{"id":9142,"date":"2016-11-13T23:31:48","date_gmt":"2016-11-13T23:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=9142"},"modified":"2017-01-17T22:32:42","modified_gmt":"2017-01-17T22:32:42","slug":"its-gypsy-dog-opss-4th-anniversary-were-still-here-and-das-is-still-tragically-broken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=9142","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Gypsy Dog Ops’s 4th Anniversary – We\u2019re Still Here and DAS is STILL TRAGICALLY Broken"},"content":{"rendered":"

While October marked the five year anniversary of the arrival\u00a0of Mommas, or as most of you know her, Tasha the husky<\/a>, and her pack<\/a>, Sunday, November 13 marked the four year anniversary of the inception of Gypsy Dog Ops and the capture of Tasha. On the day we caught her, as she was laying on the surgery table<\/a> under anesthesia, dying from an infection caused by being inappropriately, and ineptly, shot, with malice, by DAS, with a cattle tranquilizer dart<\/a>,\u00a0a dart that was so deeply embedded in her shoulder bone that it took surgery and a strong man to pull it out, I made her a promise. I promised Tasha that I would not stop until Dallas Animal Services (DAS) policy and procedures were changed to the point that the multi year, inhumane, incompetent, side show that led to Tasha’s injury and the multiple generations of her pack, could never happen again.<\/p>\n

As I stared at the unconscious suffering dog and the life threatening injury and seething infection in her shoulder, I wondered how the city declined so far to a substandard place where not only was a dog NOT better off for the city\u2019s animal control\u2019s intervention, but much worse off. How could a city\u2019s animal control department treat an animal so inhumanly and fail so miserably? Four years later, I can answer that question definitively and many other mind bending questions about DAS.\u00a0Unfortunately, I cannot, despite best efforts all this time, tell Tasha that things are any better yet.<\/p>\n

Before we talk about our journey with DAS, let\u2019s talk for a minute about our journey with Tasha. On this bitter sweet anniversary, we are ready to announce that Tasha has found her forever home. She will join Chankla as part of the permanent house pack. This seems like something to celebrate, but before you jump to a happy, fluffy, feel good conclusions about how \u201cit is destiny\u201d and how \u201cshe belongs here\u201d and how \u201cit is meant to be\u201d, understand that we love her, but we are the only option for Tasha. The city\u2019s chronic unhealthy and inhumane treatment of this dog has damaged this dog\u2019s psyche and changed her physiology to the point that to ask her to make any kind of environmental move, now or in the future, would take her back to zero and cause her emotional distress that could cause her physical harm. After four years of rehabilitation, we are not willing to take that peace, safety, and stability from her. She can stay here with us and live out her life comfortably, safely, and with love. She is home and we can now add dog sanctuary to the resume.<\/p>\n

Sometime in the future, we\u2019ll discuss her journey and her rehabilitation as she is a fascinating creature and there is much to be learned from her journey, but today we are\u00a0looking at the promise I made Tasha and the progress at Dallas Animal Services and\u00a0in\u00a0our fine City.<\/p>\n

It is important to understand what citizens and loose animals, like Tasha, have been through over the past five years and it is just as important to understand our needs moving forward. We\u2019ve already written the war and peace of animal issues <\/a>and several reader’s digests<\/a> along this journey, one at the very beginning,<\/a> and one very recently and a few in between<\/a>. Sadly, they all look very similar.<\/a> As there is now \u201cnew management<\/a>\u201d temporarily in place at Dallas Animal Services, we\u2019re going to get straight to where we are today to avoid beating a dead horse, but we don\u2019t want to leave out important history, because as the old saying goes, \u201c’Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it\u201d, so we\u2019ll give a highlight reel of our journey towards the end of our review and we\u2019ll revisit \u201cneeds\u201d of the community as needed.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s go back to the very beginning. Why does Gypsy Dog Ops and the Oak Cliff Animal Initiative exist? At the crux of it all, our neighborhood had a loose dog problem<\/a>. We would call 311 and report a loose dog and nothing would happen. We would report large dog packs and nothing would happen. The packs would remain, breed, fight, and grow. Our neighborhoods and our neighbors were not safe. From a city service standpoint, is that any different today? No. Is that any different under \u201cnew management\u201d at DAS? Sadly, no.<\/p>\n

