Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Animal Care Advisory Committee - 12/01/2005 Wdraw C r sende4 iwtCity of �r Corpus — — Clinsti City X rpus Christi MINUTES OF THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI " ,n ANIMAL CONTROL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Nueces County Public Health District Education Room, 2626 Holly Rd Minutes of November 17th 2005 Members Present: Susan Theim, Kendall Keyes, Dr John Buckley, Dr William Watson, Sharon Massad, Paul Buckley and Pam Rhyner Members Absent: No absences Staff Present: Cherrie Stunz Staff Absent: Annette Rodriguez Guests: Chris Ramirez 1. Call to Order: Susan Theim, Chairperson, 12:35pm 2. Approval of November 17th, 2005 Ms. Theim amended the minutes under New Business to include "Dr. Buckley had excused himself from the discussion concerning Ms. Martinez because Mrs. Buckley was in the process of fostering an animal through Ms. Martinez". Dr. Watson made a motion to approve the minutes with an amendment, Dr. Buckley 2nd the motion and all were in favor; motion passed. Approval of Absences Dr. Buckley made a motion to approve the absence of Paul Reynolds. Ms. Keyes 2nd the motion and all were in favor; motion passed. 3. Zoonosis Report The Zoonosis Report for September and October was attached for review. Ms. Stunz informed the committee that there had been 3 bats that tested positive for rabies in Nueces County this year. In the October report it touched on the"Bird Flu"epidemic which has not yet been an issue in the United States. Ms. Stunz said the media had inquired to know if we were doing any testing. Since TDH had not requested for us to do so, Ms. Stunt said we weren't. Dr, Buckley pointed out that a person having an influenza shot would get marginal protection against the Bird Flu, however there was no vaccination for birds. Animal Control Advisory Committee Afeeling offtvemLer I1',2005 1 Managers' Report The Opossum update from Ms. Stunz stated that a January date was anticipated to start pick ups. No specific commitments to specific dates, due to parts being awaited for the truck because the vehicle, a Ford F250 4-wheel drive with extended bumper to enable attachment of traps to it, requires special fittings e.g. a special chassis. The vehicle might be ready by the end of December with staff already trained and ready to go. Mr. Reynolds wanted to know why we were going to be picking up opossums. Ms. Rhyner replied that City Council voted for it when enough citizens voiced their opinion that they wanted it. Field Report Mr. Hernandez reported the success of the Rabies Clinic along with the Corpus Christi Kennel Club. Response from the public was poor because numbers were not as high as in the past possibly due to a lack of publicity. ACS now has a full field staff. He was very pleased with the newest officers. A new"patch" also comes with new uniforms for the staff. Dr. Watson said timing could be bad for the Rabies Clinics because of the holiday season. The clinics appeal to the lower and fixed income group who will not be able to afford it at this time of year. Ms. Stunt reported that the facility was very close to meeting its proposed 1,000 Adoptions and transfers, presently at between 800-825. Ms. Massad inquired about the Sisson's trial. Mr. Hernandez said the judge found grounds for cruelty and awarded ACS all of the animals. The animals were transferred to different Rescue groups. Most of the animals were small with less than 25% being purebred. A third were breeders, and some of them were pregnant. In December 2004 the City gave Ms. Sisson a special zoning ordinance permit that allowed her to have 60 animals in total, however she got rid of some of the animals before ACS arrived. At the time of the seizure she had 119. Ms. Keyes wanted to know how many animals she was now allowed to keep and wondered why her license was not revoked. Ms. Stunz said the two issues were different, but Ms. Sisson may or may not be able to keep animals in the future. Ms. Keyes wanted to know the cost of the case to the City and whether Ms. Sisson was going to be made to pay for such costs. Mr. Stunz promised to look into that because Ms. Sisson should indeed reimburse the City. Mr. Hernandez thought the exercise did cost more than $3,000. Mr. Reynolds said a lien could be placed on Ms. Sisson's property if it was found out that she had to pay and didn't. Ms. Massad wanted to know what happened with C-Care. Ms. Stunz replied that information has been requested on the three remaining dogs that C-Care has and so far, we