Animal shelters by the numbers
I am seeing a lot of buzz on social media today about a story a local television station did about the euthanasia rate at the Regional Center for Animal Control and Protection — the pound that is a contracted facility between the city and county of Roanoke, Botetourt County and Vinton.
The commonwealth mandates that every locality must have a pound for dogs. Local law mandates that cats are handled through the pound. Statistics are kept for these and other registered animal shelters through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services through the office of the State Veterinarian.
Here you can find the 2010 numbers for many of the shelters and pounds in the commonwealth, including RCACP, the Roanoke Valley SPCA, FERAL, Salem Animal Control and Pound (which also serves Craig County), League for Animal Protection, Montgomery County Animal Control and Pound, and other area rescue groups and shelters.
If you do not see a specific shelter listed for 2010, it could be because the state has not posted that shelter’s annual report yet. Check 2009 and you will find those numbers.
From what I have learned in the last few years writing about pets, there is a process at RCACP, based on state and local laws, for stray intakes that involves checking for collar tags and microchips, holding strays for a certain length of time to allow owners to reclaim their animals. There are also procedures that are followed for seizures and for owner-relinquished pets.
All of these policies are followed before an animal is evaluated for temperment and other factors that would determine the pet’s likelihood of being adopted.
Dogs and cats that are deemed to be unhealthy or too aggressive may be euthanized.
Based on available space at the RVSPCA, which is adjacent to RCACP, animals are moved to the SPCA, which is a non-profit, no-kill shelter, where they are spayed/neutered and microchippped and placed for adoption.
As long as space permits, pets determined to be good adoptive prospects are held at RCACP for longer than the period mandated by law until space opens at the RVSCPA, LAP or other local shelters.
If space does not permit, because of the number of new strays, seizures and relinquishes that the law mandates must be held for a specific length of time, then potentially-adoptable pets might be euthanized.
Animals can be adopted from RCACP, but almost always if a person chooses to adopt a pet from the cages at RCACP, that animal is transferred to the RVSPCA or another adoption group.
The numbers you will find on RCACP’s report are alarming. The number that alarms me the most is the intake number. There are way too many animals that end up at the pound for a variety of reasons and there are not enough homes for them all. But numbers need context, and I have only scratched the surface here in trying to explain what this all means.
But this I will tell you with certainty: There are too many animals at the pound because there are too many people who do not spay or neuter their pets and/or do not take proper care to make sure their pets do not roam the streets. A pound is a necessary part of public safety. The best way to reduce these numbers is to reduce the numbers of unwanted litters and to educate people about keeping their pets under control and correcting behavior issues.
Accomplish those initiatives and the intake, and the euthanasia, numbers would drop dramatically.
To see the pets available for adoption at the pound, visit its website or “like” its Facebook page.
February 25, 2011 - 12:02 PM
Bravo, excellent. Spay and neuter if you love your pet.
Thank you for commenting on the story. There is some good news here- the number of intakes from 2009-2010 went down by 274.
2009 stats:
Intake: 7573
Euthanized: 4894
2010 stats:
Intake: 7299
Euthanzied: 4674
While the intake rate went down, the percent killed stayed about the same at 64%.
I think we have taken the first step in getting the attention of the public. Now we need to continue to promote spay/neuter, including feral cats, and promote adoptions.
It would be awesome to see the RCACP welcome volunteers, have some open adoption hours, and add foster homes. The building that houses the animals is really welcoming and nice. The front desk staff have always been helpful and very happy to see an animal go when transferred to Angels of Assisi. I am sure they want as many to be adopted as possible.
Do we have a problem? Yes, we do. But the damage has been done; let’s move forward and fix it.
Lisa O’Neill
Angels of Assisi
AMEN! I am sick and tired of folks who dump their pets out and just give the worry to someone else. I am someone who worries about stray animals, and I can’t stand it that people don’t man up and deal with their own problems and instead just sluff them off on someone else. It’s so alarming to see the number of “unwanted” animals at the pound being euthanized. If you can’t afford to get your pet spayed or neutered, you shouldn’t own one.
I agree, Lisa. For the euthanasia rate to decline, stray/unwanted/neglected rates have to decline and the adoption rates have to increase.