Here is the current management\u2019s statement on loose dogs, \u201cWith the resources DAS has and the concentration on picking up loose animals and answering important calls, we have to triage calls for service. Loose roaming dogs that do not display aggressive behavior will not be dispatched and 311 should be telling callers that DAS Animal Services Officers (ASO\u2019s) will not be responding to that call. The loose dog calls are used to map for deployment by DAS Field Services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year 311 received approximately 15,000 loose dog calls that went un-dispatched. So if Tasha was hypothetically called in today as a loose dog, nothing would be done. She is a loose dog. Just like last year, and all those years ago, DAS is taking monthly 311 call maps and doing \u201csweeps\u201d. Right, right, right. We won\u2019t get into that DAS wasn\u2019t doing them at all before\u2026.but OK. And those work how? And the success of those sweeps against the 311 calls is being measured how? Where are all the metrics we were promised after the BCG report? If the city is not going to take \u201cloose dog calls\u201d only \u201caggressive loose dog calls\u201d due to lack of resources (despite two years of massive budget increases) tell me again how they are going to meet the needs of the citizens? How would this new system prevent Tasha and her pack and keep the neighborhood safe? It flat out wouldn\u2019t. It is a reactive system, waiting for someone to get hurt or injured or waiting for a pack to form, a pack the city most likely cannot capture.<\/p>\n

While we understand the complexity of the challenges facing DAS more completely than most, 5 years later, for the citizens of Dallas living amongst the loose dog crisis, it\u2019s basically #SameShitDifferentDay with no meaningful relief or plan in sight. Again.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not just being ugly, here are some case study that have happened under \u201cnew management\u201d.<\/p>\n

– A\u00a0neighbor regularly lets his large dog off leash. It charged a neighbor walking their large leashed dog. Another neighbor witnessed the incident and called 911. The 911 operator said an officer would come out. The police officer called back and said that they were not coming (even though the dog was still loose in the owner\u2019s yard) and said to file with DAS and to call back when the dog was attacking someone. The resident expressed concern that the next person with a smaller pet or small child would be in great danger \u2013 imminent danger. Officer again says, call back when the dog is attacking someone.\u00a0Yes, the officer really said that twice, actually, three times!<\/p>\n

– A known in-heat stray female took\u00a0up resid\"15139630_10207638681660632_2085704017_n\"ence in someone\u2019s yard. Service
\nrequests were\u00a0made. DAS would\u00a0not come because the dog was not aggressive. The dog was (and still is) there for weeks<\/a>. A loose male dog joined the female. Now you have a breeding pack. DAS would not come, they were not aggressive, yet. C\u2019mon seriously? More male dogs are about to join the party and things are about to get aggressive. Does DAS know the story of Princess? She is on the coloring sheet they hand out to kids about spay and neuter \u2013 DAS\u00a0should be able to see the return on investment, it\u2019s simple math, for picking up a dog before it gets pregnant. Notice, the service request is closed, but the dog is still at large.<\/p>\n

\"dog-on-rugged\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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– How about the recent response to\u00a0an aggressive dog pack? It made the news<\/a>. \u00a0DAS sent ONE\u00a0officer to catch THREE loose aggressive dogs that were attacking a cat on a resident\u2019s porch. It took over an hour for DAS to respond. One of the FB comments sums it up best. The commenter first quotes Deputy Chief Sherwin from the DMN article<\/a>,\u00a0“We’re prioritizing calls and still learning how to do that\u201d and then the commenter goes onto say, “Really? Been doing it 50 years & still learning? Must be one hell of a learning curve that would allow a person to work (time wise conceivably) their entire career & still not know how to how to do their job… Wouldn’t that be like walking into a Mc Donald’s, ordering a Cheesburger only to have them tell you they don’t know how to make cheeseburgers?”<\/p>\n