were in a stand-by mode because C-Care agreed to shut down its facility because they no longer wanted to do rescue. Animal Control Advisot),Committee Meeting of e vember 174.2005 N, S. Old Business Ms. Theim updated the committee in regards to the Mission Statement letter which she said she wanted to see in place in the New Year— ready and sent to the Vets. Mr. Reynolds agreed to do a cover letter for this. Regarding opossum pick up, Ms. Stunz responded to Ms. Thiem and Keyes that $73,000 had been allocated. Ms. Theim wanted a three-month analysis presented to the committee for comparison with past numbers. Ms. Massad wanted to know what happened after the opossums are picked up. Ms. Stunz said they were euthanized. Mr. Reynolds wanted to know if opossums have a higher rate of flea problems. Ms. Stunz said there was no data to back this suggestion. Dr. Bukley said all fur bearing animals had to be looked at for that kind of data to reveal which animal had the higher rate of infestation. Mr. Reynolds believed it was unethical to trap an opossum and have it euthanized. Ms. Stunz replied that the Opossum were considered as nuisance pet. Dr. Buckley said a study done 7 years ago, said they were looking at a titer for antibodies for murine typhus and opossums. It was concluded that opossums were carrying typhus which happens to be endemic in this area and it is the flea that carries the typhus. Ms. Rodriguez will be informing us of the number of cases of murine typhus last year. Opossums do not carry rabies because of their high body temperature, but people believe they have rabies because they foam at the mouth, and spit and hiss. They mostly eat fruits and cat food and do not bite except when cornered. The Councils decision to pick up the opossums is because it is a health issue, nothing to do with it being a nuisance. When citizens took information on opossums to City Council, said Ms. Theim, it was information collected and handed to Council members in private and no proposal to counteract that information was given a chance. Ms. Stunz said ACS's opinion was never asked as well, nor was Dr. Bergin's - the local Health Authority for medical expertise. Mr. Reynolds inquired if ACS will be going out on random opossum's pick-ups or just when called. Ms. Stunz replied that ACS will do this as it did before - offer the service Monday thru Friday, 8-5 with one personnel picking them up. That employee would only be able to pick up around 30 opossums a day. There will be a limit on the service and calls for pick up must be in no later than 12 noon. ACS will not be providing traps. ACS will be setting up a program like the NIP program. Wherever we believe there is a cat problem we go out there and spend time helping to remove the problem. For the pick up, a part-time person will be going out with our own traps and will work in a community effort to trap. The employee will also be providing education and focusing on the areas where we have difficult problems. Mr. Reynolds felt a letter should be drafted to Council asking why the committee was not informed of the Opossum pick up. Ms. Stunz said a discussion was held concerning the matter and it went to Council with little time for her to prepare. ACS is okay with money being given to do the work, but it would have been better to have an opportunity to say what was felt to be more important from the community perspective. Dr. Buckley made a motion for Mr. Reynolds to draft the letter to the City Council concerning the Opossum issue. Ms. Keyes 2nd the motion. Animal Control£Idvisopy Committee Meeting of N®rember°174,2005 Ms. Theim wanted to know of additional comments to the motion if any. Ms. Massad replied to this saying, that she felt the committee was only advisory and it may not be its job to instruct council. Dr. Buckley however said that the Advisory Committee was specifically for Animal Care matters and therefore if there was an animal matter that came before City Council then the committee should be concerned. Dr. Watson also pointed out that it should have also come as a Public Health matter. Ms. Theim wanted the matter tabled at the next meeting with the draft letter from Mr. Reynolds for review. She said she agreed with Ms. Massad, but felt also that as Dr. Buckley pointed out, the committee was a liaison from the citizens of the City to City Council. In that manner, it had a right to ask why the committee was not informed. She said she would feel more comfortable if there was data. The letter will be one of concern to inform when the committee intends to