* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] ALL [CALL TO ORDER] RIGHT. IT IS SIX O'CLOCK, SO GOOD MORNING. I AM . GOOD EVENING, WHATEVER. GOOD EVENING. UM, I'M GONNA CALL THE OCTOBER 12TH, 2026 REGULAR MEETING OF THE AUSTIN ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION TO ORDER, AND THE TIME IS 6 0 1. SO WELCOME EVERYONE. UM, WE ARE GOING TO START OFF WITH DOING ROLL CALL. ALL RIGHT. I AM HERE SOMEWHAT. COMMISSIONER DANIEL PRESENT. COMMISSIONER ES PREPON. COMMISSIONER FERGUSON PRESENT. COMMISSIONER HOLT. COMMISSIONER HOLT. I'M HERE, BUT IT, I'M DOING A NEW, I, I'M HERE. HI, . . ALL RIGHT. UH, COMMISSIONER HUDDLESTON DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE HERE. COMMISSIONER LOYN HERE. COMMISSIONER NELSON DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE HERE YET. COMMISSIONER SONO HERE. AND COMMISSIONER VANLANDINGHAM DOES NOT APPEAR. OH, I'M SORRY. COMMISSIONER NORTON AS WELL. OH, OKAY. AND, UH, COMMISSIONER NORTON? I'M HERE. HELLO. ALL RIGHT, SO WE HAVE A QUORUM, SO THIS IS GOOD. AND, UH, JUST A COUPLE OF UPDATES ON THE AGENDA. I JUST WANTED PEOPLE TO BE AWARE THAT, UM, ON ITEM NUMBER THREE ON THE STAFF BRIEFING FROM 3 1 1, UH, THE, UH, SO JERRY GALVAN, HE'S ACTUALLY, UM, OUT SICK, SO HE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PRESENT TONIGHT, SO WE'RE HOPING TO POSTPONE THAT HERE TO WHEN HE IS FEELING BETTER. SO I JUST WANTED EVERYONE TO BE AWARE OF THAT. I THINK THERE'S TERRIBLE THINGS GOING AROUND RIGHT NOW FOR A LOT OF FOLKS. AND THEN, UM, ALSO LATER ON IN THE DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS, NUMBERS 10 AND 11 HAVE BEEN, UH, WITHDRAWN AT THIS TIME. SO I JUST WANTED EVERYBODY TO BE AWARE. [APPROVAL OF MINUTES] AND, UM, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. AND SO ITEM NUMBER ONE IS CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES FROM OUR SEPTEMBER 14TH MEETING. AND DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES? OKAY, HEARING NONE. UH, LET'S SEE. UM, OH GOSH. DO WE HAVE TO VOTE TO AGREE TO THOSE MINUTES THEN? YES. ALRIGHT, SO WE WILL, IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER CORRECTIONS, THEN I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE SEPTEMBER 14TH MINUTES. I, I MOTION TO APPROVE CHAIR. ALL RIGHT. AND WE HAVE A SECOND WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER LOIN. AND ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? IT IS UNANIMOUS. ALL RIGHT, SO MOTION PASSES OF APPROVING THE MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 14TH MEETING. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN ITEM NUMBER TWO IS THE AUSTIN, UH, OH CHAIR. WERE THERE NO PUBLIC COMMENTS TODAY? LET ME SEE. IT ALL APPEARS TO BE, OH, I'M SORRY, WITH NUMBER TWO. YES, YOU'RE RIGHT. WE DO, BUT WE'RE GONNA DO THE PRESENTATION FIRST. OKAY. I'M SORRY. I WAS JUST ASKING ABOUT THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION IN GENERAL. THERE WERE JUST SPEAKERS. YES. SORRY. THAT WHOLE OTHER SECTION THAT I SKIPPED AT THE TOP. [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL] ALL RIGHT. SO WE WILL MOVE HERE TO GO TO PUBLIC SPEAKERS AND WE'LL BEGIN WITH OUR PUBLIC GENERAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. EVERYBODY HAS THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK ON MATTERS THAT ARE NOT POSTED ON THE AGENDA. AND WE WILL BEGIN WITH WILLIAM LENNER. HOPEFULLY I PRONOUNCED THAT CORRECTLY. AND HE'S REMOTE, I BELIEVE. YES. HI, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU WELCOME. MM-HMM. OH, ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. UH, GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS WILLIAM LEHNER AND I LIVE IN DISTRICT NINE. I BECAME INVOLVED IN THE ANIMAL WELFARE COMMUNITY THREE YEARS AGO [00:05:01] WHEN I BECAME A VOLUNTEER AT THE SHELTER WHERE I WALK, WALK LOG DOGS. OVER THE PAST 18 MONTHS, I'VE HAD A UNIQUE EXPERIMENT THAT HIGHLIGHTS DIFFICULTIES, FRUSTRATIONS, AND EMOTIONS THAT COME WITH THE REALITIES OF THE SITUATION. IN AUSTIN MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND OF 2025, MY PARTNER ABBY, SAW A SKINNY DOG COVERED IN PAINT RUNNING DOWN OUR STREET. WE CALLED THE DOG OVER AND SHE IMMEDIATELY RAN INTO OUR FENCE YARD WHERE WE PROVIDED SHADE AND WATER. AND THEN I WENT TO WORK CONTACTING PEOPLE I KNOW TO GET ADVICE ON HOW TO HANDLE. WE TOOK THE DOG TO A VET AND CONFIRMED SHE HAD NO MICROCHIP, AND WE UPLOADED HER PICTURE TO EVERY WEBSITE IMAGINABLE IN HOPES OF REUNITING HER WITH HER FAMILY. ALTHOUGH IT SEEMED OBVIOUS SHE HAD BEEN ON THE STREET FOR A WHILE, I TRIED TO BRING SWEET PEA, WHICH IS THE NAME WE GAVE HER TO THE SHELTER THAT WEEKEND. AT THE TIME, INTAKE WAS COMPLETELY CLOSED AND I WAS GIVEN AN INTAKE DATE OF JULY 11TH. ESSENTIALLY, WE WERE GIVEN THE CHOICE OF DUMPING THIS DOG BACK ON THE STREET OR SOMEHOW FIGURING OUT HOW TO PROVIDE CARE AND SHELTER FOR A STRAY DOG FOR 49 DAYS. WE ALREADY HAD OUR OWN SENIOR DOG WHO WAS VERY DOG REACTIVE, SO SHARING SPACE WITH ANOTHER DOG WAS DIFFICULT. WE COMPLETELY BARRICADED OFF A SEPARATE PART OF THE HOUSE, AND I WOULD STAY IN THAT ROOM WITH SWEET PEA UNTIL HER INTAKE DATE. SINCE THEN, SHE HAS BEEN AT THE SHELTER FOR THE BETTER PART OF ALMOST 450 DAYS, APART FROM TWO SHORT-TERM FOSTERS AND ME TAKING HER HOME OVERNIGHT, ONE TO TWO NIGHTS PER MONTH. NOW, IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, SWEET PEA HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE RESCUE PLACEMENT LIST, WHICH HAS BEEN FRUSTRATING DEVELOPMENT. THIS DESIGNATION IS DESCRIBED AS BEING FOR DOGS THAT QUOTE, HAVE A BITE HISTORY AND OR SIGNIFICANT BEHAVIORAL CONCERNS THAT POSE A THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY IF PLACED WITHOUT SPECIALIZED SUPPORT. I'M THE FIRST TO ADMIT SHE'S NOT THE EASIEST DOG. SHE DOES HAVE STRONG DOG REACTIVITY, BUT SHE'S CERTAINLY NOT THE FIRST DOG WITH THOSE CHARACTERISTICS TO GO THROUGH THE SYSTEM. AND THERE'S NOTHING IN HER NOTES OR FROM MY EXPERIENCE, IT WAS JUST THAT SHE HAS CONCERN THAT POSE A THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY. SO HER PLACEMENT ON THIS LIST IS PERPLEXING AT BEST. SHE ALSO HAS LIKELY HEALTH ISSUES THAT THE SHELTER IS UNABLE TO REALLY CARE FOR GIVEN THE SLASHED BUDGET FROM THE CITY. SO SHE NOW FINDS HERSELF AT RISK OF BEING EUTHANIZED IN THE COMING DAYS AS WE DESPERATELY TRY TO FIND A SOLUTION FOR HER. WHERE ALL INVOLVED HAVE OPERATED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS. IT FEELS LIKE THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED SWEET PEA, THE SHELTER DOES NOT HAVE ADEQUATE FUNDING TO PROVIDE SPECIALIZED BEHAVIORAL OR MEDICAL CARE. I RECOGNIZE THE PRIVATE SECTOR HELPS FILL IN THE GAPS, BUT IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND HOW A DOG WITH OVER 400 DAYS ON SITE HAS RECEIVED SO LITTLE SUPPORT. TAKING A STEP BACK. OUTCOMES FOR DOGS AT THE SHELTER HAVE DECREASED DRASTICALLY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, DOWN ALMOST 30% SINCE 22, AND DOWN OVER 50% SINCE BEFORE COVID, EVEN AS THE POPULATION HAS SOARED, SOMETHING ISN'T WORKING. DESPITE EVERYONE'S GOOD INTENTIONS DURING THIS TIME, WE HAVE LEARNED A LOT FROM THIS EXPERIENCE. EVEN WITH THE RESOURCES AND KNOWLEDGE THAT I HAVE FROM BEING A VOLUNTEER, IT IS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE THIS TYPE OF SITUATION AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN. AND NOW THIS SWEET DOG WHO IS QUICK TO ROLL ON HER BACK FOR BELLY RUBS AND HAS ENDURED A LOT OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS DESERVES A BETTER CHANCE AT A POSITIVE OUTCOME. BUT SHE'S STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF A SYSTEM THAT HAS FAILED HER, AND SHE IS DAYS AWAY FROM POSSIBLY BEING EUTHANIZED THROUGH NO FAULT OF HER OWN. AND MY PARTNER, ABBY AND I, ARE DESPONDENT AT THIS POTENTIAL OUTCOME. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO HER STORY. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY FOLLOW UP QUESTION? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. UM, OUR SECOND SPEAKER IS, UH, ALSO REMOTE. AVERY KOCH. HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU. OKAY, BEAUTIFUL. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS AVERY COOK AND I LIVE IN DISTRICT TWO. YESTERDAY, ACTUALLY MARCHED MY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY AS A LARGE DOG WALKING VOLUNTEER AT AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES. AND I'M ALSO A LONGTIME FOSTER WITH A A S AND A PA. I WANNA SPEAK ABOUT TWO ISSUES THAT DIRECTLY AFFECT THE WELFARE OF DOGS IN OUR CHAIR. DAILY DOG WALKING AND BASIC FACILITY MAINTENANCE. FIRST DAILY DOG WALKING NEEDS TO BE TREATED AS BASIC CARE, NOT AN OPTIONAL EXTRA. LOOKING AT THE SHELTER'S, WHITEBOARDS FOR JUST ONE WEEK ACROSS TWO BUILDINGS, I COUNTED APPROXIMATELY 50 TIMES A DOG WAS MARKED IN. A DOG GETS AN IN ON THE BOARD IF THEY HAD NOT GOTTEN OUT THAT DAY. THAT'S JUST A SMALL SNAPSHOT OF THE SHELTER. AGAIN, THAT WAS ONLY TWO OUT OF THE SIX PUBLIC BUILDINGS, BUT IT PAINTS THE PICTURE PRETTY WELL. ONE OF MY FAVORITE DOGS, ROBIN. A YOUNG BLUE DOT FREQUENTLY RACKS UP THREE TO FOUR ENDS IN A SINGLE WEEK. IF WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT ADOPTION OUTCOMES, KEEPING A YOUNG ENERGETIC DOG CAN SIGN WITHIN CONCRETE WALLS FOR 36 OR MORE HOURS IS JUST NOT GOING TO HELP. I'VE ALSO HEARD THAT PAID DOG WALKING POSITIONS MAY BECOME OBSOLETE IN THE COMING YEARS DUE TO BUDGET CONSTRAINTS. ELIMINATING THAT SUPPORT WITHOUT A PROPER PLAN IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT WALKS ARE NOT GONNA HAPPEN IS ALREADY A, IS ALREADY CONCERNING. SECOND BASIC FACILITY MAINTENANCE NEEDS URGENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. THE PLAY YARD GATE NEAR THE ZEROS AND THE EXIT GATE NEAR THE 500 HAVE HAD BROKEN PARTS FOR OVER A