– How about the known aggressive Pleasant Grove pack that was left for weeks next to two schools, and a park. They were chasing residents, bikers, and kids alike endangering all.\u00a0DAS did not capture the dogs despite a personal call from the president of a well known rescue partner to Dr McMannus, the shelter manager. \u00a0Who caught the dogs? Private citizens. Citizens sent emails to city leaders asking for a response to the city\u2019s failure. Did any city leader respond to this email? Nope.<\/p>\n

– How about this doozey where the long standing confusion about reporting through the 311 app is still a problem. A\u00a0resident made a 311 app report for a loose aggressive dog. DAS told her they closed the report because she put the word \u201caggressive\u201d in the report. \u00a0They did not proactively explain the issue or open a new service request # for her via 311 — they just closed the request and left the aggressive dog in place. The resident takeaway: never say \u201caggressive\u201d or DAS won\u2019t come – which is the opposite of reality! If you don\u2019t report a dog as aggressive, they are probably not coming. Confused yet?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget about the\u00a0botched\u00a0dog dumping investigation in Elmwood where the City accidentally took the evidence to the landfill and the failed cruelty investigation of a long time chronically loose intact male dog. The dog owner was able to renew the dog\u2019s intact license after three separate\u00a0impoundments of the intact dog. It\u00a0was also known by DAS that the dog was a trained protection, or attack dog. The dog was allowed to live in deplorable conditions and wander the neighborhood without any serious\u00a0repercussions for at least a year and a half. Even after a citizen turned the medically neglected dog in directly to Deputy Chief Sherwin at the shelter, the owner was allowed to renew the neglected dog\u2019s intact license and take the dog home without getting it medical attention or without neutering the dog. \u00a0#SameShitDifferentDay<\/p>\n

So, citizens still can\u2019t get the garden variety loose dog picked up, they can\u2019t get chronic offenders taken care of, and they can\u2019t get any traction with abuse and neglect cases – which means the City still doesn\u2019t understand the problem and the goal. Citizens are not any safer and things don\u2019t look any better on the street in most areas. We have to tell you, we\u00a0can no longer be bothered to call 311 or advocate for others to call. This is one of those moments when the consistent lack of results, disappointment, and abject failure of the system has drained every bit of give a shit from our being and the defeatist \u201cwhat\u2019s the point\u201d compassion fatigue has taken over. It took 5 years, but it finally happened. If 311 call volume goes down in different areas, take note that a unique form of compassion\u00a0fatigue is the likely reason rather than effectiveness of DAS policies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where are all the metrics we were promised? Where was the one day summit BCG recommended? Who is measuring anything meaningful? There seems to be a lot of waiting around for the next guy to take over. YOU, Deputy Chief Sherwin, ARE IN CHARGE OF FIXING IT for the citizens RIGHT NOW! Not holding it down until the next guy decides what to do. Where is the 30\/ 60\/ 90 day plan? Where is the plan to implement ALL of BCG\u2019s recommendations (except the one the next city manager needs to do)?<\/p>\n

Sure there is a little more transparency\u2026but what\u2019s the goal? Has anyone really gotten to that? Really? It\u2019s not my safety and quality of life that\u2019s the goal if the system is going to respond with \u201ccall us back when someone is being attacked or bitten.\u201d #AntoinetteBrownsLifeMatteredAndSoDoesMine<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s the next big disappointment, the shelter talk. How many times can the city and the managers focus on \u201cfixing things at the shelter first\u201d at the expense of what is happening on the streets or at the expense of real, modern, behaviorally sound training for the ACOs and staff? We love Sharon Grigbsy, no journalist has done more, along with the DMN staff, to put light on DAS\u2019 issues<\/a>\u00a0than Sharon, but how disappointing and premature to read the article about how amazing things are now at the shelter<\/a>. Now, we agree with her, the vibe at the shelter is VERY different, which is GOOD, but come on \u2013it\u2019s still a hot mess! And just to clarify, the danger to the citizens is on the streets, in the field, not at the shelter. <\/strong>We do not want to discount that things were terrible at the\u00a0shelter and that they need to be addressed and we are very glad to see improvements at the shelter happening, but let\u2019s temper that celebration and balance that with talk about what\u2019s being done in the field as well. Let\u2019s talk about the system as a whole and how it is serving its mission and the citizens. \u00a0Success will come from a balanced multifaceted approach – let\u2019s keep the conversation score card on the multi-facatated part.<\/p>\n

