Maryland, It's Time to Update Your Animal Shelter Policies!

We the undersigned are animal rescuers, loving
guardians and members of the public, both in
MD and elsewhere, who are very concerned with
 the way that many of Maryland's animal control
facilities are being run, and about the uncaring
attitude of some of the staff towards the animals.

We have observed that management at some
shelters imposes policies that limit the ability of
caring shelter staff to save the lives of animals. 
For example, rather than use all available public
forums available to advertise animals, some
shelters have been limiting advertising to single
websites.  This severely limits an animals
chance of being adopted or rescued.  Most of
the time finding a rescue to take the animals,
versus a public adoption, is the only way that
the animals can be saved.  Most of the general
public (potential adopters) are unaware of that
 an animal control facility is also a shelter, and
those that do know are uncomfortable visiting. 

As another example, some shelters also
impose restrictions on rescue groups that are
allowed to pull the animals.  They have to be a
501c3, or else they can't step in to save the
animals.  But a 501c3 is only a tax designation;
it is not an indicator of a reputable rescue. 
There are many reputable rescues in MD and
the surrounding states who are not a 501c3. 
Unfortunately, this results in more animals
being PTD (put to death) that would have
otherwise been rescued.  If not already known,
a rescue group is the only way that Pitbull
Terriers and Pit mixes may ever get out of
shelters alive.

We are also very concerned that shelters
are perceived by some animal control staff
as just a holding facility for animals before
being put to death, after their mandatory hold
period.  This is unprofessional and bordering
inhumane.  From what I can ascertain of the
policies within Maryland's animal control
facilities, it is obvious that they have
remained unchanged since the 1970's, before
the notion of 'No Kill' came to the forefront. 
Management personnel from some animal
control facilities seem unwilling to change
and appear to be very inflexible when new
ideas are presented to them.  Many people
in the rescue community have suggested
multiple ways to improve only to have the
ideas rejected outright.  The ideas and
suggestions presented, in many cases,
required no extra time or cost to be
incurred by the shelter, but would greatly
improve the chances the animals have
for adoption.

Note that the Baltimore Animal Rescue
and Care Shelter (BARCS) is an exception
to the above.  BARCS has implemented
many creative programs (including
aggressive adoption policies, flexibility with
rescue groups, and an expanded volunteer
program) that have drastically reduced the
shelter kill rate in Baltimore City.

As Maryland residents and animal
advocates, we believe that it is time for
a change to the policies and approach
taken concerning the states animal control
facilities and the treatment of these
innocent creatures.  The current policies
as is reflect badly on shelters, the
counties and the state; but unfortunately,
the animals are the ones who bear the
brunt of it.

Animal control staff should honestly
care about the animals in their care;
these jobs are a huge responsibility
and the people in these positions should
be organized, efficient and above
everything else, compassionate.  While
some are, it is obvious to rescue people
 who work with animal control staff, that
some are not concerned about any
animal's welfare or public safety.

We recommend that Maryland re-evaluate
its animal control shelters using the
following guidelines:

1.  Re-evaluation of the facility and staff
(including management).  Are they really
the best people for the job? If they are
not willing to adapt to positive changes,
then let them go.

2.  Review the recruitment and
selection criteria; hard working,
organized, customer focused,
dedicated and most importantly,
staff who have the animals' best
interests at heart.  In this economy,
I am sure there are plenty of qualified
candidates out there, just waiting
for an opening to work with animals.

3.  Re-evaluation of shelter policies
and procedures, including
accountability for their actions.

4.  Transparency and visibility to the
general public of policies and practices;
including euthanasia rates.

5.  Raising public awareness of shelters,
supported by use of the different media
and public forums available.  The
general public, as well as some rescues
are unaware that some of our animal
control shelters even exist.

6.  Encouragement of community
involvement.  This helps to raise the
profile of the shelter and breaks down
barriers with people who may have
information about illegal activities,
such as dog fighting.

7.  Start a volunteer program.  In
most shelters, the small staff do
not have time to look after the animals
as well as searching for rescues, and
promoting the shelter.

8.  Become more forward thinking. 
Consider alternatives to help keep
the euthanasia rates down.  Build
relationships with rescues, run off-site
adoptions, advertise on local radio,
newspapers.  Some county shelters
have a PR department and a website. 
Why not utilize it more effectively?

9.  All animals should be fully vetted
before leaving the facility.  This includes
spaying/neutering and testing, as well
as vaccinations.  In our experience this
is a big reason why rescues and the
public do not adopt more readily.  If this
approach is taken, the adoption and
rescues rates will increase. Raise the
adoption fee to help offset this increase
in costs.

10.  Be more flexible with the hours that
the facility is open to the general public
for adoptions.  Staff at the shelter need
to be available when potential adopters
are available; in the evenings and
weekends.

11.  Provide excellent customer service. 
Some of our experiences with staff at
Maryland's animal control facilities have
not been very positive.  Rescuers
communicate with each other and will
go to other facilities with better customer
service skills if not treated with respect. 

We would like to draw your attention to
Delaware's new, progressive and most
sweeping companion animal protection
legislation to be passed in the United
States to date.  This was signed into law
by the Governor of Delaware in June, 2010. 
The law is modeled on the No Kill
Advocacy Center's Companion Animal
Protection Act (CAPA)
(http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/)
and involves support from various rescue
groups in the state. 

This law mandates collaboration between
shelters and rescue groups.  A shelter
cannot kill an animal if a rescue group is
willing to save that animal's life.  The law
also makes convenience killing illegal;
shelters can no longer kill an animal
when there are available cages or the
animals can share a cage or kennel with
another one.

Specifically, the Delaware CAPA states:

Animal shelters shall ensure that the
following conditions are met before any
animal is euthanized:

(i) The holding period for the animal
required by this chapter is expired;

(ii) There are no empty cages, kennels,
or other living environments in the shelter
that are suitable for the animal;

(iii) The animal cannot share a cage or
kennel with appropriately sized primary
living space with another animal;

(iv) A foster home is not available;

(v) Organizations on the registry developed
pursuant to Section 8003(d) are not willing
to accept the animal; and

(vi) The animal care/control manager
certifies that the above conditions are met
and that he/she has no other reasonable
alternative.

The law also requires the posting of all
stray animals on the Internet with sufficient
detail to allow them to be recognized and
claimed by their owners, requires shelters
to maintain registries of rescue groups
willing to save lives, and requires shelters 
to post statistics (intake, adoption, reclaim,
transfer and killing rate.)

In conclusion, we want to ask: Why can't
Maryland be more like Delaware?  They
were in the same position as we are not
so long ago.  There are many AC facilities
across the country that are embracing the
type of changes that we have highlighted
above in a positive way.   We know that
running this type of facility is very difficult
in many ways and it is definitely not easy,
but everyone at the shelter need to do their
best for the animals.  There are no
second chances; lives are at stake. 
Maryland's animal control facilities are in
desperate need of a team of dedicated,
adaptable people to be on board with
making changes for the better.
   

Until that time, our shelters are still a
place where animals go to die and
rescuers like us will cry tears of anger
and sadness on a weekly basis that we
can't do anything more to make a dent in
the numbers. 

But, we can make a change for the better;
there are wonderful 'no kill' models to copy
and you have the support of rescue
organizations and the general public
across the state.

Please be the catalyst for change that
we are all hoping for.