MINUTES
San Francisco Commission of Animal Control & Welfare
Thursday, Auguist 21, 2014
1. Call to Order and Roll Call 5:34pm
Commissioners present: Annemarie Fortier; Shari O’Neill, DVM; Nanci Haines; Davi Lang; Sally Stephens; Russell Tenofsky; Sherry Hicks
2. General Public Comment
Members of the public may address the Commission with comments or recommendations on items within the Commission’s jurisdiction other than the items on the agenda at the beginning or end of the meeting, but not both.
None, public comment closed.
3. Approval of Draft Minutes from the July 17, 2014 Meeting
No changes.
No public comment.
Minutes approved.
4. Chairperson’s report and opening remarks
A) Update on Commission Vacancy and Appointment to the Commission
One vacancy on the commission, but Board of Supervisors does not meet in August, so probably no action until third week of September. Applications must be in ten days before rules committee meets. By September 8 at the latest if want to apply.
No comments, no public comment. Public comment closed.
5. New Business
A) Changes at Animal Care and Control. The head of Animal Care and Control was recently removed. The City Administrator will soon start a search for a permanent replacement. The Commission will discuss and hear from the community what they think are important qualities/experiences for a new Director. In addition, the change in ACC Director provides an opportunity for the Commission and the community to begin a broader discussion about ACC’s goals, priorities, and programs, both current and for the future.
Commissioner Stephens: The ACC is part of the City Administrators office, therefore the Administrator is the boss of ACC director. Naomi Kelly appointed Eric Zuercher as acting director. No one from that office here today, but they are swamped now and could not make it. At the time that the director was let go, there was a lot of concern in the community about privatization of ACC. The Examiner reported that SFSPCA hired a consultant which many thought was going to lead to SF SPCA taking over adoptions at ACC. When I met with the Administrator she made it clear that the city is not interested in handing over adoptions to SF SPCA. The Administrator plans to appoint an interim director soon, perhaps last week. Search for new director should start after Labor Day. I encouraged her to conduct a broad search to find the best possible candidate. I wanted to discuss what we the commission and the community thinks are the characteristics the city should look for in a new director. How important is shelter experience? People skills? Marketing? Budget management? Experience with animals? Working with other city employees? And, where do we think the ACC could or should go? This is a longer discussion, but I would like to begin that conversation now. A few years ago, the commission discussed whether the ACC should be no-kill or not. We heard from a wide variety of viewpoints on the issue at the time. We had hearings for two years. And, while we all agreed that no-kill should be a goal, it should not be mandated. But, I think ACC does have a goal to save as many animals as possible. They have done a good job so far. Live release rates are in the mid-80% range. No-kill advocates want a 90% plus live-release rate. I see tonight as the beginning of a long discussion of the future of ACC. The arrival of a new director is the opportunity for the organization to reflect on how to become even better. We do not want this discussion to be seen as a criticism of ACC. We want it to be the envy of other shelters. I recently visited the Sacramento Front Street Shelter. They are an open shelter and take in every animal. There is a separate SPCA and county shelter as well. But Front Street is the city shelter. A few years ago, they got a new director, who interestingly did not have animal experience. She had implemented their 311 system. When she took the job, she did every job in the organization, including cleaning kennels. She has done a terrific job at social media. They re-branded themselves into the Front Street Shelter. They take 10,000 cats and dogs per year, vs. ACC of 6,500 per year. Their budget is $3.4 million vs. $4.9million at ACC. ACC can handle more animals. Sacramento’s live release was about 17%, which is appalling. Now, in three years it is up closer to 50%. They now have 1,000 volunteers, vs. 70 in the past. Donations are up, social media hits are up dramatically. People do not think of it as a city pound. Some of the things they do maybe can be applied here. They have murals on every inch of the walls. Very cheery. They hosted over 300 off-site adoption events. Over 150 so far this year. They host events at brew pubs. Good demographic for adopters. All dog-walking volunteers take a dog training course, which allows them to train the dogs during walks. They give away 5,000 pounds of donated food every week. So, people who would surrender because they can’t afford to feed them might keep the dog. But dogs must be neutered before getting free food. They have a spay/neuter on site. They added some sound-proofing so that it is not as loud. They play music in the morning to calm the animals. There is outwork throughout the property. They want to make the experience pleasant so people come back. Everyone very friendly. Big on customer service. ACC has talked about rebranding, but there are other lessons in the Sacramento example. What kinds of programs should we offer? What sort of outreach? It should be a good place to work. It should be pleasant for visitors. All of which would save more lives. So what is the best director of ACC? What does that mean?