Here is why it is irksome when people talk about \u201cthe shelter\u201d instead of the system, the department, or the multifaceted approach. Everything written to date by all newspapers included\u00a0how awesome Jody Jones was at fixing the shelter after the \u201ccat in the wall era\u201d and getting things in line\u00a0there. That is how euthanasia rates became king at the expense of the safety of the citizens. That success was always a crock based on inflated, artificial numbers. That place was a cesspool! It was an infectious, mismanaged hole that let animals sit inhumanely without care, that lost pets, illegally altered records, illegally euthanized animals, regularly lost grant money due to poor management, and cooked the euthanasia book numbers to make themselves look good. DAS consistently dismissed the needs of citizens while berating and slandering the public, they harassed, bullied, ran off and\/or fired good employees, bullied ex employees at their new workplaces, and helped covered up illegal theft activities of an employee, all adding to epic employee retention problems. And let\u2019s not forget that DAS brought in animals from outside of the city limits to win adoption contest <\/a>all while euthanizing the city\u2019s animals and allowing street dogs to sit on the street via orders of the management which lead to many unnecessary dog attacks<\/a>, bites, and ultimately, to the MAULING death of a citizen<\/a>. So let\u2019s stop the glowing talk about what Ms. Jones and Dr. McMannus \u201cfixed\u201d at the shelter and how they improved the EU and adoption rates. At what cost? They were a fraud and a failure. DAS is a system, it\u2019s an entire department, but no\u00a0journalist or city representative\u00a0ever wanted to dispute Ms. Jones\u00a0and her supporters\u2019 accolades for the shelter improvements. The proof was always there and no one, even the City, ever wanted to listen to the people who knew the truth and had credible evidence. \u00a0The people who tried to quietly and professionally speak up were discredited and dismissed; today is no different.<\/p>\n

New management has not invited these people in for feedback or to hear their information, and so the ridiculous illegal record altering continues. The ridiculous competition to keep adoption numbers up above all else continues to hurt the animals and the relationships with the rescues. The ridiculous system of residents reporting loose dogs to 311 and being told no one is coming continues.\u00a0There has been no outreach to the communities to understand the needs of the residents; there has actually been a resistance and a dismissal of the communities\u2019 offer to help.<\/p>\n

Five years after Tasha\u2019s pack took up residence in Winnetka Heights, four years after Tasha\u2019s capture, three years after Mayor Rawling declared animal issues to be blocking Grow South Development and we still have no significant changes. Fifteen months after Scott Griggs triggered the DAS budget briefing\u00a0and the\u00a0city\u00a0declared\u00a0animal issues\u00a0\u201ca priority one crisis level issue” endangering the safety and quality of life of citizens and the council chastised DAS for having no meaningful plan –\u00a0we still have no significant change. After millions of dollars \u00a0have been added to DAS\u2019 budget over the last two years (in the ballpark of 4.2 million), and three months after\u00a0the major assessment by consultant BCG <\/a>was released \u00a0– we still have no significant change (remember BCG said the first 90 days would be critical). Six\u00a0months after the DPD\/ DAS collaboration,\u00a0<\/a>where DPD was embedded at DAS in response to the mauling death of a citizen, was started and two months after Deputy Chief of Police, who answers directly to the City Manager was\u00a0put in charge, we still have no significant change. Please, government officials, DAS, and the media – \u00a0please stop telling everyone things are \u201cbetter\u201d – that distorted reality is a big reason we find ourselves here in the\u00a0first place. For years, everyone said things were fine and \u201cbeing handled by the professionals\u201d. This was said over and over and over until someone was mauled to death by a pack of dogs. And even then, management wrongheadedly stood on the opinion that everything was fine. Today, we still have crisis level animal issues. Let\u2019s stop patting ourselves on the back long enough to be clear about the massive amount of work and change ahead to get to the goal. What is the goal again?<\/p>\n