Here’s a link to my feelings on this subject:
http://camouflagechickensandothercrap.blogspot.com/2011/02/all-about-dogs.html
I was working there when Bill Watson was hired. It was all sort of shady if you ask me. He was on the board and became the temportary director after his predecessor retired then it became a permanent position. Was the job even posted in the community? Seems like the board put who they wanted in there.
Hopefully this brings changes to the pound that decreases the amount of pets that are even in there. We forget that the animals don’t magically appear in the pound. Irresponsible pet owners do that.
We need to start euthanizing people who abuse pets as well.
People can definitely voice their opinions on how the pound and the SPCA is managed. The pound is paid for with tax dollars and the SPCA is supported with donations, so both entities and their management are fair game for public scrutiny.
But this is how I interpret the numbers: No matter who is running the SCPA or the pound, if the number of wiling adopters was anywhere close to the number of adoptable pets, there would not be a high number of animals euthanized. The population would be constantly turned over.
That, sadly, is not the case.
The supply far outweighs the demand. The most effective way to correct this is to fix the root causes of the abundant supply.
There are some that think the supply does not outweigh the demand. Take a look here: http://www.maddiesfund.org/Documents/Funded%20Projects/The%20Shelter%20Pet%20Project%20Powerpoint%20v2.pdf
The media can play a big role in promoting spay/neuter and adoptions. Thank you, Nona for always being a voice for those that need us. We’ve made some progress, but we’ve got a way to go.
Nona – thank you for your post. It is time for level heads and moderate tones to prevail. I am a volunteer with the RVSPCA. I have never been more ashamed of some fellow Roanokers as I was last night on the social media forums watching them pile on a new story that has some missing pieces to it. Only one that I saw got near the truth, “adoptions are funneled through the RVSPCA”. I don’t claim to know the numbers but what I do know is if you look at the website and see just how many pets were adopted in the last few days I think you will be able to see the numbers that WSLS reported are misrepresented.
My heart breaks for the animals and the very good people of the RVSPCA. It has been a tough week for the group. First with the heating issue and now with the suspiciously timed “breaking news” story.
I would also encourage people to make some time and become a volunteer. It is a very rewarding experience.
I support adopting shelter/stray pets. Growing up, both of our dogs were adopted. They were the best…always good tempers and seemed thankful to get to go to a home.
We looked at adopting in northern VA when we wanted to get a dog, but I opted not to because the agencies I found here wanted a bit more information than I was willing to give. I’m sure they meant well, but it was more than I was willing to give to some unknown file cabinet somewhere. Their fees were a bit higher but the fees weren’t a problem. They covered care for the pet, immunizations, and I think they even covered or subsidized spaying/neutering. I would have been happy to donate the money to help with the shelter, but the personal info was a bit much.
We ended up adopting from a coworker so we still ended up with a great mutt.
Seems like channel 10 at least read the viewer comments and owned up to the fact they left out all the intake numbers, owner return numbers and numbers regarding how many were transferred to rescues.
http://www.mywsls.com/index.php/leamon/comments/viewer_feedback_points_out_context_needed_in_my_rcacp_investigation/
As humans, we MUST consider that animal pets are living , breathing, needy creatures who bring much joy in our lives. However I often have to thump my head to remember some people won’t or can’t care for their own children. Animals mean little to them. I have relatives who hate cats and dogs and will shoot at them with BB guns or rocks. They see them as pests, nasty, intrusive “things” and should be eliminated from earth.
Needless to say, I avoid them mostly because I get furious at them
Glenvar High School is having a Donkey basketball game in March. I had never heard of such a thing .. .when you google it there are states that have out lawed the “sport” Ive never been but it seems it would be cruel to the animals
The point that people seem to be missing is that the RCACP will NOT allow people to adopt from them. There are many who have tried and been turned away. When I asked two years ago about adopting, I was told “we do not adopt from here.” When that is your policy, you can’t then stand behind the banner of an irresponsible public to defend your kill numbers. When you do not allow the public to volunteer, you can not scream “not enough homes!” When you make it so difficult for rescues to pull animals that they decide they are going to work with other shelters, your arguements again fall short.
If pet overpopulation is truly the only problem, then why did the RVSPCA go to Montgomery County to build its low cost spay neuter clinic? If that is the reason we are killing 5,000 pets a year in Roanoke, should they not have built this facility in the Roanoke Valley where the bulk of their donations come from and where they have contracted to run the municipal pound?
