August 7, 2019 Animal Advisory Committee Meeting MinutesSCHERZ ANIMAL CARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
THURSDAY AUGUST 7, 2019 6:OOPM
The Animal Care Advisory Committee of the City of Schertz, Texas held a regular
meeting on August 7, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex Council
Chambers Conference Room, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Building #4, Schertz, Texas. The
following members were present:
Committee Members Present:
Ginger Dispain, Animal Shelter Manager
Brooke Knowlton, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
Allyson Heyward, City Council Liaison
Marc Bane, Assistant Chief of Police, Chair
Members not present:
Lisa Connolly, Homes for Pets
Michelle Helgren, Under Savannah's Wings
Staff Present:
Steve Solitto, Sergeant
Brian James, Assistant City Manager
Charles Kelm, Assistant City Manager
CALL TO ORDER AT 6:07 pm by Chair Asst. Chief of Police Marc Bane
ROLL CALL
HEARING OF RESIDENTS
Mary Brassfield stated she came in to see how the foster program was going. No other
comments were made.
Minutes: Consideration and /or action regarding the approval of the minutes of the
regular meeting of May 1, 2019.
A motion was made by Manager Ginger Dispain to approve the minutes of May 1,
2019. Dr. Brooke Knowlton seconded the motion. Motion passed. Vote was
unanimous.
08/07/19 Minutes, Schertz Animal Care Advisory Committee
2. Shelter Update: Assistant Chief Bane provided a power point presentation on the
shelters current population, animal dispositions, staffing, significant customer
interactions and other issues.
a. Population count on July 30, 2019 was 170 animals
• 48 — Dogs
• 121 — Cats
• 1 — Birds
b. Shelter population peaked at 173 on August 6, 2019
c. New animal intake (new animals to the shelter) from
• January 1, 2019 to July 30, 2019 - 662 animals
• Fiscal Year to Date - 885 animals
• Previous year - 735 animals
• Fiscal year projection - 1,062 animals
d. Animal outcome from January 1, 2019 to July 30, 2019
• Return to owner — 111
• Adoption — 190
• Transferred Out — 130
• Wildlife Release — 87
e. Animal in custody deaths from January 1, 2019 to July 30, 2019
• Injured on arrival — 6
• Disease - 13
• DOA-2
• Cat — x 1 Injured on arrival / died in Vet care.
f. Animal Euthanasia from January 1, 2019 to July 30, 2019
• Human Aggression — 10
• Animal Aggression — 3
• Vet Recommended — 5
• Medical Condition — 6
• Untreatable Injury
• We do not euthanize animals for space.
g. Shelter Staffing
• There is one (1) Part-time Kennel Tech opening. One applicant is in the
final stages of the applicant process (medical / drug screen).
• Most staff members are currently working overtime due to shelter
population.
08/07/19 Minutes, Schertz Animal Care Advisory Committee
h. Adoption Events
• Puppies and Popsicles event. Two (2) adoptions during this event.
• Macy's "Backstage" adoption event was held on July 12, 2019. Eight (8)
adoptions during this event.
• Schertz 4 1 of July Jubilee. Four (4) adoptions during this event.
• Kitten Palooza - took place at Pets Barn and Wal -mart in Schertz. We
took 27 kittens to the event, with seven (7) adoptions during this event.
Large Intakes
• Large intakes for the year has been kittens, with the shelter reaching a
population of 85 kittens at its peak, today, July 30, 2019.
• Some kittens were born in shelter, while others were either brought in by
citizens, or picked up by Officers in the field.
j. Customer Complaints
• There have been no recent complaints concerning the facility, processes,
cost or personnel.
k. Community Complaints / Calls for Service
•
Wildlife in yards
•
Dead animals in roadway
•
Barking dogs
•
Animal welfare
•
Stray cats
•
Aggressive Dogs
•
Snakes in buildings
•
Squirrels in Civic Center
•
Dog Bites
•
Dogs at large
1. Adoption Center
• The current HVAC system continues to struggle. Portable AC units are
still in place to help cool the building.
• We are done with the "Mobile Mini" and are now utilizing the city owned
trailer for "Cat Quarantine ".
m. Equipment
• We continue to work with vendors on new cat kennels.
• One quote has been submitted and we are following up with the vendor.
• Awaiting on the second vendor to submit a quote.
08/07/19 Minutes, Schertz Animal Care Advisory Committee
n. Media
• The shelter continues to utilize social media and the shelters website to
advertise animals new to the shelter.
• We also advertise our community adoption events on these pages.
• The shelter utilizes "PetFinder" for all adoptable animals at the shelter.
3. Cat Kennel Project Update: Assistant Chief M. Bane provided an overview of the
large cat room update, advising they will be doing an enrichment type room. This
would provide more room, therefore holding more cats. The enrichment type room is
easier and faster to clean. It will also allow a more social environment for cats and it
will be good room for citizens to visit with them.
4. CAD use in Animal Services truck update: Sgt. S. Solitto discussed CAD use in the
trucks, as it is up and fully functional. The staff has been trained and the CAD system
shows staff what calls for service are pending, giving them the same functions as patrol
officers. The staff has full internet access with CAD, it provides them with map
directions and they have access to the Pet Point shelter software at all times. There has
been positive feedback from staff as well.
5. Animal Care Matrix update /format change: Sgt. Steve Solitto handed out the
Animal Car matrix, which is a "road map" that animals will follow when they enter
the care of Schertz Animal Shelter. This matrix provides staff direction on how to
address sick, injured and aggressive animals, along with when to euthanize.
6. Animal Quarantine update (new building): Manager G. Dispain went over the use
of the new animal quarantine building, also known as the "white house ". This is
where they now house all sick cats to keep viruses from spreading within the shelter
and comes equipped with a full working AC. The building belongs to the City.
7. TAEM Conference update: Manager G. Dispain attended the Texas Animal
Emergency Management Conference, which is a one -day summit regarding animal
care management during an emergency. The summit covered response efforts from
the California wildfires, events such as Hurricane Harvey in Texas and other natural
disasters. Manager G. Dispain is getting with local vets and our local emergency
management sources to look at what we have in place and what we can do to get a
plan in place.
8. Update on Foster Program: Assistant Chief M. Bane spoke about the foster
program that we have had in place for a while. There is still a struggle to get fosters
and are looking at other ways to get the word out. To date, requests for fosters has
only brought one application. They are looking at different ways to advertise and get
the word out.
08/07/19 Minutes, Schertz Animal Care Advisory Committee
9. Announcements by the Assistant City Manager: Asst. City Manager Charles Kelm
recognized and thanked everyone for their participation the night before. There are a
few things we will continue to look at such as facility, people and process, including
the HVAC system, stating we will continue to use portable AC systems for now. Also
in expanded programs, we are looking at sunshades on both sides of yard, as well as
the gate. The Part-time Kennel Tech position was put off until after the classification
and compensation. We will continue to look at our processes.
10. Announcements by Assistant Chief of Police: There were no announcements from
Assistant Chief M. Bane.
11. Announcements by Committee Members: Council Member Allyson Heyward said
thank you, as everything has been turned around, the community notices and she
appreciates it.
12. Requests by Committee Members that items be placed on a future Animal
Care Advisory Committee Agenda:
13. Adjournment: Asst. Chief M. Bane adjourned the meeting at 6:32pm
Charles Kelm
Assistant City Manager
ATTEST:
08/07/19 Minutes, Schertz Animal Care Advisory Committee