Commissioner Fortier: I think the new director should be someone who has experience negotiating and discussing with various stakeholders. Philanthropy, business community, city leaders, social media. Sounds like Front Street model is that. Maybe Sacramento could share with us their hiring process.
Commissioner Lang: I want ACC duties to stay with ACC. I love the dog training and post-adoption support that Sacramento offers.
Commissioner Tenofsky: At ACC, some of the adoption fee goes to training, like if you adopt a pit bull, you have mandatory training. Someone who leads ACC must be able to navigate the political, investment and animal community of our city. I would like that person to have the animal’s care welfare first concern. The Sacramento leader sounds like a great leader, but maybe not having the welfare of the animals as a priority.
Commissioner Fortier: I don’t think that anyone should be excluded because they do not have experience with animals. Sounds like that was Sacramento’s strategy.
Commissioner Tenofsky: I disagree. I think someone should have animal experience. Someone should understand the ACC and SPCA relationship is. Very complicated and the new director should understand that.
Commissioner Lang: I think the new director should have a very good understanding of the animal issues, such as no kill. Mandatory spay/neuter.
Commissioner Stephens: Bill Barnes from the City Administrator’s office is here.
Bill Barnes: We wanted to give you an update on where we stand and what we are doing. We have a list of frequently asked questions on the hiring process. The city has no plan to change the mission of ACC. The city charter lays out the role of ACC. Once the job is posted, anyone can apply. We think that the commission could give us ideas of what skills would be useful. Once the job is posted, it would be helpful if the commissioners and public could spread the word to their own networks. There are 7 current vacancies to be filled. Two animal control officers, two animal health technicians, two shelter service reps and one veterinarian. Eric Zuercher is doing a good job, but we want to get an interim director there soon so Eric can get back to running the shelter. We did post the RFP for VDD hearing officers on August 18th, deadline August 8. Up to $95,000 for two years to conduct those hearings.
Commissioner Stephens: Will the panel that interviews include outside people?
Barnes: Usually other city managers, but don’t work at the department. Interview questions are standard for all candidates. An in-house panel would be other departments, not just city administrator employees. Probably most important would be that the job description is the best it can be.
Commissioner Lang: Is it possible for the commission to draft a statement outlining the qualifications and experience?
Barnes: It would be best if our HR people were here to facilitate that. We anticipate ACC is a stand-alone department.
Commissioner Stephens: What is the time frame?
Barnes: I don’t want to promise, and we want to get the community feedback. As early as mid-October probably is earliest.
Sargent Hicks: What is timeline for hiring hearing officer?
Commissioner Stephens: That is our next agenda item.
Barnes: Anyone who wants to see the RFP can go to city website. We will not disclose the names of candidates because people generally have other jobs and we must keep it confidential in order to get best pool of candidates.
Public comment:
Bill Hamilton: President of Animal Union. The new director of ACC should have experience with unions, as unions negotiations can take a lot of time of the directors job.
LaRuella Harris: Did the city administrator speak with animal groups before dismissing the past director?
Juleen Johnson: co-founder Fix San Francisco. A group which seeks to save as many animals as possible. Thank you for taking up this topic. We have fallen behind many other cities in saving animals. We have a long history of saving animals. Twenty years ago the SPCA and ACC entered into an agreement to save all savable animals. We have still not met our goals. We need leadership. I recommend a national search for a shelter director. Organize a community panel to meet potential candidates. The director should have a passion for saving lives, work with agencies, be able to work with SPCA as the two have a very dysfunctional relationship. SPCA imports animals from out of area while animals here die. Please visit our website:
www.fixsanfrancisco.org for results of our survey and recommendations for saving more animals.
Mary Kennedy: Animal rescue volunteer for over 30 years. The city should do a nation-wide search. A very good opportunity for the ACC. A non-political leader to help us move forward.