MONTH. THESE [00:10:01] AREN'T JUST INCONVENIENCES. SOME DOGS NEED TIME IN A PLAY YARD TO BURN OFF ENERGY BEFORE A WALK, PARTICULARLY WHEN THEY MAY HAVE NOT GOTTEN OUT IN OVER 36 HOURS, LIKE MENTIONED ABOVE. AT THE 500 EXIT, VOLUNTEERS ARE LEFT TRYING TO MACGYVER A BROKEN LOCK WHILE FRUSTRATED DOGS WEIGHT AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS AND DOGS ARE BEHIND THEM. IT CREATES UNNECESSARY STRESS AND A SAFETY CONCERN. I PERSONALLY WITNESSED MULTIPLE REPAIR ATTEMPTS. I WATCHED THREE PEOPLE WORK ON THE 500 GATE ON MONDAY ONLY TO RETURN FRIDAY, AND IT STILL WASN'T WORKING. SO LET ME BE CLEAR, THERE ARE ATTEMPTS, BUT IT'S ALMOST, IT IS NEVER FIXED THE FIRST TIME. AND HONESTLY NOT THE SECOND OR THIRD TIME EITHER. BOTH OF THESE GATES WERE STILL BROKEN WHEN, WHEN I WAS AT THE SHELTER YESTERDAY EVENING. SO MY ASK FOR THIS COMMISSION IS TO ADVOCATE FOR DAILY DOG WALKING AS THE BASIC STANDARD OF CARE AND PROTECT THE STAFFING THAT'S NEEDED TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE AND PUSH FOR ACCOUNTABILITY TO ENSURE ESSENTIAL FACILITY REPAIRS ARE COMPLETED. , THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. OUR NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE BRIANNA FLEMING. HI. YEAH, WELCOME. HERE WE GO. UH, EVENING. MY NAME IS BRIANNA FLEMING. I LIVE IN DISTRICT TWO. I WORK AS A FREELANCE ARTIST AND, UM, I VOLUNTEER WALKING DOGS AT AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER. I'M HERE TONIGHT TO ASK THIS COMMISSION TO RECOMMEND THAT CITY COUNCIL FUND THREE FULL-TIME DOG WALKERS AT A AAC AS A FAIRLY NEW VOLUNTEER, HERE'S WHAT I'VE WITNESSED SO FAR IN THE MIDDLE OF EXHAUSTION AND HEARTBREAK. THERE ARE MOMENTS THAT REMIND US WHY WE KEEP SHOWING UP. LIKE WATCHING A BIG SLOBBING BULL MASTIFF BOUND TOWARDS YOU, HIS FAVORITE TOY FLAPPING WILDLY FROM HIS MOUTH, HIS ENTIRE BODY BURSTING WITH HAPPINESS, AND SUDDENLY HIS JOY BECOMES YOURS. BECAUSE FOR 20 OR 30 PRECIOUS MINUTES I GET TO GIVE A DOG A LITTLE PIECE OF THE LIFE THEY DESERVE. SUNSHINE, GREEN GRASS BENEATH THEIR PAWS, THE SHADE OF AN OAK TREE, SQUIRRELS TO CHASE, A CHANCE TO BREATHE FRESH AIR AND SIMPLY BE A DOG. BUT THERE ARE SIMPLY TOO MANY DOGS AND NOT ENOUGH HANDS. VOLUNTEERS SPEND HOURS SOMETIMES NEARLY AN ENTIRE DAY, DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET AS MANY DOGS OUTSIDE AS POSSIBLE. AND DESPITE THEIR EXTRAORDINARY DEDICATION, SOME DOGS ARE INEVITABLY LEFT WAITING. AND THEN THERE ARE OTHER DOGS WHO SHARE KENNELS. WHILE OTHER DOGS ENJOY WALKS AROUND THE BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS AND RECEIVE INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION, MANY PAIRED UP DOGS ARE SIMPLY PLACED TOGETHER IN A SMALL PLAY YARD AS THEIR DAILY OUTING WITHOUT HUMANS TO INTERACT WITH. SO WHAT CAN WE DO? I'M ASKING THIS COMMISSION TO RECOMMEND THAT CITY COUNCIL FUND THREE FULL-TIME DOG WALKERS AT AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER. AND I'M ASKING YOU TO REQUEST THAT AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES REPORT HOW MANY DOGS GO WITHOUT AN INDIVIDUAL WALK EACH DAY SO WE CAN ALL SEE THE SIZE OF THE NEED. UM, THIS IMAGE IN FRONT OF US SHOWS THE DOG WALKERS COMMUNICATION BOARD. IN ONE OF THE BUILDINGS, THERE ARE 26 ENDS TO REPRESENT DOGS WHO WERE NOT WALKED THE PREVIOUS DAY. THIS IS OVERWHELMING AND UNFORTUNATELY COMMON. THREE FULL-TIME DOG WALKERS WOULDN'T SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM, BUT THEY COULD MEAN HUNDREDS OF ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES EACH WEEK FOR EXERCISE, ENRICHMENT AND HUMAN CONNECTION. THESE ANIMALS ARE IN OUR CITY'S CARE IN A CITY AS LARGE AND PROSPEROUS AS AUSTIN. WE NEED TO FIND THE RESOURCES TO GIVE THEM SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS A WALK BECAUSE THESE DOGS AREN'T ASKING FOR MUCH. JUST A LITTLE, SORRY, . JUST A LITTLE SUNSHINE, A LITTLE FREEDOM, A GENTLE HAND, A CHANCE TO FEEL LOVED. THESE DOGS DESERVE MORE THAN SIMPLY SURVIVING IN A SHELTER. THEY DESERVE THE CHANCE TO FEEL ALIVE WHILE THEY'RE WAITING FOR A HOME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. CAN I ASK ONE QUESTION REAL QUICK? YEAH, IT MIGHT BE THE SAME ONE. GO AHEAD. OH, OKAY. ON, I JUST HAD A QUESTION ON THE IMAGE THAT WAS UP HERE. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS ONE COLUMN IT LOOKED LIKE THE DAY BEFORE, AND THERE WOULD BE MAYBE LIKE TWO TIMES LISTED MM-HMM . AND DOES THAT MEAN THE DOG WAS WALKED TWICE? YES. SORRY. UH, NO, THAT'S, THAT'S GENERALLY FOR THE PAIRS. UM, SO THAT'S THE ZEROS BUILDING AND A LOT OF, THERE ARE A LOT OF PAIRS IN THAT BUILDING AND THERE CURRENTLY ARE ABOUT, SO LIKE THIS ONE? YEAH. SO THAT'S TWO SEPARATE DOGS. IT'S HARD TO SEE FROM HERE. UM, SO BOTH OF 'EM GOT LOCKED IN. I THINK CURRENTLY THERE ARE ABOUT NINE PUPPIES. UM, AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO SEPARATE THEM. SO I THINK THE ONLY, [00:15:02] UH, I THINK YEAH, THERE ARE, I MEAN THERE ARE A LOT OF PAIRS AND SO, UM, AND THAT'S ANOTHER THING IS FINDING SOMEONE TO HELP YOU SEPARATE THEM WITH LIKE, YOU KNOW, WITH A GUILLOTINE. SO YOU HAVE TO SEPARATE THIS SO YOU CAN EACH TAKE ONE OUT. GOTCHA. SO THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD SAY, SO LIKE THOSE DOGS WERE WALKED THAT DAY, BUT NOT THE NEXT DAY. YEAH. IS THAT WHAT THAT SAYS? YEAH, ON THERE. OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I WAS READING THAT RIGHT ON THAT. SURE. YEAH, YEAH. GO AHEAD. COMMISSIONER NELSON. AND THEN I WAS CURIOUS, WHEN YOU REQUEST FOR THE PUBLIC REPORTING, DO YOU LIKE ON THE DAILY DASHBOARD, ON THE WEBSITE, OR IN THE REPORTS THAT THEY GIVE TO US ONCE A MONTH, DO YOU HAVE A FORMAT THAT YOU WOULD REQUEST THAT? UM, I THINK DAILY, YOU KNOW, WOULD PROBABLY BE PRETTY HELPFUL. UH, 'CAUSE IT REALLY DIFFERS AND I MEAN, THIS IS A 26 ENDS IS PRETTY ROUGH, SO, UM, IT DEFINITELY, FROM THE TIME I'VE BEEN THERE, IT'S FLUCTUATED. OKAY. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANKS FOR VOLUNTEERING AND FOR COMING TO SPEAK. YEAH, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, PERSON NUMBER FOUR. UH, VICKI PRI WELCOME. THANK YOU. I RECORDED A VIDEO TO MAKE SURE I STAYED WITHIN THREE MINUTES. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS VICKI PRI AND I'M HERE TONIGHT IN MY CAPACITY AS A SHELTER VOLUNTEER WITH AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES. WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT THE SHELTER'S CHALLENGES IN THIS SPACE TONIGHT. I'D LOVE TO CELEBRATE SOMETHING GOING RIGHT HER HIRING ERIN PETTUS AS VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR. THIS WEEK ERIN IS CELEBRATING SIX MONTHS IN THE ROLE. SO I INVITED FELLOW VOLUNTEERS TO SHARE THE DIFFERENCE THAT SHE'S MADE. THE RESPONSE WAS OVERWHELMING. FIRST, A LITTLE CONTEXT. AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES RELIES ON HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS WHO CONTRIBUTE THOUSANDS OF HOURS SUPPORTING SHELTER OPERATIONS AND ANIMAL CARE. ACCORDING TO THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR AT LAST MONTH'S COMMISSION MEETING, VOLUNTEER COMMISSIONS REPRESENT AT LEAST THE EQUIVALENT OF MORE THAN 20 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES. THAT IS A REMARKABLE COMMUNITY RESOURCE. AND COORDINATING THOSE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE TAKES CONSIDERABLE TEAMWORK. ERIN BRINGS A VALUABLE PERSPECTIVE TO THIS WORK, HAVING SPENT YEARS VOLUNTEERING, FOSTERING AND MENTORING HERSELF. BUT ERIN HASN'T JUST STEPPED INTO AN IMPORTANT ROLE. SHE HAS ALSO FOUND WAYS TO MAKE THE WORK BETTER. IN JUST SIX MONTHS, SHE'S HELPED TO TURN FRONTLINE FRUSTRATIONS INTO PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENTS. SHE HAS DIGITIZED MEDICAL AND MAINTENANCE REQUESTS, SHARED, CREATED SHARED TRACKING DASHBOARDS WHERE VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF CAN SEE UPDATES AND PROGRESS ON SERVICE REQUESTS. SHE'S ALSO INTRODUCED QR CODE CHECK-INS FOR VOLUNTEER TRAININGS, IMPROVED ONBOARDING, AND BASICALLY JUST FREED UP MORE TIME AND ATTENTION FOR ANIMAL CARE. THREE MINUTES IS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO READ EVERYTHING THAT VOLUNTEERS SHARED, BUT HERE'S THE TASTE. THANK DOG FOR ERIN. SHE TRULY LISTENS AND CARES CROSS DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION TO SOLVE PROBLEMS AND PRODUCE TANGIBLE RESULTS ACROSS THE RESPONSES. THE SAME THEMES KEPT APPEARING, TRUST, RESPONSIVENESS, CREATIVITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND FOLLOW THROUGH. ON BEHALF OF THE VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY WHO SHARED THEIR APPRECIATION, I'D LIKE TO VIRTUALLY PRESENT ERIN PETTIS WITH THIS PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD. ERIN, IF YOU'RE WATCHING, WHETHER IN REAL TIME OR THE RECORDING, THANK YOU FOR TURNING YOUR FRONTLINE EXPERTISE INTO BETTER PUBLIC SERVICE AND FOR HELPING THE CITY WORK BETTER TOGETHER. I'D LIKE TO END WITH AN INVITATION. COMMISSIONERS AUSTINITES. ANYBODY WATCHING Y'ALL ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT MONTHLY WF WALK EVENT. IT'S A SERVICE AND SOCIAL WHERE WE WALK DOGS AT THE SHELTER AND THEN HEAD TO A NEARBY VENUE FOR DINNER AFTERWARDS. WE'LL BE MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH AND THE SHELTER LOBBY AT 6:00 PM YOU CAN SCAN THAT LITTLE QR FOR A-R-S-V-P. COME AND MEET THE VOLUNTEERS. WALK ALONGSIDE EXPERIENCED DOG HANDLERS AND EXPERIENCE THE COMMUNITY THAT MAKES THIS WORK POSSIBLE. BECAUSE BETTER PUBLIC SERVICE ISN'T JUST SOMETHING WE RECOGNIZE. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALL HELP CREATE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THAT'S REALLY AWESOME TO HEAR. ALRIGHT, NUMBER FIVE IS, UH, GOSH, I'M HAVING TROUBLE READING REBECCA GATIS. DID I GET YOUR NAME RIGHT? ALRIGHT, WELCOME. