbrella of a \u201cculture of clean\u201d. One consistent voice and message house from the City regarding policy, prevention, intervention, and enforcement will be important to changing the animal culture in our city and for our City\u2019s growth. From Mayor Mike Rawlings, “\u201cTo attract business capital, you\u2019ve got to be clean…you have to look good…\u00a0the issue of loose dogs is bedeviling efforts to revitalize southern Dallas.”<\/p>\n

Measure need, goals, accountability, and success<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get on the same page! Currently voters, taxpayers and council want loose dogs picked up. DAS does not think picking up loose dogs is worth the return on investment. DAS currently measure of success is live release rates. The citizens\u2019 safety and quality of life is not currently measured, nor is it a measure of success. Advocate for DAS and DCAP to move from a culture where lowering euthanasia rates is the top measure of success to a more balanced approach where safety and quality of life and working towards a city wide spay and neuter culture are measured indicators of success. Lower euthanasia rates will be a result of that long term strategic plan, but live release should not the top priority; that priority and viewpoint is counterproductive to solving the problems at hand.<\/p>\n

From Mayor Mike Rawlings, \u201c\u00a0When there are loose dogs in the street,\u201d Rawlings said, \u201cwe need to come out and get them.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the\u00a0independent\u00a02010 HSUS report<\/a> (section 9.1):<\/strong>\u201c…there was obvious dichotomy between the City Council\u2019s goals and the goals of the Animal Shelter Commission as well as the animal welfare community. The latter two placed a high priority on moving the community toward lower euthanasia rates. On the other hand, The City Council established a goal to increase impoundment\u2014the FY09\u201010 City Council objective to impound 37,713 animals represented an 85% increase over FY08\u201009. …This disparity in goals was fueling a continuing conflict between the City Council, DCCS leadership, DAS management and staff, the Animal Shelter Commission, the nonprofit animal welfare community, and the public.”<\/p>\n

Policy and Procedure<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Conflicting information and incorrect policy is constantly being given out to the public. Regardless of being shorthanded or understaffed, all DAS staff should be competent and understand policy, including management. If the challenges of training temp employees is too difficult, then an overhaul of the staffing and hiring process should be considered.<\/p>\n

If DAS and City management doesn\u2019t have time to set a vision and address the citizen\u2019s issues in a timely manner, bring in a consultant who can. Dallas Animal Services\u2019 negative reputation can be attributed to a regular stream of misinformation about policy and procedure. As the press has shown us<\/a>, this negative reality sticks to the City\u2019s brand as well, at a national and international level.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just about budget and staffing.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some broad strokes IDEAS<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0from a users perspective that will allow the City to meet the goal of safer neighborhoods and an improved safety and quality of life for our neighbors and our city’s\u00a0animals.<\/p>\n

Budget and auditing<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n