After the comprehensive analysis from BCG, how can DAS still be missing the mark? There continues to be a false ideal that the \u201cexperts\u201d are in the building. Paid professionals are in the building, but they are by no means all \u201cexperts\u201d nor are they fully educated in \u201cbest practices\u201d or they would have long since left DAS\u2026so perhaps management could slow down long enough to understand that to succeed is to create systemic change and that will need some very slow, deep, discussions and education (from outside sources) in theory, best practices, cost, and return on investment \u2013 across the board.<\/p>\n

For instance, old and new management were not interested in getting the ASOs behaviorally sound training. They thought them competent professionals and management didn\u2019t hold still long enough to listen with intent to understand the value. Eventually, new DAS management will start to understand that their spiking return to owner ratio is coming from several places including greater enforcement and microchips, but what it is also telling them is that DAS is not picking up the dogs they need to be targeting. Another way to see that is that DAS doesn\u2019t have the skill set to catch the street dogs. Time travel back 4 years ago, what did we tell the city<\/a>? \u00a0Will they listen now? Probably not. #SameShitDifferentDay<\/p>\n

Add in this next disappointing component and we\u2019re really not optimistic that the City truly understands or is motivated to solve the crisis level animal issues. Remember, BCG talked about the loose dog issue being a flow of water with many faucets and that you have to turn off all the faucets to stop the flow? With 45,000 intact dogs in poverty in south Dallas, the City needs to get serious about FREE spay and neuter services. BCG recommended \u201clow cost\u201d surgeries and recommended that DAS concentrate ONLY on spay\/ neuter for adoptions and return to owner surgeries. We have repeatedly asked the city for spay neuter surgery capacity stats, which have not been provided, and the city has just given the Spay Neuter Network a $2 million 3 year contract<\/a> to help the city with this capacity. Now, if you remember, the Spay Neuter Network is one of only a handful of vendors that BCG was counting on to collaborate to do 45,000 low cost spay\/ neuter surgeries in the coming year in south Dallas. Say good bye to their capacity thanks to that short sighted city contract. That contract COULD have been divided up and given out to multiple vendors leaving the Spay Neuter Network the capacity to help with the 45k surgeries. We have requested the original RFP from the city…no response.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about the spay\/ neuter faucet. This is a HUGE piece of the puzzle. Is there a timeline or a goal for when the $7.5 million in funding, per year, for the next three years<\/a>, that Chairman Brodsky is pursing is going to be in place for the spay\/neuter collaboration? 45,000 surgeries in a year is REALLY ambitious. If that is going to happen, the funding must get into place quickly. Is the capacity there with existing vendors? If the recommended 5 new mobile units are purchased, what is the ramp up time and who will run them? And is a collaboration really feasible? Who will be in charge of leading the collaboration? <\/a>\u00a0The vendors all have different business models, missions, and visions. The founder of Spay Neuter Network is on Facebook and various sights regularly talking about how \u201cthose people\u201d in underserved communities don\u2019t care and won\u2019t spay\/neuter their pets. Additionally, the founder, along with one of her lead vets, openly questions the SPCA\u2019s judgment and leadership. Many of the current Animal Advisory Commission members also are often quite vocal about the underserved communities, and how \u201cthose people\u201d just don\u2019t care about their pets. Members of DCAP also remain out of touch with the realities of South Dallas and also often speak ill <\/a>of the population that are meant to serve. Both DCAP members and Animal Advisory Commission members\u00a0openly voice their objections to the city\u2019s mission to pick up loose dogs and they regularly attack citizens who ask the city to do so.<\/p>\n