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS REBECCA GADDIS AND I LIVE IN DISTRICT FIVE. UM, I'M HERE TONIGHT TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF A VOLUNTEERED AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES, WHO IS TOO AFRAID TO SPEAK [00:20:01] OUT FOR THEMSELVES. THEY SAID THE FEAR OF RETALIATION AMONG STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS IS HIGHER THAN THEY HAVE EVER SEEN IT. THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE DOGS BEST ARE AFRAID TO TELL YOU WHAT THEY SEE. HERE'S THEIR STATEMENT. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT SMALL THINGS BECAUSE SMALL THINGS SHOW YOU WHETHER A SHELTER IS LISTENING. FOR YEARS, THE SHELTER HAS HAD LITTLE TO NO LIGHTING IN THE EVENING STICKS, PROP OPEN DOORS, INCLUDING THE LOBBY DOOR, THE PUBLIC WALKS THROUGH TO SEE DOGS PLAY. YARD GATES DON'T LATCH REPAIRS TAKE WEEKS. NONE OF THE THESE IS A CRISIS ON ITS OWN. TOGETHER THEY TELL YOU THAT SAFETY FOR DOGS, STAFF, VOLUNTEERS, AND VISITORS IS NOT THE TOP PRIORITY. AND THAT REPORTS FROM PEOPLE ON THE GROUND GO NOWHERE. THE DOGS GET THE SAME TREATMENT IN THE LARGE DOG BUILDING. THE SHELTER NOW HOUSES, DOGS TWO TO A KENNEL WITH NO CARE PLAN IN PLACE. RIGHT NOW, MOST PAIRS GET NO BREAK FROM THEIR KENNEL. ON HALF THE DAYS OF THE WEEK, TWO DOGS, ONE KENNEL, AND THEY LEAVE IT ONLY EVERY OTHER DAY. MEANWHILE, THAT BUILDING HAS BEEN STRUGGLING WITH MICE AND COCKROACHES, AND THE SHELTER HAS CUT STAFF CLEANING TIME. OFTEN ONE STAFFER CLEANS AN ENTIRE BU BUILDING OF PAIRED DOGS. WHEN ANIMAL CARE STAFF CALL OUT, THE BEHAVIOR TEAM COVERS FOR THEM, PLAYGROUP GETS CANCELED. AND TWO BUILDINGS OF DOGS DON'T GET OUT THAT DAY. THE STAFF RUN, NOT THE PROBLEM. LEADERSHIP ASK THEM TO DO MORE WITH LESS. AND NOBODY ASKS THEM WHAT'S BREAKING. HERE'S THE BIGGER PICTURE. PROBLEMS ARE STACKING UP THE STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE IN THE WEEDS EVERY DAY KEEP RAISING PROBLEMS AND PROPOSING SOLUTIONS. AND LEADERSHIP ISN'T LISTENING WORSE. WHEN LEADERSHIP DOES MAKE A CHANGE, IT'S USUALLY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT THE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND ASK FOR. AND MORE AND MORE THOSE PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK. THE SMALL THINGS I'VE LISTED ARE THE EVIDENCE I ASK THE COMMISSION TO POSE THREE QUESTIONS TO THE SHELTER LEADERSHIP. HOW DO YOU TRACK AND ANSWER REPORTS FROM STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS? WHAT IS THE CARE PLAN FOR PAIR DOGS AND WHY HAVE BASIC SAFETY PROBLEMS GONE UNFIXED FOR YEARS? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS, UM, NE SHAH. DID I PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME CORRECTLY? IT'S NEHA NEHA NEIGHBOR NEHA. THANK YOU. WELCOME. THANK YOU. RIGHT. GOOD EVENING. UM, MY NAME'S NEHA SHAH. UH, I WORK IN TECHNOLOGY AND I'M ALSO A CHILDREN'S BOOK AUTHOR, WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER OF MY BOOK IS, UH, MY RESCUE DOG, BUCK LEE, WHO PASSED AWAY AT 17 LAST YEAR. UH, I'M A CONSTITUENT OF DISTRICT THREE AND I'M ALSO READING ON BEHALF OF A VOLUNTEER WHO DID NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE SPEAKING HERE TONIGHT. UH, SO I'M SPEAKING FOR THEM. THIS IS WHAT THEY WANTED ME TO TELL YOU. I WANT TO RAISE A CONCERN ABOUT THE SENIOR DOGS FROM WHERE THE VOLUNTEERS STAND. SENIORS SEEM TO LEAVE THE SHELTER ABOUT AS FAST AS THEY ARRIVE. MAYBE THE SHELTER IS SIMPLY GOOD AT PLACING THEM, OR MAYBE THE SHELTER LIMITS HOW MANY SENIORS IT WILL HOUSE. VOLUNTEERS CAN'T GET THE FULL PICTURE AND THE SHELTER WON'T GIVE THEM THE INFORMATION. SO THE COMMISSION NEEDS TO ASK. WE KNOW THE SHELTER EUTHANIZES, SOME SENIORS WE KNOW, IT SENDS OTHERS TO AUSTIN PETS ALIVE, INCLUDING DOGS WHO APPEAR TO HAVE LITTLE OR NO MEDICAL NEED. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY I CAN TELL YOU THAT NOBODY HAS EXPLAINED HOW THE SHELTER MAKES THOSE CALLS. AS FAR AS VOLUNTEERS KNOW, NO WRITTEN PROCEDURE SAYS WHICH SENIORS STAY, WHICH TRANSFER AND WHICH DIE. IF EACH VETERINARIAN DECIDES ALONE, A SENIOR'S DOG'S FATE CAN DEPEND ON WHO IS ON SHIFT. ALL DOGS DESERVE BETTER THAN THAT, AND SO DOES THE PUBLIC THAT TRUSTS THAT THE SHELTER IS WITH THEM. THE SECOND TREND IS HOW THE SHELTER TREATS VOLUNTEERS. VOLUNTEERS DONATE COUNTLESS HOURS TO KEEP THE SHELTER RUNNING. THEY SPEND MORE TIME WITH THESE ANIMALS THAN ANYONE. THEY DOCUMENT WHAT THEY SEE AND THEY SUBMIT IT. YET THE SHELTER OFTEN MAKES DECISIONS THAT SHAPE THE ANIMAL'S OUTCOMES WITHOUT GIVING THOSE OBSERVATIONS ANY WEIGHT. WHEN THE SHELTER DECIDES TO TRANSFER A DOG, RESTRICT A DOG TO A RESCUE ONLY PLACEMENT, OR CHANGE A DOG'S RATING IN ITS INTERNAL BEHAVIOR SYSTEM KNOWN AS DOT COLOR, IT RARELY CONSULTS A VOLUNTEERS WHO KNOW THAT DOG VOLUNTEERS HAVE BECOME LOWEST RANK. SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE THAT IS THE GOAL. THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW THESE DOGS BEST HAVE THE LEAST, UM, THE, THE, THESE PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE DOGS BEST HAVE THE LEAST SAY IN WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM. PLEASE ASK THE SHELTER FOR QUESTIONS. HOW MANY SENIORS ARRIVED EACH MONTH THIS YEAR? WHAT HAPPENED TO EACH OF THEM? DOES THE SHELTER CAP THE NUMBER OF SENIORS THAT WILL HOUSE? WHERE IS THE WRITTEN PROCEDURE FOR SENIOR EUTHANASIA AND TRANSFER DECISIONS? AND WHAT IS THE SHELTER DOING TO IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH ITS LARGEST STAKEHOLDERS? THE VOLUNTEERS WHO DONATE COUNTLESS HOURS TO SUPPORT ITS OPERATIONS? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. [00:25:01] ALL RIGHT. AND NEXT UP WE HAVE JULIE OLIVER. WELCOME. GOOD, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. I'M JULIE OLIVER, A D NINE RESIDENT, A RESCUE VOLUNTEER, FOSTER MOM, ANIMAL ADVOCATE. I AM ALSO SHARING CONCERNS FROM AN AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES VOLUNTEER WHO WISHES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. YOU MIGHT SEE A THEME HERE TONIGHT, TWO YARDS. THE YARD SERVING THE ZEROS BUILDING KNOWN AS THE ZERO, I'M GONNA CALL IT THE S OR THE ZEROS. UM, AND THE YARD BETWEEN THE 100 AND 200 BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN UNAVAILABLE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD. VOLUNTEERS FEEL EXPECTED TO GET MORE DOGS OUTTA THEIR KENNELS BECAUSE WE'VE NOW DOUBLED DOGS IN THE ZEROES BUILDING THAT WAS NOT THERE HISTORICALLY. UM, EXPECTING TO GET MORE DOGS OUTTA THEIR KENNELS WITH FEWER USABLE SPACES. THE CONCERNS ABOUT THE ZEROES BUILDING THAT YOU JUST HEARD GO BE GO BEYOND THE CLOSED PLAY YARD. HISTORICALLY, THIS BUILDING ONLY HOUSED ONE DOG PER KENNEL, AND THAT'S HOW IT WAS BUILT. IT WAS NOT DESIGNED TO HOLD MULTIPLE DOGS IN EACH KENNEL, BUT UNDER THE CURRENT SHELTER DIRECTOR, MONICA DANGLER, TO MY RIGHT, IT NOW HOUSES AT LEAST TWO DOGS PER KENNEL. EVEN THOUGH THOSE KENNELS, AGAIN, WERE NOT DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE THAT MANY DOGS, HISTORICALLY, THE PAIRED DOGS HAVE BEEN HOUSED IN THE 100 200 BUILDINGS. THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT HAD AIR CONDITIONING ISSUES IN AUGUST IN ROOMS THAT WERE ACTUALLY DESIGNED TO HOUSE MORE THAN ONE DOG. DOGS IN THOSE BUILDINGS PARTICIPATE IN PLAYGROUP. I THINK Y'ALL HEARD THAT WHEN BEHAVIOR TEAM CAN RUN PLAYGROUP IF THEY'RE NOT CLEANING BUILDINGS. UM, BUT DOGS IN THE ZERO BUILDING AREN'T INCLUDED IN A PLAYGROUP. AND YOU SAW FROM THAT WHITEBOARD THAT THEY ARE FREQUENTLY NOT GETTING OUT MORE. I WOULD SAY MORE DOGS. THEY'RE 48, I THINK 42 KENNELS IN THAT BUILDING. YOU HEARD THAT THERE WERE 26. SO HALF THE DOGS, HALF THE KENNELS WERE NOT, UH, TAKEN OUT. SO ACCORDING TO THE CONCERN SHARED BY THIS PARTICULAR VOLUNTEER, DOGS IN THE ZERO BUILDING ARE FREQUENTLY RECEIVED, NO TIME OUTSIDE THEIR KENNELS. GETTING ONE DOG OUT SAFELY IS DIFFICULT WHEN TWO DOGS ARE EQUALLY TRYING TO EXIT THE SAME KENNEL. AND THEN COMBINED WITH THE UNAVAILABLE PLAY YARD, NOW THIS IS THE PLAY YARD THAT IS IMMEDIATELY OUTSIDE THAT BUILDING. IT CREATES ADDITIONAL BARRIERS TO PROVIDING EVEN BASIC KENNEL BREAKS. THE VOLUNTEER LIKES TO GO ON THE WEEKENDS, SOMETIMES HOPING TO GET DOGS OUT FOR A SECOND BREAK, MAYBE TAKE 'EM ON AN OUTING, GETTING SOME MEANINGFUL TIME OUTSIDE. BUT IF THEY COME IN AND SEE A WHITEBOARD THAT HAS A A A LIST OF ENDS, THEY START TO PANIC AND SAY, IF I DON'T GET THESE DOGS OUT, THEY'RE NOT GONNA GET OUT. AND THEY MIGHT BE STUCK IN THEIR KENNELS FOR 48 HOURS OR 72 HOURS. AND SHE ALSO REPORTED SEEING FEWER VOLUNTEERS COMING IN, LEAVING TOO MUCH RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE VOLUNTEERS WHO WERE LEFT BEHIND. UM, SHE EXPRESSED THAT SHE WANTS TO QUIT, AND SHE GOES, I'VE NEVER FELT THIS WAY. FELT SO DEMORALIZED THAT I WANNA QUIT. I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS, AND I I'M AT A POINT I FEEL LIKE I'M AT A A, A BREAKING POINT. SO THIS IS AN ANIMAL WELFARE CONCERN AND A VOLUNTEER RETENTION CONCERN. PLEASE ASK STAFF FOR A CLEAR TIMELINE FOR REOPENING BOTH PLAY YARDS. YOU'VE GOT JASON HERE. HOPEFULLY HE CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION AND HAVE A PLAN TO ENSURE THAT THE ZERO DOGS RECEIVE CONSISTENT TIME OUTSIDE THEIR KENNELS. AND TO FOLLOW UP ON THE SECOND AND THIRD SPEAKERS HERE, WE NEED TO ASK WHY THE SHELTER PRIORITIZED KEVLAR VESTS IN THE BUDGET. YEAH, THOSE ARE BULLETPROOF VESTS AND THEY DIDN'T BUDGET ADDITIONAL DOG WALKERS PRIORITIES. Y'ALL. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AND THE NEXT SPEAKER THAT WE HAVE IS, UH, SHELLY. LIE HIM. YES, I REMEMBER 'CAUSE YOU SAID LOVE HIM AND LEAVE HIM LAST TIME . SO . WELL DONE. IT STUCK. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS SHELLY LEHAM AND I'VE BEEN A CAT VOLUNTEER AT A ES FOR MORE THAN SIX YEARS. I BEGAN FIRST SPEAKING HERE IN, UH, 2019 WHEN THE SHELTER NEW TO RETURN OR SNR PROGRAM WAS BEING IMPLEMENTED IN WAYS MANY CONSIDERED INHUMANE CATS WERE BEING RETURNED TO LOCATIONS WHERE NO KNOWN FEEDERS WERE PRESENT TO DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENTS. EVEN WHEN IT WAS CLEAR THEY WERE NOT THRIVING OUTDOORS AND ONE PARTICULARLY DISTURBING CASE, THREE MONTH OLD KITTENS WERE RETURNED TO A DUMPSTER THAT HAD BEEN DESIGNATED AS THEIR FOOD SOURCE. REMEMBER, THE PUBLIC WITNESS, THE KITTEN IS BEING RETURNED AND REPORTED THE INCIDENT AS ANIMAL ABANDONMENT AND THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE PICKED THEM UP AND RETURNED THEM TO A A SI HAD HOPED I WOULD NEVER HAVE TO FIGHT THIS BATTLE OVER THE S IN OUR PROGRAM AGAIN. YET HERE I AM BECAUSE I HAVE SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT THE DIRECTION A A S'S CURRENT LEADERSHIP APPEARS TO BE TAKING THE PROGRAM. AND I FEAR WE'RE HEADED RIGHT BACK TO 1920. 2019. CATS HAVE LONG TAKEN A BACKSEAT TO DOGS A A S THE SHIFT DID NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. WE GET, WE BEGAN WHEN WE LOST NEARLY 40 CAT KENNELS TAKEN OVER BY SMALL DOGS. MORE RECENTLY, WE SAW THE CLOSURE OF THE KITTEN NURSERY FOLLOWED BY THE DISCONTINUATION OF F-F-E-L-V-F-I-B TESTING FOR CATS. AND NOW WE'RE FACING PRESSURE TO RETURN MORE TO THE STREETS. THE JUSTIFICATION, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, IS THAT CATS PLACE TOO GREAT A BURDEN ON VET SERVICES, ANIMAL CARE AND THE SHELTER NEEDS TO FOCUS ON THE DOGS. BUT A A S IS NOT SIMPLY A DOG SHELTER. IT WAS DESIGNED TO SERVE CATS TOO. CARING FOR CATS IS PART OF ITS RESPONSIBILITY AND THE COMMUNITY EXPECTS IT. AND WHILE RETURNING MORE CATS [00:30:01] TO THE STREETS MIGHT INCREASE OUR LIVE, UH, OUR INTAKE AND LIVE RELEASE NUMBERS, THOSE NUMBERS MEAN VERY LITTLE. IF THEY COME AT THE EXPENSE OF ANIMAL WELFARE. A CAT BEING ALIVE WHEN IT LEAVES A SHELTER DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN THAT THAT CAT WAS GIVEN A HUMANE OUTCOME. THE QUESTION SHOULD NEVER BE HOW MANY CATS CAN WE PUT BACK ON THE STREET? IT SHOULD BE WHAT OUTCOME IS SAFEST AND MOST HUMANE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL CAT. I UNDERSTAND THAT SOME CATS ARE MISERABLE IN A KENNEL ENVIRONMENT AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE SOCIALIZED. AND FOR THOSE CATS, SN R IS THE APPROPRIATE HUMANE OPTION. BUT A BLANKET EFFORT TO RETURN MORE CATS TO THE STREETS WITHOUT CAREFULLY EVALUATING EACH CAT CIRCUMSTANCES IS WRONG FOR SEVERAL REASONS. IT SHIFTS THE BURDEN BACK TO ONTO THE COMMUNITY. RESIDENTS AND VOLUNTEERS ALREADY DO AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WORK TO CARE FOR THE CATS. OFTEN TAKING ON RESPONSIBILITIES THAT SHOULD NOT FALL ENTIRELY ON THEM. WE SHOULD NOT EXPECT THE COMMUNITY TO ABSORB EVEN MORE OF THAT BURDEN. AND THE ARGUMENT THAT THE CATS PLACE TOO MUCH OF A BURDEN ON VET SERVICES AND ANIMAL CARE IS JUST DEEPLY TROUBLING. CARING FOR ANIMALS IS PART OF THE JOB OF ANIMAL SHELTER. IF THE SHELTER'S ABILITY TO CARE FOR CATS IS BEING COMPROMISED, THE ANSWER SHOULD BE TO ADDRESS THOSE CHALLENGES. NOT TO SEND MORE CATS BACK OUTSIDE TO MAKE THE WORKLOAD LIGHTER. I FIND THE ARGUMENT THAT OTHER SHELTERS DO THIS EQUALLY TROUBLING. SINCE WHEN DOES AUSTIN BECOME A FOLLOWER? WE SHOULD BE LEADING THE WAY FOR THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS. AND FINALLY, WE CANNOT PRETEND THAT LIFE OUTDOORS. FOR, FOR CATS AS EASY, THEY FACE PREDATORS, DISEASE INJURIES, TRAFFIC, UNRELIABLE FOOD SOURCES. FOR KITTENS BORN OUTDOORS, THE ESTIMATE OF THE FIRST YEAR MORTALITY RATE CAN BE AS HIGH AS 75%. I'M ASKING FOR THIS COMMISSION WHOSE ROLE IS TO ADVISE ON ANIMAL WELFARE FOR POLICY, TO REQUEST AN EXPLANATION OF FROM A A S'S LEADERSHIP FOR THEIR PLANS FOR THE SNR PROGRAM BEFORE ANYTHING HAPPENS WITH A WHOLESALE RETURNING OF MORE CATS TO THE STREET. WE'VE BEEN DOWN THIS ROAD BEFORE AND I'M HERE TODAY 'CAUSE I DON'T WANNA SEE US REPEAT THE SAME MISTAKES WE MADE IN 2019 BECAUSE THE CATS DESERVE BETTER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN OUR LAST GENERAL SPEAKER WILL BE MATT CABALLERO. SHOULD I PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME CORRECTLY? THAT'S GREAT. ALRIGHT. YEAH. WELCOME. THANK YOU. UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. UH, MY NAME IS MATT ERO. I'M A DISTRICT FOUR CONSTITUENT, UH, LOCAL, UH, FOSTER, VOLUNTEER ANIMAL WELFARE ADVOCATE, AND A COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER WITH OUR LOCAL HOMELESS POPULATION. UH, I TOO AM READING A STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF A VOLUNTEER WHO DECLINED TO BE HERE TODAY. UH, THIS IS THEIR STATEMENT. CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY'S HOMELESS PETS MEANS GIVING THEM BASIC MEDICAL CARE. AND THAT INCLUDES A PHYSICAL EXAM. AN EXAM MATTERS MOST WHEN A DOG'S BEHAVIOR COULD COST HIM HIS LIFE. JUST LAST WEEK, A DOG NAMED JAGGER IN THE CARE OF AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES FACED A EUTHANASIA DEADLINE FOR TWO BITES. BOTH BITES HAPPENED WHEN SOMEONE PETTED HIM AROUND HIS HEAD. THE SHELTER SET THAT DEADLINE WITHOUT GIVING JAGUAR MEDICAL EVALUATION. ALTHOUGH A RESCUE PARTNER HAD ASKED FOR ONE, THEN A RESCUE PULLED HIM AND A VETERINARIAN EXAMINED HIM. THE VET FOUND A DEEP EAR INFECTION, EXTREMELY BAD, UNTREATED, AND APPARENTLY LONGSTANDING. THE VET ALSO FOUND AN UNTREATED INFECTION IN HIS NOSE, ALONG WITH OTHER MEDICAL ISSUES. AND THINK ABOUT THAT, A DEEP, PAINFUL INFECTION IN HIS EAR. THE DOG BIT WHEN PEOPLE TOUCHED HIS HEAD TWICE. DOGS BITE IN PAIN. VETERINARIANS KNOW IT. ANYONE WHO HAS HAD AN EAR INFECTION KNOWS WHAT A TOUCH THAT EAR FEELS LIKE. AND JAGGER HAD NO WAY TO TELL ANYONE EXCEPT FOR THE WAY HE DID. AS FAR AS WE KNOW, NOBODY AT THE SHELTER LOOKED AT THAT EAR. BUT THE SHELTER SET A DATE FOR, UH, DEATH. ANYWAYS. JERRY RODDEN EXAM, ONLY BECAUSE A RESCUE STEPPED IN AND THE EXAM THAT EXPLAINED HIS BEHAVIOR SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED AT THE SHELTER BEFORE ANYONE SET A DEADLINE. NO DOG IN THE SHELTER'S CARE DESERVES TO LIVE IN THAT KIND OF PAIN. AND NO DOG IN THE SHELTER'S CARE SHOULD DIE BEFORE A VETERINARIAN CHECKS WHETHER PAIN DROVE THE BEHAVIOR. WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY DOGS A SHELTER IS EUTHANIZED WITH MEDICAL PROBLEMS. NOBODY DIAGNOSED WITHOUT AN EXAM. NOBODY CAN TRULY KNOW. WE URGE THE COMMISSION TO RECOMMEND ONE SIMPLE RULE BEFORE THE SHELTER SETS A EUTHANASIA DEADLINE FOR BEHAVIOR. A VETERINARIAN EXAMINES THE DOG. JUST MAKE IT A BASIC PROTOCOL. THE EXAM IS A SMALL STEP. EUTHANASIA IS PERMANENT. PLEASE ASK SHELTER LEADERSHIP. TWO QUESTIONS. DOES CURRENT PROTOCOL REQUIRE A MEDICAL EXAM BEFORE A BEHAVIOR DEADLINE? AND OF THE DOG'S GIVEN BEHAVIOR DEADLINES THIS YEAR, HOW MANY RECEIVED ONE? JAGGER GOT LUCKY AND WE ARE HAPPY. HE'S GETTING A CHANCE TO SHOW WHAT HIS BEHAVIOR IS WHEN HE IS HEALTHY. THE NEXT DOG DESERVES A PROTOCOL TO ENSURE THE SAME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, AND THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF OUR SPEAKERS FOR THE GENERAL TOPICS THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE, UH, FOR PARTICIPATING IN THAT. AND NOW WE'LL MOVE BACK TO THE AGENDA ITEMS WE'VE ALREADY COMPLETED. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER ONE ON THE MINUTES. AND NOW [2. Staff briefing regarding monthly reports and the SBI process. Presentation by Monica Dangler, Director, Austin Animal Services and Jason Garza, Assistant Director, Austin Animal Services.] WE'LL MOVE TO, UM, ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS OUR STAFF BRIEFING ON MONTHLY REPORTS AND THE, UM, ALSO ADDRESSING A SERIOUS BODILY INJURY PROCESS. SO I'D LIKE TO INVITE, UH, DIRECTOR DANGLER AND, [00:35:01] UH, JASON GARZA FROM AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES TO PRESENT GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. JASON GARZA WITH AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES. SO TO START OFF THE REPORT, WE'D LIKE TO MENTION SOME UPCOMING EVENTS THAT WE HAVE COMING UP FOR OCTOBER. UM, WE FIRST HAVE OUR, UH, ON OCTOBER 24TH, WE HAVE OUR DE DE LOS, WHICH IS, UM, THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR WE'RE DOING THIS EVENT. IT'S AN ADOPTION EVENT. UM, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE PRETTY MUCH LIKE A FIESTA ON THE GREAT LAWN IN FRONT OF THE SHELTER. UM, SO YEAH, IT WAS PRETTY SUCCESSFUL FOR US LAST YEAR. WE'RE HOPING WE'RE WE'LL REPLICATE THE SAME RESULTS. UM, ALSO PART OF THAT, OOPS, EXCUSE ME. UH, WE ASKED OUR, OUR PET RENDA FOR 2026. AND SO WITH THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS TO, FOR ANYBODY WHO HAS EXPERIENCED ANY LOSS, THIS IS A WAY TO, TO HONOR, UM, OUR, OUR LOVED ONES. AND SO WE CAN SPREAD THE WORD WITH THAT QR CODE. ALSO, WE ARE, UH, IF ANYONE WANTS TO BRING A FOUR BY SIX PHOTO OF, OF THEM AND THEIR PET OR THEIR PET, AND WE CAN PUT IT ON THE, ON THE, UH, OFFSPRING TABLE. WE HAVE IT OUT FRONT IN THE LOBBY. SO AGAIN, SORT OF AN ANNUAL THING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING. UM, SO, UH, YEAH, WE, WE HOPEFULLY IT WAS A BIG SUCCESS LAST YEAR. HOPEFULLY IT REPLICATED AGAIN. AND SO, UM, ALSO THIS WEEK WE DO HAVE OUR, UH, MONTHLY TRAINING DAY. UM, WE ARE ALSO DOING AN ADOPTION EVENT, UH, THIS, UH, OCTOBER 17TH AT WALMART, AT THE BEN WHITE LOCATION IN, UH, PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY. AND AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE, UH, THE DE LOS MASCOTA EVENT AND THEN UPCOMING IN NOVEMBER. WE DO HAVE A MEGA ADOPTION EVENT AT PETSMART, UM, AT THE SUNSET VALLEY LOCATION. SO TRYING TO GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, TAKE SOME OF OUR ANIMALS AND MAKE SOME OUTCOMES