Lana Basil: Director, Give me Shelter. Many directors of shelters have come to the jobs with no previous experience. They must have a passion for saving lives, not necessarily the experience. The Nevada Humane Society director had a retail background and did a great job with their shelter. We have a huge disconnect between the stakeholders and various entities. The Sacramento shelter is very positive. Everyone is valued. The director is seen with her sleeves rolled up. Everyone wanted to be there and do their best.
Jody Huth: Grateful Dog Rescue and ACC volunteer. Grateful Dog has a long-running relationship with ACC. The new leader must not be a political appointee. We love our animals and want our shelter to be more than a city pound. The new director must be willing to learn from other agencies around the country. We must reduce euthanasia rates. Outreach, strengthen city ordinances, experienced manager with good people skills.
Jennifer Clark: ACC volunteer with cats. The new director must learn how ACC is run and and tighten operations. For example, the ACC is out of flea medication. The new director must be cooperative. SPCA is willing to work with ACC and the new director must be open to that. The ability to retain and engage volunteers is critical. Using non-financial resources is critical.
Renee Piton: The director of ACC is a political position. The person must talk to the GGNRA and Parks department. Someone from the city must express our rights and our animals rights on our own land. To speak to rescue groups, the city and be a strong voice for our animals is exceedingly important.
Heni Martin: I want to address the supply issues at ACC. They are out of flea medicine, cat litter, litter boxes. Will it be important for the new director to keep supplies available at all times?
Cynthia Cox: I was here in 2010 when no-kill was being discussed. During that time, we heard from many experts giving presentations. During presentations, Rebecca Katz, director of ACC was doing her nails and looking at her phone the whole time. In 2010, the question arose about getting funds from Mattie’s Fund, which gives away millions of dollars. Rebecca Katz said that the statistics had to be presented “their way” and it would be too complicated and we never applied for the Mattie’s Fund money. In 2011, over 2,000 animals went into ACC and never came out. The no-kill movement started here and now we are very far behind others.
Maria Conlan: ACC behavior cats program. Tony’s kittens and Give me Shelter volunteer also. I would like to see life-saving at ACC. There are many shelters that life-saving can happen. Recognizing volunteers, reaching out to the community. When people see the animals, they don’t want them to die. I have saved 4 cats who would have been put down at ACC. Sometimes I am afraid to go to ACC because I know some animals will have been put down. Many people are willing to adopt old animals, sick animals. Must be willing to look into the eyes of the animals who might otherwise be put down.
Nadine May: Native San Franciscan very proud of no-kill movement. I was very optimistic until we started to move away from no-kill. We can save every adoptable and treatable animal. I think the new director should be someone who cares. I found a 16-year-old cat a home. He has a good life, until he passes. The director must care about the employees and volunteers, and all members of the animal rescue community in SF.
Jennifer Scarlett: Co-head of SPCA. Although we had some operational and philosophical differences with previous head of ACC, but we have lowest intake and euthanasia rates in the US. I want an innovative and progressive leader. We can do better. I am sorry to hear some of the supplies are out at ACC. I will reach out to Eric tomorrow to try to get them some supplies.
Cindy Maraito: Reunion Rescue. I used to volunteer at ACC and saw Pit Bulls being put down at ACC. I was banned in 2003 over a dog that was nearly killed at SF ACC. The current temporary director has a terrible record of killing pit bull puppies. When the Charlie incident occurred, I wrote an article which was used to try to ruin my reputation. Ms. Katz made many untrue statements on social media. A lawsuit was settled out of court in my paper over the slurs.
El Danielle: No privatization of ACC. Rebecca Katz was not really into animals. The website needs help. The new director must understand that feral cats should not be taken in and killed. The previous director worked with the community to ease surrendering. I would like to see the final candidates speak to us. The front desk people at ACC are not kind and compassionate. SPCA and ACC must work together, as was done in the past.
Marcy Schoff: Save a Bunny Rabbit Rescue. It has been hard to listen to all the comments tonight. We have had a good experience with ACC. We started working with them since 1999. We have taken in every rabbit from ACC to save them. We have been doing outreach at SPCA to try to get bunnies into SPCA. We have heard that SPCA may be working with another group to get bunny rescues, but the group that they are working with is outside of the city. They are a good group, but the are not in SF, which impacts our ability to save bunnies. We do not want to say anything negative about that group, they are just outside SF, that’s all. The new leader should be able to identify trends, like small animals, and make a stand.
Public Comment closed.