The last point and perhaps the most important: no one has said anything bad about RVSPCA, the complaints are with RCACP. People are wasting their time defending the RVSPCA when this all falls squarely on the RCACP. If people want to donate to RVSPCA, go for it, but do it with the knowledge that it is not one big happy no-kill family. Your money will be put to good use housing the limited animals that they can take in, but it will do nothing for the animals across the hall who are dying by the thousands.
It has been a very long time ago, but I have watched the donkey basketball games. I didn’t see any cruelty or abuse exhibited. They merely put rubber horseshoes on the donkeys, then the participants ride them around the court while trying to dribble, pass, & shoot a basketball as though it were a normal game. The donkeys never even broke into a trot in my memory. Most of the time, the humorous parts were that the donkeys didn’t want to go where the players wanted, and the players didn’t really know how to ride.
Stella: You can adopt a dog or cat that is being held at RCACP, just not directly from RCACP. The animals are transferred to the RVSPCA or another adoption agency for the actual adoption. All of the RVSCPA pets are first wards of RCACP.
Angels of Assisi operated a low-cost spay/neuter clinic in Roanoke. Planned Pethood operates one in Franklin County. The RVSPCA employs a full-time veterinarian and includes spaying/neutering as part of the adoption fee for all its pets, which all come from RCACP.
Mountain View Humane serves that need in the New River Valley — Montgomery, Floyd and Giles counties — where none existed until it opened.
You are right that I think many people believe that because the RVSCPA is no-kill, that we don’t have a problem here in Roanoke. There are plenty of great dogs and cats that are euthanized because there was not enough space and they ran out of time. We clearly do have a problem with too many unwanted pets.
The local intake facility really should make it easier for an adoption to take place. If someone is willing to step up and save an animal’s life, let them. Don’t make the process so difficult which will result in a lot of people simply giving up and going elsewhere.
You write that all the RVSPCA pets are first wards of RCACP? That’s not entirely true. I know for certain that animal’s/puppies have been pulled from other localities i.e. Pulaski, and other surrounding areas, and very recently. Why is this happening when we have animals next door dying every day?
Angels of Assisi is booked full with appointments, as I’m sure the Planned Pethood in Franklin County is as well. (Not to mention it’s in Franklin County) If the issue of spay and neuter really is the problem as claimed in our area, then I don’t understand why a LOW COST spay and neuter clinic was opened in Christiansburg instead of Roanoke. We need to take care of our OWN backyard first and concentrate on the issues here in our locality, not one that’s 40-50 miles away.
I agree that spay and neuter is a problem and one that we should certainly address with a LOW COST-FREE spay and neuter clinic in “OUR” area, ROANOKE.
I’m sorry but I’m failing to see where 1 million dollars has been utilized in this facility. How can you receive that much money per year and still have one of the worst rates of euthanasia in the state and another low cost facility opened by the RVSPCA that isn’t even in our area?
I know you can’t answer these questions. I think that the community, the board of directors, and Bill Watson should have a very public meeting and one that involves a financial breakdown of ONE MILLION dollars. We deserve to know where our money is being spent and why these numbers are so alarming. I do not for one second believe an animal should die because their parent was a complete idiot who turned them in. There is SO much more that can be done. I’ve seen it happen with Franklin County and other areas and they are on a MUCH TIGHTER budget than what’s being distributed to the RCACP.
As far as I am aware, animals are not accepted directly into the RVSCPA; they have to go through RCACP first. I do not know what residence requirement there is for an animal to be accepted as a relinquish at RCACP. The ones collected as strays come from the four municipalities that contribute to it.
Mountain View Humane is not part of RCACP or the RVSCPA; If I recall from the story I wrote last summer, it was started with grant money and donations to serve an area that had no such clinic at all. Tax money from Roanoke and the other municipalities that fund RCACP does not support Mountain View Humane.
The municipalities that contribute tax money to RCACP are mandated by law to do so. The commonwealth requires each municipality to have a pound for dogs as a matter of public safety. This one is shared between four. Salem’s pound also serves as Craig County’s pound with money from Craig County’s budget. The tax dollars pay for animal control officers, maintenance of the pound, etc.
I think Barbara’s point was that RVSPCA is pulling from shelters other than RCACP. This makes no sense with the kill numbers over there.