ALONG WITH OUR, UM, DOING WHAT WE CAN. UH, I'LL JUMP STRAIGHT INTO THE MONTHLY REPORT. SO, UH, FOR SEPTEMBER, AND THIS IS FOR THE SEPTEMBER MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, WE HAD OVER 1200 ANIMALS THAT WERE IMPOUNDED, UM, WITH THE BREAKDOWN RIGHT THERE FOR THE FIVE YEAR AVERAGE. WE'LL SEE, WE SAW ABOUT A 978, UM, ANIMAL AVERAGE OF ANIMALS IMPOUNDED. UM, FOR, UH, SEPTEMBER WE HAD A 97.47, UH, LIVE OUTCOME RATE. UM, SO, AND THE BREAKDOWN IS RIGHT THERE ALONG WITH SORT OF, UH, WHAT WAS ADOPTED RETURN TO OWNER, UH, TRANSFERRED TO RESCUE. UM, WE DID HAVE 535 ANIMALS THAT WERE ADOPTED, UH, LAST MONTH. IT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A DECREASE FOR US, UH, BUT THAT'S WHY WE WERE TRYING TO RAMP UP, UH, SORT OF OUR EFFORTS FOR, UM, MAKING PLACEMENTS FOR THIS MONTH. AND THEN GOING INTO NEXT, UH, WE HAD 30 ANIMALS THAT WERE EUTHANIZED. UM, SO THE BREAK, YEAH, THE BREAKDOWN SAW THAT, UH, INCREASE AND MAINLY IN PAT'S, UH, CATS WE HAD, UM, UH, WITH THE MAJORITY OF THAT BEING THOSE THAT WERE, UH, DEEMED SUFFERING BY OUR VET. UM, AS FAR AS FOSTERS, WE HAD, UH, ALMOST 400, UM, DIFFERENT FAMILIES FOSTER FOR US. UM, AS OF, UH, OCTOBER 1ST WE HAD 319 ANIMALS THAT WERE IN FOSTER. UM, 90 ANIMALS WERE ADOPTED FROM, DIRECTLY FROM THEIR FOSTER CAREGIVER, WHICH IS A BIG THING FOR US. UM, SO WE APPRECIATE THOSE EFFORTS AND WE WERE ABLE TO PROCESS 121 NEW FOSTER APPLICATIONS. SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE ABOUT 1100, A LITTLE OVER 1100 ANIMALS, OR SORRY, 1100 PEOPLE THAT ARE WITHIN OUR, UH, GIVE PULSE SYSTEM. UM, AS FAR AS ANIMALS THAT WERE TRANSFERRED TO OUR PARTNERS, WE HAD 16 DIFFERENT PARTNERS TAKE, UH, 358 ANIMALS, UM, FROM BOSTON ANIMAL SERVICES. AND, UH, 36 OF THOSE, UH, WERE TRANSFERRED FOR SPAY NEUTER RETURN OR SHELTER NEUTER RETURN, SORRY, I KNEW SHE WAS, UH, WE HAD, UH, 110 ANIMALS THAT WERE RECLAIMED. UM, ONE OF THOSE WAS ADOPTED INTACT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE SEE 'EM AGAIN. WE'LL HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS TO, UM, HAVE THAT WITH THEM. AND WE HAD 11 ANIMALS THAT DIED IN THE SHELTER. UM, WE HAD, UH, OVER 1500 ANIMALS THAT WERE VACCINATED DURING SEPTEMBER. UH, WE DID OVER 500, UH, UH, SPAY NEAR SURGERIES WITHIN OUR, UH, BUILDING. UM, AGAIN, VOLUNTEERS, UH, CAME OUT FOR US. AGAIN, WE HAD OVER 430 VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTE, UM, ALMOST 5,800 HOURS FOR US. AND THEN, UM, WE HAD 31 INDIVIDUALS DONATE 62 HOURS TOWARD A GROUP, UM, VOLUNTEER, UH, WHERE THEY PROVIDED ENRICHMENT AND, UH, JUST HELPED US OUT WITH, WITH, UH, [00:40:01] EVERYDAY FUNCTIONS. AND THEN, UM, YEAH, WE HAD, UH, 12 INDIVIDUALS COME DO COMMUNITY SERVICE RESTITUTION. SO BACK OF THE HOUSE, STUFF THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GET DONE WITH THEM, WHICH IS A HUGE HELP BECAUSE YEAH, ANYBODY CAN HELP WITH LAUNDRY AND DISHWASHING. WE APPRECIATE IT. SO, AND NOW WE CAN TAKE QUESTIONS THERE OR WE CAN GO STRAIGHT INTO THE NEXT STEP REALM. I THINK WE NEED TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE PRESENTATION 'CAUSE THEN THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE PUBLIC COMMENT BEFORE WE MOVE TO, UM, THIS BOARD COMMISSIONER DISCUSSION. PERFECT. EXCUSE ME. SO SBI INVESTIGATIONS, I WAS ASKED TO, UH, TALK ABOUT THIS, UM, SOME MORE. UH, SO WE'RE GONNA GO AND TALK THROUGH THIS AND THEN OBVIOUSLY QUESTIONS CAN BE AT THE END. UM, SO SERIOUS BODILY INJURY, UM, IT'S A, IT'S A STATE OF TEXAS, UH, SAFETY CODE 82 8 22 0.001. UM, SERIOUS BODILY INJURY IS DEFINED, UM, AS SEVERE BITE WOUNDS AND OR SEVERE RIPPING OR TEARING OF MUSCLE. UM, THESE WOUNDS WOULD CAUSE A REASONABLE PERSON TO SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT AND REQUIRE HOSPITALIZATION, WHICH HOSPITALIZATION WOULD NOT MEAN SPEND THE NIGHT IN A HOSPITAL, BUT WOULD NEED TO GO TO AN URGENT CARE OR A HOSPITAL FOR STITCHES, ET CETERA. UM, AND THAT'S WHETHER OR NOT THE PERSON ACTUALLY GOES AND GETS HOSPITALIZATION. UM, SOME EXAMPLES WOULD BE DEEP BITE WOUNDS, TORN MUSCLE OR TISSUE, EXTENSIVE RIPPING INJURIES, INJURIES REQUIRING HOSPITALIZATION, UH, AND THEN LIFE-THREATENING INJURIES. UM, UM, SO THE ACTUAL INVESTIGATION, UM, WE'LL START WITH EITHER AN ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICER OR A DISPATCHER BELIEVES THAT AN INJURY WAS SUSTAINED, UM, FROM A DOG BITE THAT MIGHT BE CLASSIFIED AS SEVERE, UM, BASED ON WHAT PEOPLE TELL US. UM, AT THAT POINT, THE SBI, INVESTIGATOR AND PROGRAM MANAGER ARE NOTIFIED, UM, UH, YEAH, ARE NOTIFIED THE, UM, CODE, UM, THERE'S, SORRY, THERE'S THE CODE. UM, WHAT THAT SAYS IS ONCE WE THINK WE HAVE AN DOG THAT MAY BE AN SBI, WE SHOULD START INVESTIGATING THAT. THAT'S COLLECTING TESTIMONY, PICTURES OF THE, OF WHAT HAPPENED, UM, JUST WITNESS STATEMENTS, AFFIDAVITS, THINGS LIKE THAT, ANY MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION. UM, WE WANNA GET THAT DONE WITHIN SEVEN DAYS, UH, AND THEN NOTIFY THE PERSON THAT WE THINK WE MAY HAVE AN SBI. UM, THEN WE'RE GONNA CONTACT THAT PERSON, THE VICTIM WITNESS FAMILY MEMBERS, UM, COLLECT THIS INFORMATION AND THEN LET THE VICTIM KNOW, UM, THAT WE MAY BE MOVING FORWARD. UM, IF WE DETERMINE WE'RE GONNA BE MOVING FORWARD, UM, WE THINK IT'S VIABLE. FIRST, WE'RE GONNA PRESENT ALL OF OUR INFORMATION TO OUR PROSECUTOR AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY BELIEVE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN MOVE FORWARD. UM, AND THEN WE'LL, UH, COMPLETE AN AFFIDAVIT OF SEIZURE THAT WE THEN GIVE TO A JUDGE WHO REVIEWS ALL OF THE EVIDENCE TO DETERMINE IF A WARRANT, UM, SHOULD BE SIGNED OR NOT, UM, SHOULD THEY MOVE FORWARD AND SIGN THE WARRANT. AT THAT POINT, THEN WE'LL CONTACT THE OWNER, UM, TO SEIZE THAT ANIMAL AND WE'RE REQUIRED TO, UH, HOLD THAT ANIMAL IN A SECURE LOCATION, WHICH WOULD, IN THIS CASE WOULD BE AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES BECAUSE WE'RE THE IMPOUND FACILITY FOR THE CITY AND COUNTY. UM, AND WE'D HOLD THAT ANIMAL UNTIL THE HEARING PROCESS IS COMPLETE. UM, UH, ONCE WE GET THAT WARRANT AND WE HAVE THE, UH, ONCE WE HAVE THAT WARRANT SIGNED, WE'LL ALSO THEN, UH, GIVE NOTICE OF HEARING TO THE DOG OWNER AND LET THEM KNOW WHEN THAT HEARING WILL BE. HERE WE GO. UM, SO BEFORE THE TRIAL WE'RE ASSIGNED A PROSECUTOR TEAM. WE'VE ALREADY GIVEN THEM THE FILES. UM, THE SBI INVESTIGATOR WILL NOTIFY THE DOG OWNER OF THE HEARING. THEY'LL SERVE THE WARRANT, GIVE THE NOTICE OF HEARING, EXPLAIN THE COURT PROCESS, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, AND THEN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OF, UM, FROM THAT OWNER. UM, DURING THE TRIAL, THE INVESTIGATOR WILL SERVE AS A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT. THEY'LL PRESENT, UM, THE CASE AND EVIDENCE, UM, UH, AS PRESENTED BY THE PROSECUTION. UM, AND THEN ONCE THE RULING IS MADE, IF THERE IS A EUTHANASIA ORDER, UM, WE WOULD ASK THE JUDGE IF THERE IS A APPEAL PERIOD OR NOT. THAT IS NOT CLEAR IN THE STATE STATUTE, SO THAT'S WHY WE WOULD VERIFY THAT THERE'S APPEAL. JUDGES [00:45:01] TYPICALLY WANT TO HAVE AN APPEAL PERIOD. UM, SO WE'RE JUST CLARIFYING THAT, UM, TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT ON THE ORDER. IF IT'S NOT ALREADY THERE, OOPS. MAYBE. THERE WE GO. UM, COURT ORDERS, UH, COURT ORDERS ARE THEN FOLLOWED BY AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER AND THIS MAY INCLUDE THE DESTRUCTION OF AN ANIMAL. UM, THEY MAY INCLUDE EXTRA THINGS IN THERE LIKE, UH, VISITATION BY THE OWNER PRIOR TO EUTHANASIA. WE MAY RETURN THE ANIMAL TO THE OWNER. UM, AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, WE'LL USUALLY HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH THE OWNER AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE SHOULD THAT DOG BITE AGAIN. UM, THEY MAY DETERMINE THAT THE DOG IS, UM, A DANGEROUS DOG AND THEY WANNA DECLARE THE DOG THAT STARTS A WHOLE DIFFERENT PROCESS. UM, OR THEY MIGHT GIVE COMPLETELY MODIFIED ORDERS THAT AREN'T LISTED ABOVE. THEY MAY SAY THEY WANT TRAINING FOR THE DOG OR, UH, THAT THEY SURRENDER THE DOG TO US. UM, WHATEVER THAT IS, UM, THE JUDGE HAS THAT, UM, DISCRETION ON, UH, WHAT TO DO. UM, SO ONCE THAT'S DONE, THE ORDER'S DONE, WE FOLLOW THAT. AND, UM, SHOULD THERE BE AN APPEAL THEN THAT WOULD MOVE THAT FORWARD AND WE WOULD START THE PROCESS AGAIN DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE APPEAL. AND THAT'S SBI DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, I BELIEVE WE HAVE TO MOVE TO PUBLIC OH, SORRY. COMMENT BEFORE WE CAN DO THAT. I TURN THIS OFF. WHAT'S THAT? YES, WE HAVE MULTIPLE PEOPLE SIGNED UP. ALRIGHT. IS THAT, IS THAT THE END? YES, THAT'S IT. YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO PUBLIC COMMENT. OH ON ITEM NUMBER TWO, AND THE FIRST PERSON IS, UH, REMOTE IS WILLIAM LANNER. HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU. OKAY, GREAT. WILLIAM LANNER HERE AGAIN. UH, I'D LIKE TO SHARE ANOTHER, UH, MORE SPECIFIC PIECE OF FEEDBACK THIS TIME RELATED TO SHELTER OPERATIONAL DATA THAT'S POSTED PUBLICLY ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE. UM, AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN, I BELIEVE TRANSPARENCY ACROSS THE GOVERNMENT'S VERY IMPORTANT. UH, AND GIVEN MY INVOLVEMENT IN THE ANIMAL WELFARE SPACE AND GIVEN MY AFFINITY AND INTEREST IN ANALYZING DATA ON A MONTHLY BASIS, I DOWNLOAD INTAKE AND OUTCOMES DATA TO ANALYZE TRENDS, UH, AT THE SHELTER. AS YOU ALL MAY KNOW, LAST, MAY THE SHELTER CHANGE ITS MAIN SOFTWARE BACKBONE. I HAVE BEEN THROUGH SIMILAR PROCESSES IN MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THOSE CHANGES CAN MAKE DATA RECONCILIATION A HEADACHE. THAT SAID, THIS PROJECT HAPPENED ALMOST 18 MONTHS AGO, AND IT APPEARS THAT DATA ISSUES CONTINUE TO PERSIST. UH, BASICALLY DATA FROM PRIOR MONTHS WILL CHANGE ALMOST