Is the City going to wash their hands of any responsibility to this portion of BCG\u2019s recommendation <\/a>and blame the overall failure to turn off the \u201cfaucet of supply\u201d on the non-profits’ failure to collaborate and fundraise? Additionally, it looks as thought the City is going to punt neglect and abuse investigation for the entire City of Dallas to the SPCA – to fund and investigate. It would appear on the surface that\u00a0the safety and quality of life of citizens of the southern sector lies in the hands of non- profits. How can that be? Do the non-profits know that?<\/p>\n

The City needs to get real and put their back and their heart into this \u2013 there are many groups, political relationships, and collaborations that can help move this ball along and solve the city\u2019s crisis level animal issues. Let\u2019s quit pretending this is a priority and make it a priority. Let\u2019s get serious about this \u2013 let\u2019s stop pissing away money on archaic practices, lack of accountability, and lack of leadership. And by leadership – we mean take the BCG findings, make a work plan, publish it, and get \u2018er done!<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know what is next, who will be the City Manager, will Jody Jones still work at DAS, will DAS be its own department, and on and on and so what? Citizens have been in \u201cpatiently waiting\u201d mode while the city has been \u201chandling it\u201d and denying that anything is wrong for 4 years. Tax payer\u2019s money and time is being drained away and wasted everyday. Let\u2019s make the most of this moment when the city council is focused and aligned on what should be done. We\u2019re for Peter Brodsky, we\u2019re for Deputy Chief Sherwin – but let\u2019s get some traction on ALL the BCG recommendations.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s beef up the commission like BCG recommended<\/a>. Let\u2019s have that recommeded all day retreat and come up with a score card and a thematic goal. Let\u2019s see a 30, 60, and 90 day plan. Let\u2019s see a timeline of when the city is going to recommend ordinance changes\u00a0to help with compliance. Let\u2019s stop blocking the open record requests. Let\u2019s have community meetings \u2013 like the city does for community parks and pools. Let\u2019s share the plan out to the citizens and get feedback, and let\u2019s do the hard work to get this party started for real. Let\u2019s not wait until after the new City Manager is in place and ready to address this issue behind all the other City priorities. Then and only then, maybe next year, 6 years after we let the city know they had a huge problem, we\u2019ll have\u00a0meaningful change.<\/p>\n

We owe it to Tasha and to Antoinette Brown\u2019s family to continue to demand accountability and to stop accepting costly #SameShitDifferentDay\u00a0from DAS and our City. Let\u2019s do something today that will help give citizens relief on their streets tomorrow; let\u2019s get to work on a pilot area for testing a Neighborhood Animal Services Officer<\/a>\u00a0program to show that the city is serious about getting out into our communities and both making a difference for the safety and quality of life of our neighborhood and for the outcomes of our companion animals.<\/p>\n

After years of living in fear of loose aggressive dogs on our neighborhood streets, after years of catching and rehabbing loose dogs and dog packs, we are ready to retire our catch pole and let the city step up and do their job. Let\u2019s get this done, for Tasha, for all the residents of Dallas, and so we can finally remove the catch pole and catch kit from the car and from our daily lives.<\/p>\n