present Council with valid data, possibly 6 months. Ms. Stunz felt it was best to look at what was sent to council and then review it. The committee can look at it in regards to budgetary cuts that may be needed. Dr. Buckley added that as Ms. Stunt pointed, out this covers 2 areas - an animal perspective - which is what the committee's orientation is and also a public health concern - which the Public Health Advisory Committee, could be involved in. Ms. Theim recommended that the committee approach City Council cautiously, to let them know of the data collection. Ms. Stunt said an interesting thing that came out of the situation was ACS'actual need to keep the truck and extra personnel. Mr. Reynolds and Dr. Buckley felt to involve the Public Health Advisory Committee. There might be a letter signed by two committees, this will carry more weight at City Council. Dr. Buckley makes a motion for Mr. Reynolds to draft a letter to the City Council concerning the Opossum issue. Ms. Keyes 2nd the motion. Ms. Massad felt that the committee can do something like this and the data will show that the money could be better used. 6. New Business Ms. Theim pointed out that she would like to see a sub-committee formed to address certain issues, one of them being emergency planning. A small memo could be drafted and distributed out to the Vets and made available here at ACS for the citizens of Corpus Christi making them aware of what ACS does and what citizens can do legally. There are ordinances they could follow and they can come in to resolve a situation. This memo could be done quarterly as another way to educate the public. It could be done through the Vets, Rabies Clinics and here at ACS. Ms. Theim also added that as a committee help could be extended to arrange for any PSA's about ACS. Many people do not know the difference between ACS and the Humane Society. Ms. Theim added that Ms. Keyes had concerns with some ordinances. We are not able to approach the City Council about the ordinances at this time. Ms. Keyes would like to see a sub-committee established to look at the ordinances in depth and see which ones need to be re-addressed. Ms. Theim also added that members were to think about this and decide where they wanted to serve on this. In December, the committee will have a sub-committee to bring back information to the main committee. Dr. Buckley said what he would like to see is the Dangerous Animal Ordinance re-drafted. Ms. Theim said the committee can confer with Ms. Stunz on what she would like to see done. Ms. Theim inquired to know if Ms. Hoffman is still doing anything for ACS. Ms. Stunz replied that Ms. Hoffman had helped get ACS on with Grande Communications and Time Warner. Animal Cameral Advdsory C pno duce Meeldnag of November 111.2005 4 Mr. Reynolds informed the Committee of 2 situations where he advised people who were trying to sell puppies in parking lots. Mr. Reynolds stopped and said who he was, making them aware of the illegality of selling animals by the roadside. The citizen asked for identification that showed who Mr. Reynolds was. He told the committee that he had been a member prior at a board that had ID Cards. He asked the committee if members could have an ID card. Ms. Rhyner pointed out that it would be good to have a copy of the ordinance to be able to show people who are selling and are not aware of the laws. For example, said Dr. Watson citizens from San Antonio that come down to buy a dog and meet in a parking lot because they cannot find a home for an animal, need to know the laws here. Ms. Stunz had another example of a situation near Lubbock where someone brought their dogs for sale on the side of the road. When they found out that one of the puppies had rabies, no one knew how to contact the buyers to let them know that puppy had been discovered to have rabies. A citizen told Ms. Massad of an incident at Petsmart where a dog in a kennel did not have enough room to stand in. Ms. Massad asked if ACS checked on such things and what the rules were in the matter. Ms. Stunz added that they should have something larger and we will check with Petsmart on this situation. 7. Public Comments Ms. Chris Ramirez introduced herself as first-time visitor and an employee of C-Care. Ms. Ramirez reported that she wasn't sure what organization had the dog in too small of a kennel but it was not one of C-Care's. S. Adjournment Ms. Massad made a motion to adjourn, Paul Reynolds 2nd the motion. All were in favor, motion passed. 1:53pm ritttrnal Control Advisor),Committee Meeting rs,f1Vowniber°114.2005