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Summit raises awareness
on animal issues
As reported in
The Daily News
T. L. Hamilton
August 23, 2006
Read the Press Release
GALVESTON — A starving pot-bellied pig was recently dumped on the beach
near San Luis Pass. Two abandoned roosters now reside at College of the
Mainland's Lake Eckert.
The county animal shelter takes in about 200 dogs and cats a month and hundreds
more stray animals populate the island.
Litters of puppies and kittens are dumped on front porches and shelter entrances
daily.
Facts such as these prompted a recent animal services summit to raise awareness
and formulate ideas on animal issues in the county.
The summit is one of the efforts made by the Galveston County Health District to
improve disaster relief and evacuation for animals, responsible pet ownership
and adoption and fostering.
In Time Of Disaster
Proposing new ideas for emergency circumstances is one of the district's 2006
animal service goals.
In accordance with this goal, the summit raised ideas such as printing brochures
with essential evacuation information, and working with other shelters and Gulf
Greyhound Park as places for people and the Galveston County Animal Shelter in
Texas City to house their animals.
"Of course disaster relief is a big issue after last year," said Kurt Koopmann,
public information officer for the district. "Animal care during disasters, not
just hurricanes, was a priority at the summit. We're looking to work with other
shelters and developing ways for them to take animals in."
Tom Fabian recognized one specific animal need in time of disaster: pet
carriers. He and his business, Fabian Boarding Kennel of Galveston, developed
the Carriers For Pets program to provide free carriers to those in need.
When city officials announced that residents could evacuate their pets on city
buses during Hurricane Rita, they set a rule that pets had to be in cages.
Fabian said at that time they barely had enough carriers to evacuate the
kennel's animals.
"If someone needs a carrier to evacuate their pet, we'll give it to them for
free," he said. "It can really put someone in a bind if they don't have one."
Another summit priority was to publicize the 211 option for special needs
residents to register for emergency transportation and animal assistance.
Koopmann said the district also plans to create a separate committee
specifically for animal disaster relief issues.
Animal Control
The summit focused on responsible pet ownership and animal control.
Many people do not know what to do with abandoned animals that are not
traditionally considered pets. The pot-bellied pig is being held temporarily by
the Galveston Island Humane Society, and the roosters are just at-large on the
College of the Mainland campus.
People who find such animals are advised to contact the county shelter. Koopmann
said that while the shelter may not be able to accept the animal, it would be
able to direct people to rescue groups and foster programs.
"Depending on availability, the Bay Area Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals in San Leon also has some accommodations for chickens, geese and
goats, among other medium-sized animals, and we've worked with them in the
past," he said.
Sgt. Joel Caldwell, who investigates animal cruelty cases for the Galveston
Police Department, has said that one of the main animal control problems in the
county is pets running loose at night.
Koopmann said: "Education can only help. More efforts and outreach can improve
common misconceptions like this one. We've worked on public education, and
considered teaching responsible pet ownership at younger age levels, perhaps
even going into schools to make presentations."
The county also approved funding for an additional animal control officer and
hopes to increase sweeps for loose animals.
The summit brought up other options for public education, such as advertising
with movie theaters and municipal cable channels.
An education and outreach committee was also proposed. A more aggressive idea
was to lobby legislators to force repeat offenders to neuter and spay breeding
animals.
Adoption And Fostering
The main focus for any animal shelter is animal adoption and fostering. The
district hopes to continue to improve its shelter adoption rates this year.
Figures improved from 2004; the adoption rate increased 8 percent and the
euthanasia rate dropped 8 percent, according to the county 2005 annual progress
report.
"We're also trying to grow our animal fostering program as best we can, and
we've been working closely with rescue groups to expand our county programs,"
Koopmann said.
Koopmann said the summits are essential to the district's progress in animal
services.
"We hope to continue making improvements and that's the reason we have these
summits," he said. "They've been very successful and a lot of citizens have made
their concerns heard."
For More Information Contact:
Kurt Koopmann
Public Information Officer
Galveston County Health District
409-938-2211 or 409-392-0007
kkoopman@gchd.org |