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While October marked the five year anniversary of the arrival\u00a0of Mommas, or as most of you know her, Tasha the husky, and her pack, Sunday, November 13 marked the four year anniversary of the inception of Gypsy Dog Ops and the capture of Tasha. On the day we caught her, as she was laying on the surgery table under anesthesia, dying from an infection caused by being inappropriately, and ineptly, shot, with malice, by DAS, with a cattle tranquilizer dart,\u00a0a dart that was so deeply embedded in her shoulder bone that it took surgery and a strong man to pull it out, I made her a promise. I promised Tasha that I would not stop until Dallas Animal Services (DAS) policy and procedures were changed to the point that the multi year, inhumane, incompetent, side show that led to Tasha’s injury and the multiple generations of her pack, could never happen again. As I stared at the unconscious suffering dog and the life threatening injury and seething infection in her shoulder, I wondered how the city declined so far to a substandard place where not only was a dog NOT better off for the city\u2019s animal control\u2019s intervention, but much worse off. How could a city\u2019s animal control department treat an animal so inhumanly and fail so miserably? Four years later, I can answer that question definitively and many other mind bending questions about DAS.\u00a0Unfortunately, I cannot, despite best efforts all this time, tell Tasha that things are any better yet. Before we talk about our journey with DAS, let\u2019s talk for a minute about our journey with Tasha. On this bitter sweet anniversary, we are ready to announce that Tasha has found her forever home. She will join Chankla as part of the permanent house pack. This seems like something to celebrate, but before you jump to a happy, fluffy, feel good conclusions about how \u201cit is destiny\u201d and how \u201cshe belongs here\u201d and how \u201cit is meant to be\u201d, understand that we love her, but we are the only option for Tasha. The city\u2019s chronic unhealthy and inhumane treatment of this dog has damaged this dog\u2019s psyche and changed her physiology to the point that to ask her to make any kind of environmental move, now or in the future, would take her back to zero and cause her emotional distress that could cause her physical harm. After four years of rehabilitation, we are not willing to take that peace, safety, and stability from her. She can stay here with us and live out her life comfortably, safely, and with love. She is home and we can now add dog sanctuary to the resume. Sometime in the future, we\u2019ll discuss her journey and her rehabilitation as she is a fascinating creature and there is much to be learned from her journey, but today we are\u00a0looking at the promise I made Tasha and the progress at Dallas Animal Services and\u00a0in\u00a0our fine City. It is important to understand what citizens and loose animals, like Tasha, have been through over the past five years and it is just as important to understand our needs moving forward. We\u2019ve already written the war and peace of animal issues and several reader’s digests along this journey, one at the very beginning, and one very recently and a few in between. Sadly, they all look very similar. As there is now \u201cnew management\u201d temporarily in place at Dallas Animal Services, we\u2019re going to get straight to where we are today to avoid beating a dead horse, but we don\u2019t want to leave out important history, because as the old saying goes, \u201c’Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it\u201d, so we\u2019ll give a highlight reel of our journey towards the end of our review and we\u2019ll revisit \u201cneeds\u201d of the community as needed. Let\u2019s go back to the very beginning. Why does Gypsy Dog Ops and the Oak Cliff Animal Initiative exist? At the crux of it all, our neighborhood had a loose dog problem. We would call 311 and report a loose dog and nothing would happen. We would report large dog packs and nothing would happen. The packs would remain, breed, fight, and grow. Our neighborhoods and our neighbors were not safe. From a city service standpoint, is that any different today? No. Is that any different under \u201cnew management\u201d at DAS? Sadly, no. Here is the current management\u2019s statement on loose dogs, \u201cWith the resources DAS has and the concentration on picking up loose animals and answering important calls, we have to triage calls for service. Loose roaming dogs that do not display aggressive behavior will not be dispatched and 311 should be telling callers that DAS Animal Services Officers (ASO\u2019s) will not be responding to that call. The loose dog calls are used to map for deployment by DAS Field Services.\u201d Last year 311 received approximately 15,000 loose dog calls that went un-dispatched. So if Tasha was hypothetically called in today as a loose dog, nothing would be done. She is a loose dog. Just like last year, and all those years ago, DAS is taking monthly 311 call maps and doing \u201csweeps\u201d. Right, right, right. We won\u2019t get into that DAS wasn\u2019t doing them at all before\u2026.but OK. And those work how? And the success of those sweeps against the 311 calls is being measured how? Where are all the metrics we were promised after the BCG report? If the city is not going to take \u201cloose dog calls\u201d only \u201caggressive loose dog calls\u201d due to lack of resources (despite two years of massive budget increases) tell me again how they are going to meet the needs of the citizens? How would this new system prevent Tasha and her pack and keep the neighborhood safe? It flat out wouldn\u2019t. It is a reactive system, waiting for someone to get hurt or injured or waiting for a pack to form, a pack the city most likely cannot capture. 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