6. Old Business (note out of order from agenda)
A) Update on Vicious and Dangerous Dog Unit Hearing Officer. Discussion of effects of changes at Animal Care and Control on the search for and hiring of a new Hearing Officer for the Vicious and Dangerous Dog unit.
Commissioner Stephens: A Request for Proposals has been posted to the city’s website. Applications are due September 9. Officer Denny, the past investigative officer, has been working through the backlog, which was seven dogs at ACC awaiting hearings. He will continue to work to clear through the backlog.
Sargent Hicks: The hearing officer works as a team with the investigative officer, to help prepare people for the hearing.
Public Comment:
Nancy Stafford: It is imperative that the hearing officer be knowledgeable about dog behavior. Understanding behavior is the most important aspect of looking at who will be the next hearing officer. You must know dogs, or you will make mistakes that shouldn’t be made.
Rose Bower: We have been watching San Francisco for two years. Every day I am friends with people all over the world and they have watched the drama play out about Charlie. Officer Denny released Charlie, just a little dog, then the drama after the guy released the dog and suddenly when the guy and the girlfriend brought their dog back, officer Denny said we’re going to euthanize your dog. Everyone was upset about this. And, the campaign that Rebecca Katz went on about the shaming and hate and the money the sad experience they created, just Charlie disappeared. They agreed that the dog would disappear or they would kill it. The contract was not followed, he just disappeared. Everything they agreed to do with the dog, they didn’t do anything. She never returned his calls. He couldn’t get through to anyone. He was a joke to them. He was supposed to be able to chose a sanctuary for his beloved dog, but they didn’t even allow that. It’s tragic. I love San Francisco but I don’t love what San Francisco has done.
Public comment closed.
Commissioner Stephens: People should keep in mind that ACC and the VDD are not the same.
B) Mandatory Spay/Neuter for Dogs in San Francisco. Commissioner Lang will present results from her Masters Thesis that looked at impacts of mandatory spay/neuter laws in other communities on shelter intake and euthanasia rates. Her thesis argued that San Francisco should implement a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance for all dogs over 6 months old. Lang will discuss next steps in her research.
Commissioner Lang: My name is Davi Lang. I finished my master’s thesis in December. My thesis is on the unwanted dog population of San Francisco. I have heard a lot tonight about no-kill, but I have not heard a lot about how to get there. I have not heard a lot about spay/neuter. Supervisor Weiner released a statement saying that ACC is understaffed, underfunded and overworked. There has been a 42% increase in intake rates, increase cases of animal cruelty in the past five years. How can we save animals, improve public health and safety, decrease suffering and death. I thought the best way to get data, which is very difficult. There is no mandatory reporting system. All shelters collect data differently. I called 18 different shelters across the country. Definition of mandatory spay/neuter law. I will be talking about all dogs in the city, with certain exceptions. Surveys show that cost is not the main reason that people do not do this to their animals. There are many low-cost of free programs. At least 33 cities have mandatory spay/neuter laws. Of the 18 shelters I called, I got data from two shelters, Clark County NV and Los Angeles County. I analysed the data to study the effort of the laws on the unwanted dog population. I included population changes and unemployment rates, to account for economic effects. I did three types of analysis: Total number of dogs taken in during the prior 10 years, the adjusted rate (dogs claimed by their people), and the unwanted dogs, not reclaimed by their people or adopted out. some arguments for: Saves resources, public health, less animal waste. Some arguments against: There are free clinics, fear that some people would not take their dogs to the vet for fear of being reported, and that the law is difficult to enforce.
The unwanted dog population: In Clark County, the mandatory law took effect in 2010, two years ago the euthanasia rate was the lowest euthanasia rate in the past 22 years. This is only two years after the law took effect.
In LA, law took effect in 2006. Lowest euthanasia rate in past 21 years.
The conclusion is that San Francisco should have some sort of mandatory spay/neuter law. It should apply to dogs over the age of 6 months, with certain exclusions, like if they are too sick or old to undergo the surgery, or would threaten their life. I think that people should be able to purchase a license to not do the procedure. And, they should have a separate license for breeding. I think civil penalties should apply, not send people to jail. Active enforcement at first. I am looking for volunteers to continue my research. Contact me at idavilang@gmail because I do want to continue this research.