If you look at the RVSPCA tax documents, Mountain View Humane is listed as a wholey owned subsidiary of the RVSPCA. Makes no sense to build in Montgomery County when you are killing 5,000 a year due to “irresponsible people and pet overpopulation.” Why not clean up our own backyard before we try to clean up someone elses?
I am checking out that connection, Stella. I didn’t think it was a subsidiary relationship, but I could be wrong on that. I will let you know.
What I would love to see are more opportunities for free spaying/neutering. As low as the cost is, it’s still out of reach for many folks. But even if that’s available, people have to be motivated to get it done, and many people don’t, even if they can afford it or it was free.
The info about Mountain View Humane can be found right on the RVSPCA website. http://rvspca.org/images/uploads/Audited%20Financials(1).pdf
and their address on the charitable organization website shows Roanoke.
http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/consumers/cgi-bin/char_search.cgi
And it shows Bill Watson as President on this link: https://cisiweb.scc.virginia.gov/z_container.aspx It’s a little hard to navigate, but do a search for Mountain View Humane and it shows:
President WILLIAM M WATSON JR
As far as getting more people to spay and neuter, we have found that you have to make spay/neuter about the person’s pet, and not the overall issue. Everybody has their own causes, their own problems, ect. They may not be able to wrap their minds around the number of animals being killed, but they may be able to see that neutering Fido will get him to stop lifting his leg and peeing on everything.
HA! Lisa, you are hilarious.
Kim, I too have volunteered for the RVSPCA, donated and helped with many of their fundraisers. The story that aired was not directed towards the RVSPCA but the RCACP also known as Regional Center for Animal Control and Protection. I had to fight tooth and nail to save both my pound dogs, my whole issue is that it should “NEVER”, ever be this difficult to save an animal on death row. If myself and others experienced this kind of pushback, you can rest assured others did and probably just gave up without fighting for the animal.
You said you don’t claim to know the numbers however one must have some idea of these numbers to better understand the issue. In 2010 the total intake of animals was 6,554. 1,244 were transfers i.e. RVSPCA, Angels of Assisi, LAP or other 501c3 rescue groups. 38 were adopted (8 were dogs, 2 of them were ones I saved) and 4,351 were euthanized. In 2009 the total intake was 7,267. 1,402 were transfers, 51 were adopted, and 4,809 were euthanized. I do agree that Scott failed to mention the owner reclaims and the transfers but even with those numbers included, the intake, adoption and euthanasia rate was reported correctly. You can see all those numbers here: http://rcacp.org/about/documents/comparativenovember.pdf
The number of animals adopted from the RVSPCA are not one and the same with the RCACP. I realize this may be very confusing since the RVSPCA and the RCACP share the same building, director and behaviorist. I agree with great certainty that the director should not be the same person over the nonprofit 501c3 RVSPCA organization and the high kill facility Regional Center for Animal Control and Protection.
In my opinion this is a direct conflict of interest for both buildings involved. The RVSPCA relies solely on donations, while the RCACP is receiving one million of our tax dollars a year to operate. I did offer to donate, fundraise, and volunteer for this facility and I was turned down on every single offer. If having volunteers is a liability issue, then have the volunteers work the front desk, contact regional rescue groups, network and do bio’s on these animals while the paid staff works the back with the animals or other areas of the RCACP. There are ways to make this work better, and reduce the euthanasia number while increasing the live release rate.
Do I agree in spay and neuter your pet, absolutely. Do I agree pet owners who return their pet for no good reason are scumbags, absolutely. Do I think animals should have to be killed when someone is willing to step up and rescue or adopt them, ABSOULTEY NOT!
I’ve saved two pound dogs from the RCACP. Neither one was transferred to the RVSPCA. I picked them up from their pound cage at the RCACP. I also paid an adoption fee on my last rescue from RCACP and she never went over the RVSPCA at all, I paid a double fee on Shyanna. I will reiterate this again, it should never be this difficult and hard to save an animal’s life.
I agree with you Kim, my heart breaks for thousands of animals killed yearly at the RCACP, the funds are there and the tools need to be utilized. The Regional Center for Animal Control and Protection have one of the highest kill rates in the State. Where is the protection in this? We can do SO much better. Network like there’s no tomorrow, contact rescue groups, open up a low cost or free spay & neuter program in Roanoke Valley instead of Montgomery county, if a person wants to save a life, let them. Those numbers are inexcusable with the amount of tax dollars received, and the resources that can be readily available with the snap of a finger.