Commissioner Stephens: There is a concern that in some breeds, especially larger breeds, bones have not developed before being spayed and this leads to problems with bones in the dogs later.
Commissioner Lang: The cities with mandatory laws allow for the owner to get exceptions. There are options for people.
Commissioner O’Neill: There is only one study that has made this link between osteoporosis and spaying early. The jury is still out on that.
Commissioner Lang: If there is a dog licensing system in place, for example a dog tag could have different colors for breeding license, exception or no exception. An easy thing to incorporate into the existing system. I would like active enforcement at the beginning by knocking on dogs to check on dogs. In the long run, it would save so much money, even if it took a lot of resources at first.
Public Comment:
unknown: I have taken over 600 cats who have not been spayed or neuter, but people talk about the cost. ACC made an error. I would like to see a more active commission. Educate people. Work with behavior. I am very much against anything mandatory, as there is not enough enforcement. It’s all about the right shelter director. The LA city director used to work at the SF ACC. So, I am not surprised that LA’s numbers went down, it’s not all about spay/neuter. Cost is huge.
Juleen Johnson - Fix San Francisco.org. I volunteered at SPCA and ACC for many years. I disagree that mandatory spay/neuter gets to no-kill. That is one of the ways, but there are other ways. I read the whole thesis. The basic premise is that SF has a dog over-population problem. We took in only 2,800 dogs last year vs. 71,000 dogs in LA. The problems in LA are very different than in San Francisco. But we are still killing dogs. Why the dogs at ACC? Breeding? The economy?
Jennifer Scarlett - SF SPCA. I disagree that data speaks for itself. It is how it is analysed, collect. There has been a 42% increase in intake of dogs, but that equals about 130 dogs per year. It is draconian. There are not litters of puppies. It is adults, coming in for housing issues, or behavior issues. We went out to the community to vaccinate dogs. The data in this paper is horribly referenced. In fact, in Clark County, the trend was already going down for dog intakes before the law was enacted. Finally, there are horrible mythologies about spay/neuter on aggression. There is a quote here from two experts who I know well, saying that spay/neuter cuts down on aggression. I went to the source that is cited here. I read it three times and in no place did I see that statement about aggression. Just one example of problems with this paper. I have performed about 70,000 procedures myself. I am against mandatory spay/neuter.
Unknown: I also am against mandatory spay/neuter. I look at it like zero tolerance. My concern is the health aspect of neutering so young. If I had my own dog, I would not do it until age of 12-14 months. For cats, there are larger heads for cats who are not neutered early. Some dogs have unusually longer legs, because the hormones are not here to get the plates to grow and close properly. I would like to see more research about the increase in TPLO surgeries and others. There could be a correlation. Especially if you have a dog with a special ability, like search and rescue. If you get a great dog you can’t breed it and that is a loss to the gene pool.
Lana Basil - I am opposed to any mandates. This is a quote from the city administrator’s office. It is not easily enforced. The pit bull ordinance enforcement is very dangerous, as it requires officers to approach individuals. It is inconceivable to enforce something like this. If i see someone with a pit bull who is not altered, I engage them in a conversation, it is not confrontational, it is more effective than mandating. I think there are other ways to achieve the goal. Look at the 2005 ordinance implication for pit bull mandatory spay neuter and see what the results have been .
Commissioner Lang: I would like to respond by saying I only had four months to do this project. I was working full time. I tried to do as much research and writing as I could during that time. I want to get more data. It is a work in progress. In regards to LA vs. SF, I did not hear taking into account population differences and changes. My analysis includes that. I don’t understand where people think that we don’t have an overpopulation of dogs in San Francisco. Yes, there are a lot of adult dogs, but maybe they have been living on the streets for a while. And there are puppies that come into ACC. I do understand that cost is a barrier for some people. I support vouchers.
Commissioner Stephens: It is important to point out that you are open to people presenting other numbers, if they have it. I encourage you to reach out to Commissioner Lang. This was a discussion item only.
6. General Public Comment
Members of the public may address the Commission with comments or recommendations on items within the Commission’s jurisdiction other than the items on the agenda at the beginning or end of the meeting, but not both.
None. Public comment closed.
7. Items to be put on the Calendar for Future Commission Meetings
None. Public comment closed.
8. Closing Review of Task Allotments and Next Steps
9. Adjournment at 7:46pm.