EVERY SINGLE TIME I DOWNLOAD DATA. I UNDERSTAND IF THAT HAPPENS ON A HANDFUL OF ENTRIES FOR THE IMMEDIATE PRIOR MONTHS, UH, BUT IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE FOR THE NUMBER OF DOG INTAKES IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR TO CHANGE BY OVER 10% WHEN I DOWNLOAD THE DATA IN OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR. AS AN EXAMPLE, IN JULY, I EMAILED TO POINT OUT THESE DISCREPANCIES AND WAS CONNECTED WITH MEMBERS OF THE CITY'S IT TEAM WHO ACKNOWLEDGED A KNOWN ISSUE AND MENTIONED FIXES IN PROGRESS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEMS. THAT SAID, IT DOES APPEAR THAT THE ISSUES HAVE PERSISTED. I SAW DISCREPANCIES AGAIN WHEN I DOWNLOADED DATA LAST WEEK. I WOULD SUGGEST THAT SOMEONE WITH A DATA BACKGROUND NEEDS TO ASSESS HOW EVERYTHING IS FLOWING THROUGH BACK TO THE CHANGEOVER IN MAY OF 2025 TO ENSURE THAT ACCURATE DATA IS PULLING THROUGH SINCE THEN, AND THAT THERE'S AN ACTUAL ACCURATE RECORD OF ALL INTAKE AND OUTCOMES. I HAVE STARTED TO LOSE FAITH AND THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, UH, THAT'S POSTED. MY CONCERN IS THAT ANIMALS MAY BE GETTING COMPLETELY LOST IN THE SYSTEM, AND IF WE DO NOT HAVE ACCURATE RECORDS AND DATA, IT'S HARD TO HOLD ANYONE ACCOUNTABLE, WHETHER POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY. I DO NOT KNOW HOW THE DATA IS USED TO MEASURE IN ANY INTERNAL KPIS OR EFFICIENCIES WHO WOULD BE ENTIRELY IMPOSSIBLE TO DRAW ANY CONCLUSIONS WITHOUT KNOWING THAT THE DATA IS ACTUALLY RELIABLE. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR ATTENTION. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN NEXT UP WE HAVE HEATHER MEYERS. WELCOME. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. I'M HEATHER MYERS, A LOCAL ATTORNEY AND SHELTER VOLUNTEER. I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE SHELTER'S SBI POLICY. I EXPECT OTHER SPEAKERS WILL ADDRESS SPECIFIC GAPS IN [00:50:01] THE POLICY. SO I'LL FOCUS ON THE STATE LAW, WHICH GOVERNS IT AND WHAT THE HISTORICAL NUMBERS SHOW. BEFORE 1997, CHAPTER 8 22, LET A TEXAS COURT ORDER A DIS DOG DESTROYED ONLY IF THE DOG HAD KILLED A PERSON. HOUSE BILL 9 91 CHANGED THAT WITH THREE DELIBERATE LIMITS. THE HOUSE COMMITTEE CHANGED THE WORD SHALL TO MAY, MAKING EUTHANASIA PERMISSIVE FOR INJURIES THAT DID NOT RESULT IN DEATH. THE SENATE THEN NARROWED SERIOUS BODILY INJURY TO SEVERE BITE WOUNDS OR SEVERE RIPPING AND TEARING OF MUSCLE THAT WOULD REQUIRE HOSPITALIZATION AND THE LAW BARRED DESTRUCTION. IN CERTAIN CASES, LAWMAKERS WROTE THIS LAW FOR THE RARE DOG THAT MAULS SOMEONE AND WILL LIKELY DO IT AGAIN. THAT'S ACTUALLY SET FORTH IN THE HISTORICAL, UM, UH, UH, THE STATUTORY HISTORY. NOW LET'S LOOK AT HOW A S USES THE LAW. THE CITY'S OPEN DATA PORTAL SHOWS THAT IN THE EIGHT FISCAL YEARS BETWEEN 2014 AND 2021 A S EUTHANIZED 30 DOGS UNDER THE SBI STATUTE, THAT'S FEWER THAN FOUR PER YEAR. IN THE FIVE YEAR SINCE A A S EUTHANIZED 104, THAT'S ABOUT 21 DOGS PER YEAR. MORE THAN FIVE TIMES THE RATE FROM THE EIGHT YEARS BEFORE THAT. IN FISCAL YEAR 25 ALONE, A A S EUTHANIZED 30 DOGS UNDER THE SBI STATUTE, WHICH IS EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT FOR THE ENTIRE EIGHT YEARS BEFORE IT AUSTIN DID NOT SUDDENLY FILL WITH DOGS MAULING STRANGERS IN THE STREET. THE POLICY IS WHAT CHANGED. ON JULY 2ND, 2024, A CITY PROSECUTOR TOLD THE MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE IN OPEN COURT THAT A A S HAD INSTRUCTED HIM TO SEEK EUTHANASIA IN EVERY SBI CASE WITHOUT REGARD TO MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES. HERE'S WHAT THOSE CASES SOMETIMES LOOK LIKE. A DOG SUFFERS A SERIOUS INJURY AND WHILE HURT AND FRIGHTENED BITES, A PERSON REACHES IN TO BREAK UP TWO DOGS AND GETS BITTEN. IN THE CONFUSION, A SENIOR DOG GIVES A MINOR WARNING BITE TO AN ELDERLY STRANGER WHO BENT DOWN TO PET HIM WITHOUT PERMISSION, BUT SHE THEN LOSES HER BALANCE, FALLS AND BREAKS HER NOSE ON THE SIDEWALK. THE CURRENT SBI INVESTIGATOR CALLED THAT SERIOUS BODILY INJURY AND PURSUED EUTHANASIA. I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE AS WE SIT HERE TONIGHT THAT A BROKEN NOSE FROM A FALL IS NOT A SEVERE BITE WOUND UNDER THE LAW. EVEN WITH THE DEFINITION AS PRESENTED BY THE SHELTER TONIGHT. NONE OF THESE DOGS ARE THE KIND OF DOGS A LEGISLATURE HAD IN MIND WHEN IT PASSED THIS, THIS STATUTE. YET A S SEEKS EUTHANASIA IN THESE CASES. ANYWAY. SO MY ASKS FOR YOU TONIGHT. FIRST, I'D ASK A S TO STATE ON THE RECORD WHETHER THEY STILL SEEK EUTHANASIA IN EVERY SBI CASE AND HOW THAT SQUARES WITH THE LAW THAT MADE EUTHANASIA PERMISSIVE AND NOT MANDATORY. SECOND, REQUEST A REPORT BY FISCAL YEAR OF EVERY SBI CASE IT INVESTIGATED, FILED, SETTLED, AND THE RESULT OF ANY COURT CASES, INCLUDING WHETHER THE BITE WAS PROVOKED AND WHETHER A A S PURSUED EUTHANASIA IN THAT CASE. THANK YOU. I HAD ONE, ONE QUICK QUESTION. YES. IF, IF YOU DON'T MIND, UM, ON THE ONE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE WOMAN WHO FELL AND BROKE HER NOSE MM-HMM . WAS THE DOG RULED TO BE EUTHANIZED IN THAT CASE? IN THAT PARTICULAR CASE, THAT WAS THE, THE CASE WHERE THE, UH, PROSECUTOR ADMITTED IN OPEN COURT THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE AUTHORITY TO SETTLE. UH, THE JUDGE URGED SETTLEMENT IN THAT CASE IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE DOG TO GO FREE WITH, WITH CONDITIONS. AND THE, UH, CITY PROSECUTOR SAID, I DON'T HAVE AUTHORITY TO SETTLE, AS HAS INFORMED ME THAT I HAVE TO PURSUE EUTHANASIA IN EVERY SINGLE CASE. UM, AND THEN WITH SOME BACK AND FORTH AND SOME PHONE CALLS, THEY ACTUALLY DID FORCE A SETTLEMENT AND HE WAS DEEMED A DANGEROUS DOG UNDER THE STATUTE, WHICH THEN JUST REQUIRED ADDITIONAL, UH, RESTRICTIONS. HE HAD TO HAVE, UM, INSURANCE AND, AND HE HAD TO BE KEPT ON A LEASH AT ALL TIMES. UM, HE WAS A SENIOR DOG. UH, HE WAS AN A S AND AN A PA DOG. UH, HIS NAME WAS BRAMBLE. GOTCHA. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANKS. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN UP NEXT WE HAVE, UH, MATT RO EVENING AGAIN. UH, MY NAME IS MATT RO, DISTRICT FOUR ANIMAL WELFARE ADVOCATE. UM, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THE SBI POLICY OF COURSE. UM, IN 2024, A S SIGNED A POLICY FOR SBI INVESTIGATIONS, A SO FS 1 42. I'M GONNA COVER WHAT IT SAYS AND WHAT IT LEAVES OUT AND WHERE THE PRACTICE HAS DEPARTED FROM IT. FIRST, WHAT IT SAYS, THE POLICY DIRECTS THE INVESTIGATOR TO INTERVIEW THE VICTIM AND EVERY WITNESS EXCEPT THE DOG OWNER. IT GIVES THE REASON THE OWNER'S ACCOUNT COMES IN THE HEARING AS PART OF THE OWNER'S DEFENSE. IN PRACTICE, A A S INVESTIGATORS REGULARLY CONTACTS OWNERS AND ASKS FOR THEIR VERSION OF EVENTS WITH NO STATEMENT OF RIGHTS AND NO EXPLANATION AS TO WHAT'S AT STAKE. IN THE RECENT MAJOR CASE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE INVESTIGATOR TESTIFIED TO WHAT MAJOR'S OWNER ALLEGEDLY SAID IN THE INTERVIEW, AND THE CITY OFFERED IT AS DIRECT EVIDENCE AGAINST HIM THAT GA MATTERS MORE [00:55:01] THAN IT SEEMS. SBI HEARINGS ARE CIVIL, BUT THE SAME POLICY TELLS INVESTIGATORS TO REFER SOME CASES TO A PD FOR POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CHARGES, PREFERABLY BEFORE THE SEIZURE HEARING. SO A PD CAN USE THE HEARING IN ANYTHING THE DEFENDANTS SAY AS EVIDENCE. A A S'S OWN POLICY EXPECTS THAT AN OWNER'S WORDS COULD END UP IN A CRIMINAL CASE, YET IT REQUIRES NO WARNING BEFORE AN INVESTIGATOR ASKS FOR THEM. SECOND, WHAT IT LEAVES OUT WHEN THE INVESTIGATOR INTERVIEWS THE VICTIMS AND WITNESSES, THE POLICY SAYS TO EDUCATE THEM ABOUT THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES. BUT IT NEVER REQUIRES THE INVESTIGATOR TO SAY PLAINLY THAT A A S WILL ASK A JUDGE TO EUTHANIZE THE DOG. IT NEVER TELLS 'EM THAT PARTICIPATION IS VOLUNTARY. IT NEVER TELLS 'EM THEY CAN DECLINE TO SIGN THE MEDICAL RECORDS RELEASE. MANY VICTIMS HAVE TOLD US THAT THEY FELT PUSHED INTO COOPERATING AND DID NOT UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR COOPERATION COULD GET A DOG KILLED. THIRD, THE POLICY HAS NO STEP WHERE ANYONE WEIGHS WHETHER EUTHANASIA IS THE RIGHT OUTCOME. THE INVESTIGATOR DECIDES WHETHER THE INJURY LOOKS SEVERE AND WHETHER A STATUTORY EXCEPTION APPLIES. AND THE CASE GOES TO COURT. THE POLICY PROMISES A A S WILL MAKE ITS RECOMMENDATION WITHOUT BIAS. A BLANKET REQUEST FOR EUTHANASIA IN EVERY CASE CAN'T MEET THAT STANDARD. SO MY ASK IS TO RECOMMEND THAT A A S REVISE A SO FS 1 42 TO DO THREE THINGS SPECIFICALLY. ONE, GIVE EVERY VICTIM A, UH, AND WITNESS A WRITTEN NOTICE THAT STATES THE REMEDY. A A S WILL SEEK THAT THEIR PARTICIPATION IS VOLUNTARY AND THAT A MEDICAL RECORDS RELEASE IS OPTIONAL. TWO, ENFORCE THE EXISTING RULE AGAINST INTERVIEWING OWNERS OR AT LEAST REQUIRE A WRITTEN ADVISEMENT OF RIGHTS AND STAKES BEFORE ANY OWNER CONTACT. AND THIRD, REQUIRE DIRECTOR DANGLER TO PERSONALLY REVIEW EVERY SBI CASE, WAIVE THE CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING PROVOCATION AND APPROVE A LESSER REMEDY WHEREVER ONE WOULD PROTECT THE PUBLIC. BEFORE A-A-S-A-A-S ASKS FOR ANY, UH, ANY COURT FOR EUTHANASIA. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, UP NEXT WE HAVE JULIE OLIVER. GOOD EVENING AGAIN. UH, COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS JULIE OLIVER, D NINE RESIDENT. I WANNA BE CLEAR WHAT WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR. NO ONE HERE WANTS A CITY TO ABANDON ITS DUTY TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC. WHEN A DOG RUNS LOOSE AND MOSS A BYSTANDER FOR NO REASON, THE SBI STATUTE EXISTS FOR EXACTLY THAT CASE AND A A S SHOULD USE IT. OUR CONCERN IS EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN CHAPTER 8 22 GIVES THE SHELTER TWO TOOLS. THE FIRST IS THE DANGEROUS DOG DESIGNATION. THE DOG GETS TO LIVE AND THE OWNER MUST MEET, UH, STRICT, UH, EXCUSE ME, CONDITIONS, REGISTRATION, A SECURE ENCLOSURE OR BE ON A LEASH AND LIABILITY INSURANCE. BUT THE SHELTER CAN ONLY DESIGNATE A DOG AS DANGEROUS AFTER AN UNPROVOKED ATTACK. THE SHELTER'S OWN DANGEROUS DOG MATERIALS SAY A BITE COUNTS AS PROVOKED IF THE DOG WAS STRUCK, PULLED, PINCHED, OR SQUEEZED. THE SECOND TOOL IS THE SBI PROCESS, WHICH CAN END IN EUTHANASIA. THE SHELTER'S SBI POLICY NEVER ASKED WHETHER THE BITE WAS PROVOKED YET. IN 2007, THE LEGISLATURE D LEGISLATURE DELETED THE LINE IN THE STATUTE SAYING, PROVOCATION DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE THE LEGISLATURE RECOGNIZED THAT PROVOCATION DOES INDEED MATTER. SO TAKE THE DOG THAT BIT WHILE INJURED OR THE PERSON BITTEN WHILE PULLING TWO DOGS APART. THE SHELTER CAN'T CALL THAT DOG DANGEROUS BECAUSE THOSE ARE PROVOKED BITES. UM, BUT UNDER ITS CURRENT PRACTICE, THE SHELTER WILL STILL ASK A COURT TO KILL IT. SO HOW IS IT EASIER TO KILL AN OWNED AND LOVED DOG THAN REQUIRE ITS OWNER TO KEEP IT SAFELY CONTAINED? THE STATUTE GIVE GIVES JUDGES DISCRETION IN SBI CASES SO THEY CAN WAIVE FACTS LIKE THESE. WHEN THE SHELTER ASKS FOR ATION IN EVERY CASE, IT DROPS THE ENTIRE BURDEN ON THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE IN A HEARING THAT IS REQUIRED TO BE CONVENED WITHIN 10 DAYS OF THE WARRANT FOR SEIZURE. OFTEN AGAINST AN OWNER WITH NO LAWYER WHO LEARNED AT THE HEARING THAT THEIR DOG'S LIFE WAS AT STAKE. A BETTER PATH SERVES PUBLIC SAFETY JUST AS WELL SAVE EUTHANASIA REQUESTS FOR THE CASES THE STATUTE TARGETS WHERE THEY FIT, USE A LESSER TOOLS, DANGEROUS DOG CONDITIONS, CONTAINMENT, TRAINING, BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENTS. THESE TOOLS PREVENT THE NEXT INCIDENT AND THE DOG LIVES. I'D ASK THIS COMMISSION DO FOUR THINGS. ASK MONICA TO STATE ON THE RECORD WHETHER A A S SEEKS EUTHANASIA IN EVERY SBI CASE TWO, REQUEST A CASE LEVEL REPORT FROM THE SHELTER ON ITS SBI CASES. AND THERE OUT THREE, RECOMMEND, RECOMMEND THAT THE SHELTER REVISE ITS SBI POLICY TO REQUIRE CLEAR NOTICE TO VICTIMS AND WITNESSES AND INDIVIDUALIZED REVIEW OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES BEFORE THE SHELTER ASKS FOR, UH, EUTHANASIA. AND FOUR, PUT THE PROCESS ON A FUTURE AGENDA, UH, ITEMS SO THAT WE CAN FORM A, A WORKING GROUP TO DEVELOP A RECOMMENDATION FOR COUNSEL. AND ALSO, I'D BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T CORRECT MONICA, WHO IS NOT AN ATTORNEY, NOR IS SHE SOMEONE WHO EVER WORKED IN HEALTHCARE. AND THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE SHE GAVE YOU A DEFINITION OF HOSPITALIZATION THAT DOES NOT EXIST UNDER STATE LAW. AS SOMEONE MYSELF WHO SPENT OVER 15 YEARS AS AN EXECUTIVE IN HOSPITAL FINANCE FOR THE LARGEST FOR-PROFIT [01:00:01] HOSPITAL ORGANIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES, A HOSPITALIZATION DOES REQUIRE INPATIENT ADMISSION. AN URGENT CARE VISIT IS NOT A HOSPITALIZATION, AND WE WOULD BE SUED FOR FRAUD BY MEDICARE AND OR INSURANCE COMPANIES IF WE EVER TRIED TO BILL AN ER VISIT AS AN INPATIENT VISIT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THEN UP NEXT WE HAVE KELLY JANES. WELCOME. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS KELLY JANES. I'M AN ATTORNEY. I REPRESENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS ALL OVER THE STATE, BUT I'M NOT HERE TODAY, SPECIFICALLY IN MY ROLE AS AN ATTORNEY, BUT INSTEAD AS A CITIZEN CONCERNED WITH WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE AN ABUSE OF DISCRETION WITHIN, WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SBI LAWS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, MY ASK SPECIFICALLY IS THAT SBI INVESTIGATORS BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A NOTICE OF RIGHTS TO WITNESSES, TO FAMILY MEMBERS, TO ANYONE THAT THEY ARE SPEAKING TO BEFORE THEY SEEK INFORMATION FOR PARTS. THE PURPOSES OF AN SBI INVESTIGATION IN SHORTEST FIRM. THE REASON WHY I BELIEVE THIS IS SHOULD OCCUR IS BECAUSE MY FRIEND, UH, INTERVENED IN A DOG FIGHT BETWEEN HER DOG AND A DOG THAT SHE WAS FOSTERING. DURING THE COURSE OF INTERVENING WITH THAT FIGHT, SHE SUSTAINED AN INJURY THAT REQUIRED HER TO GO TO URGENT CARE AND GET STITCHES. TO THIS DAY, SHE DOES NOT KNOW WHICH DOG IT WAS THAT BIT HER. WHILE SHE WAS IN, UM, URGENT CARE, SHE WAS CONTACTED BY AN SBI INVESTIGATOR. SHE WAS IN PAIN, SHE WAS ON PAIN MEDICATIONS. SHE WAS ASKED TO PROVIDE A WRITTEN STATEMENT. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, THE OFFICER AND OFFICER THEN SHOWED UP ON HER DOORSTEP THE VERY NEXT DAY, WHILE SHE WAS, AGAIN STILL ON PAIN MEDICATION, STILL IN A PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF PAIN, ASKING HER TO PROVIDE STATEMENTS, PROVIDE AN AFFIDAVIT, AND PROVIDE CONSENT FOR MEDICAL RECORDS. AS PART OF THAT CONVERSATION, SHE WAS TOLD THAT EVEN IF SHE DIDN'T PROVIDE CONSENT FOR MEDICAL MEDICAL RECORDS, THE INVESTIGATOR WOULD GET AHOLD OF THEM ANYWAY. LIKE MOST CITIZENS, MY FRIEND BELIEVED THAT THE INVESTIGATOR WAS WORKING IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CITY AND THE CITY'S ANIMALS. UM, MY FRIEND PROVIDED A WRITTEN STATEMENT, BUT SHE HESITATED TO SIGN THE MEDICAL RELEASE AND SHE REACHED OUT TO ME INSTEAD. THAT'S WHEN I BECAME INVOLVED. I ALSO WAS INVOLVED IN SOME OF THE PHONE CALLS WITH THIS INVESTIGATOR. I LISTENED TO THE MISREPRESENTATIONS THAT WERE MADE BECAUSE I'M AN ATTORNEY. I REACHED OUT TO OTHER ATTORNEYS. I LEARNED A WHOLE LOT MORE ABOUT SBI AND THE WAY THAT IT'S IMPLEMENTED ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE SPECIFIC WAYS IN WHICH IMPLEMENTATION IS DIFFERENT HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, IN A MANNER THAT CAUSES SO MANY MORE DOGS TO BE EUTHANIZED THAN I THINK IS APPROPRIATE UNDER THE LETTER OF THE LAW AGENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT, WHETHER THEY'RE AT STATE, LOCAL, OR FEDERAL LEVEL, OBVIOUSLY HAVE A LEVEL OF INHERENT AUTHORITY AND MOST CITIZENS SEEK TO COMPLY WITH THEM. DURING MY FRIEND'S INTERACTIONS WITH THE INVESTIGATORS, SHE WAS NEVER INFORMED OF HER RIGHTS. SHE HAD NO IDEA SHE COULD DECLINE TO SPEAK TO THE INVESTIGATOR, THAT THE INVESTIGATOR COULD NOT ACCESS HER MEDICAL RECORDS WITHOUT SPECIFIC COURT AUTHORITY, AND THAT THE STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION SHE PROVIDED COULD ULTIMATELY BE USED AGAINST HER TO SEIZE HER DOG AND TO EUTHANIZE IT. SHE WAS PRESSURED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION THAT SHE WAS NOT COMFORTABLE WITH, AND I HESITATE TO THINK WHAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED IF SHE DIDN'T HAVE A FRIEND WHO WAS AN ATTORNEY WHO DID UNDERSTAND THOSE THINGS AND COULD ADVISE HER OF HER RIGHTS. PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT SOMETHING IS DONE SO THAT THESE KINDS OF ABUSES DO NOT CONTINUE TO HAPPEN WITHIN THE SYSTEM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND THEN THE LAST SPEAKER ON AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO IS CHRIS OL SMITH. UM, DID I GET YOUR NAME RIGHT? ALMOST, ALMOST. THAT'S OKAY. I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT. FIRST TIME, RIGHT? ALL SMITH. ALL SMITH, THANK YOU. WELCOME. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. UH, MY NAME IS CHRIS ALL SMITH AND I LIVE IN DISTRICT THREE. I AM A VOLUNTEER AT AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES. I HAVE BEEN SINCE JANUARY OF 2025, AND I WORK WITH MEDIUM AND LARGE SIZED DOGS. AND I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW DOGS ARE BEING HOUSED RIGHT NOW AND THE STRAIN THAT IT PROVIDES ON STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS. UH, THERE ARE CRATES IN THE MULTIPURPOSE ROOM AND TWO DOGS TO A KENNEL IN SOME OF THE SINGLE KENNELS IN THE ZEROES BUILDING, AND NEITHER SEEM TO HAVE A PROCESS BEHIND IT. THE MULTIPURPOSE ROOM ISN'T A KENNEL BUILDING, IT'S A MEETING ROOM WITH CRATES SET UP IN IT, AND THERE ARE USUALLY AROUND A DOZEN DOGS IN THERE, MOST OF [01:05:01] THEM LARGE. UH, FROM WHAT I CAN TELL, THERE ISN'T AN SOP FOR THAT ROOM. UH, LOOSE PARAMETERS FOR BREAKS, NO STAFF MEMBER ASSIGNED TO IT, AND NO LIMIT ON HOW LONG A DOG CAN STAY IN A CRATE. UH, IT DEPENDS ON WHO HAPPENS TO COME IN THAT DAY. IN THE EVENINGS, THAT'S ALMOST ALWAYS A VOLUNTEER. THE DOGS IN THERE GET THEIR LAST BREAK FROM WHOEVER COMES IN AFTER WORK, AND THEN THEY'RE IN THE CRATE UNTIL THE MORNING, WHICH IS ABOUT ROUGHLY 12 HOURS AT 20 TO 30 MINUTES PER DOG. THAT'S HOURS OF WORK FOR ONE PERSON, PLUS REFRESHING THE CRATES. IT'S A LOT TO ASK OF SOMEONE AFTER A FULL DAY, AND IN REALITY, THE DOGS END UP GETTING LESS. THE ZEROES BUILDING HAS A SIMILAR ISSUE. LARGE DOGS ARE BEING DOUBLED UP IN KENNELS BUILT FOR ONE DOG, AND THERE ISN'T A PROCESS, UH, IN PLACE FOR THAT EITHER. UH, PAIRED DOGS DON'T GO TO PLAYGROUP AND GETTING A PAIR OUT AND BACK IN TAKES A LOT LONGER. UH, SO SOME OF THEM ARE GOING ONE, TWO, OR SOMETIMES EVEN THREE DAYS WITHOUT GETTING OUT. VOLUNTEERS SEE THIS AND, UH, IT'S OVERWHELMING, UH, BECAUSE WE CAN'T COVER IT. AND NOBODY HAS TOLD US WHAT THE STANDARD OF CARE IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR A PAIRED KENNEL. UH, IN A LOT OF THE BUILDINGS, VOLUNTEERS AREN'T ADDING EXTRA WALKS ON TOP OF WHAT THE STAFF DOES. UH, FOR MANY DOGS, A VOLUNTEER IS THE ONLY WAY, UH, THAT THEY CAN GET A WALK THAT DAY. AND IF NO ONE COMES IN, THEN THEY SIMPLY DON'T GO OUT. THE NPR AND PAIRED KENNELS ARE BOTH PULLING FROM THE SAME SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE. SO AS A RESIDENT, UH, OF AUSTIN FOR NEARLY 17 YEARS, THAT HAS BEEN MADDENING TO LEARN. I THINK MOST PEOPLE ASSUME BASIC DAILY CARE IS COVERED BY STAFF AND THEN VOLUNTEERS SIMPLY ADD ONTO IT, UH, CRATES IN A MEETING ROOM AND DOUBLED UP KENNELS WITHOUT A PLAN FOR EITHER ONE ISN'T SOMETHING THE SHELTER CAN KEEP DOING, AND IT'S WEARING OUT THE STAFF AND BURNING OUT VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE TRYING THEIR BEST TO MAKE IT WORK. HOW IS THIS ACCEPTABLE? I ASK THE COMMISSION TO REQUEST THE STANDARDS OF CARE AND AN SOP FOR ANY TIME DOGS ARE HOUSED OUTSIDE A NORMAL KENNEL OR DOUBLED UP THAT SAYS WHO ON STAFF IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT RESPONSIBILITIES, HOW OFTEN EACH DOG GETS OUT, AND HOW LONG A DOG CAN BE KEPT THAT WAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY SPEAKING ON, UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO, AND NOW I'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMISSION FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION. YES, COMMISSIONER NELSON. HI THERE. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. UM, I NOTICED ON YOUR REPORT THAT YOU HAD FIVE DOGS BEING EUTHANIZED IN SEPTEMBER, NUNS FOR THE REASONS ON THEM. NONE SAID SENIOR AGE RELATED HEALTH CONCERNS, ANY OF THAT. AND THEN, UM, OF COURSE I AM AWARE OF YOUR, THE CLASSICS CANINE PROGRAM THAT THE SHELTER HAS THANKS TO ONE, HEAVEN SENT VOLUNTEER WHO, UM, TAKES, UM, TAKES UH, SENIOR DOGS AND PLACES THEM IN FOSTER AND EVEN TAKES OVER THEIR MEDICAL CARE. IT'S A TRULY HEAVEN SENT RESOURCE THAT THE, THAT THE SHELTER GETS TO BENEFIT FROM. AND SO I JUST WANTED TO KNOW ALL THOSE CLASSIC CANINES, THOSE JUST ARE REPORTED UNDER THE FOSTER DOGS IN YOUR REPORT, IS THAT RIGHT? THERE'S NO SEPARATE PULLOUT OF LIKE CLASSIC CANINE FOSTERS. YEAH, THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD BE LISTED AS JUST UNDER WHATEVER ANIMALS ARE IN CURRENTLY IN FOSTER. MM-HMM . I PROBABLY COULD BREAK IT DOWN OF WHAT THOSE SPECIFIC ANIMALS ARE, JUST TO FIND OUT, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE SPONSORED WITH MEDICAL CARE FROM CLASSICS. RIGHT. UM, SO YEAH. YEAH, WE DON'T HAVE THE BREAKDOWN LIKE THAT. IT'S JUST LIST WHAT ANIMALS ARE IN FOSTER. YEAH. YEAH. OKAY. IT MIGHT BE A GOOD WAY TO SHARE, UM, WHAT AN AMAZING RESOURCE THAT IS. AND, AND IF PEOPLE ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN FOSTERING SENIOR DOGS, THEY COULD GET IN TOUCH WITH GENE WHO RUNS CLASSIC CANINE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER NORTON. COMMISSIONER NORTON. UH, THANK YOU. UM, UH, JASON, I HAD SENT YOU AN EMAIL EARLIER IN OR SOMETIME, UM, AFTER OUR, UM, SEPTEMBER MEETING ABOUT POSSIBLY, UM, HAVING A LITTLE SECTION [01:10:01] ON YOUR REPORT THAT SAYS HOW MANY CASES FOR DOGS OR SBIS, HOW MANY DANGEROUS DOGS AND HOW MANY VICIOUS DOGS, AND THE OUTCOMES FOR EACH. UM, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'RE CONSIDERING ADDING TO THE REPORT? UM, I NEED TO TALK MORE WITH, WITH MONICA ABOUT IT. I THINK IT WOULD BE RELATIVELY EASY, ALTHOUGH I HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS WITH THE A PO TEAM AND WE WERE ONBOARDING THE NEW DANGEROUS DOG INVESTIGATOR AS WELL. SO IT'S, THAT WORKS BEEN KIND OF SHARED WITH A COUPLE PEOPLE IN THE OFFICE TO MAKE SURE. BUT YEAH, I NEED TO GET WITH MY DIRECTOR, SO HEADS UP, UM, UH, JUST TO SEE WHAT, WHAT WE COULD POSSIBLY REPORT, HOW IT COULD BE LAID OUT FOR ANY FUTURE REPORTS. OKAY. UM, THANKS. UM, THE, THE REASON I KIND OF LIKED WHAT I SUBMITTED, UM, IS THAT IT'S KIND OF AT A HIGH LEVEL WITH JUST A NUMBER, AND IF SOMEONE WANTED TO INVESTIGATE THEY COULD, BUT I THINK IT ALSO SHOWS THAT IN SOME RESPECTS THERE AREN'T A LOT OF THESE CASES, UM, OR AT LEAST THE DANGEROUS AND VICIOUS DOGS THAT CAME UP EARLIER. UM, SO, UM, I, I, UH, JUST A HIGH LEVEL LEVEL NUMBER WOULD BE I THINK REALLY HELPFUL TO EVERYBODY, UM, WHO HAS BROUGHT UP A LOT OF GOOD COMMENTS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON. SO, UM, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN, UH, COMMISSIONER ZAES. THANK YOU, CHAIR. SO, UH, I'M LOOKING AT THE OUTCOME VERSUS INTAKE FISCAL 2026. SO IT'S INFORMATION FROM OCTOBER 1ST, 2025. IT'S THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 20, 26. SO IT'S THEN UP YOUR FISCAL YEAR. YES, MA'AM. AND, UM, HOW DOES THAT CONFIRM WITH THE FISCAL, UH, OF 2025? UM, THE DIFFERENCE OF OUTCOMES MINUS INTAKES? I ACTUALLY LOOKED AT THAT THIS MORNING, ALTHOUGH I DIDN'T SUBMIT IT FOR BACKUP, BUT IT ACTUALLY, WE DID SEE A CLOSING OF THE GAP A LITTLE BIT. SO AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE WERE STILL A LITTLE UNDERWATER BY 136 ANIMALS. WE TOOK IN MORE THAN WE WERE ABLE TO GET OUT. BUT THE PREVIOUS YEAR FROM THAT, I BELIEVE, IF I REMEMBER, WE WERE LIKE AT NEGATIVE 180 5 AND THE YEAR BEFORE THAT WE WERE LIKE IN THE NEGATIVE TWO HUNDREDS. SO WE ARE, THIS YEAR WE WERE ABLE TO FIND MORE OUTCOMES THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS. SO OKAY. A POSITIVE. SO THAT, THAT'S A POSITIVE THING. SO, UM, THE, MY OTHER QUESTION, AND I HAVE TO ASK THIS IS BECAUSE WE'RE WE'RE TALKING OF COURSE THE THE NET BETWEEN OUTCOMES AND INTAKES. AND, UM, SO WHAT ABOUT THE TOTALS, UH, OF THOSE FISCAL YEARS OF THE INTAKE? I MEAN, THIS YEAR YOU ENDED UP AT 11,601. DO YOU, WHAT WAS FOR LAST FISCAL YEAR? IT WAS PROBABLY CLOSER TO 12,000. SO WE SAW LESS INTAKE, BUT IT'S ALSO COEN, YOU KNOW, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE IN, IN THE OUTCOMES. BUT YEAH, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET A, OUR GET OVER THAT HURDLE OF BEING IN A NET POSITIVE MM-HMM . IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR? UH, FISCAL 24, I BELIEVE THE SAME THING. YEAH. IN FACT, IF I REMEMBER AROUND 12,000, EXCUSE ME, UH, IT WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE OVER 12,000, BUT I HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK WITH MY, THE REPORT I KIND OF KEEP. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, YES, COMMISSIONER FERGUSON. HELLO. UM, THANK YOU TO, UH, THE AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES FOR PROVIDING THE UPDATES. UM, I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ABOUT A PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, WILLIAM LENNAR RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT THE DATA CHANGING DAILY. UM, AND SO GIVEN THOSE SUGGESTED DISCREPANCIES DATING BACK TO MAY, UM, OF 2025, AND THEN THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BY IT, UM, RELATING POTENTIALLY TO THE TRANSITION IN THE APPLICATIONS, DO YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE DATA THAT YOU PRESENT, UM, AT THESE MEETINGS? AND THEN JUST GENERALLY SPEAKING, UM, AND HOW DO YOU FEEL, UM, HOW IS THAT DATA VERIFIED OTHERWISE? SO THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF DISCREPANCIES AND, UM, WE ARE ADDRESSING THAT THROUGH PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT NOW BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT ABSOLUTELY ONE INDICATES A ORGANIZATION THAT'S NOT [01:15:01] FUNCTIONING IN A HEALTHY WAY. AND IT ALSO COULD INDICATE RIGHT, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MANIPULATE DATA AND THAT'S ABSOLUTELY NOT WHAT WE'RE DOING. AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE TRUST IN THE COMMUNITY THAT, ONE, WE ARE A HEALTHY ORGANIZATION AND WE ARE, UM, NOT MANIPULATING DA DATA. SO A LOT OF THE ISSUES, UM, ARE JUST DATA ENTRY, UM, ISSUES. SO BECAUSE OF THAT, WE'VE PROVIDED TRAINING TO ALL THE STAFF THAT ARE NEEDED FOR THIS. UM, AND, UH, MOVING FORWARD, WE'RE GOING THROUGH PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES WHEN THESE, UH, ISSUES CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. UM, 'CAUSE WE WILL SEE, RIGHT, IT'S A, A ONE INDIVIDUAL PERSON, IF THEY HAVEN'T HAD THAT TRAINING YET, WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE THE TRAINING AND THEN GO THROUGH THE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SHOULD IT CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. UM, BECAUSE IT IS ABSOLUTELY A PRIORITY TO ME TO HAVE DATA THAT, UM, I CAN 100% STAND BEHIND AND KNOW THAT IT'S ACCURATE AND THAT THE COMMUNITY TRUSTS US THAT WE'RE, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO HIDE SOMETHING. UM, THAT BEING SAID, MOST OF THE, UH, DISCREPANCIES HAVE BEEN, UH, MAYBE NOT MOST, BUT A LOT OF THE DISCREPANCIES HAVE BEEN AROUND WILDLIFE WHEN THEY'RE COMING IN. AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, JASON WILDLIFE, WHEN IT'S COMING IN AND OR, UM, ALREADY DECEASED ANIMALS THAT ARE COMING IN AND WE'RE NOT RECORDING IT CORRECTLY. AND WHEN WE'RE CHOOSING THE WRONG DROPDOWN FOR ONE ITEM, IT DOESN'T GIVE US THE APPROPRIATE DROPDOWN TO PICK FROM THE OTHER FIELD. UM, SO IT'S JUST A COMPOUNDING ISSUE THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE FINDING. BUT THAT'S SOMETHING I'M CHECKING ON A REGULAR BASIS AS WELL AS JASON, THAT TO MAKE SURE FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, IT'S A NEW YEAR AND WE WANT TO MINIMIZE THOSE CHANGES, UM, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ACCIDENTS HAPPEN, BUT IT SHOULDN'T BE, UM, TO THE EXTENT THAT'S CURRENTLY GOING ON. YEAH, I KNOW. I MEAN, THE SCALE IS SO COMPLEX. UM, AND SO, UM, I THINK JUST, YEAH, MAKING SURE THAT IT'S ACCURATE AND PRESENTED. UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS, I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THE DISCREPANCIES WITH, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE WITH THE, THE TEAM, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S A DATA ENTRY ISSUE. UM, SO THEN HOW ARE, ARE THE DISCREPANCIES UPDATED, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THESE MEETINGS? 'CAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF LIKE WHAT'S PRESENTED HERE AND WHAT, WHAT WE LOOK AT AND DISCUSS. SO, AND, UH, I'LL LET JASON JUMP IN IF I'M INCORRECT ON WHAT I TELL YOU. UM, BUT BASICALLY WE'RE GOING THROUGH REGULARLY AND JUST UPDATING MA MAKING THOSE UPDATES AS WE SEE THEM BEFORE WE BRING THE DATA FOR THE END OF THE MONTH, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ALL, UM, APPROPRIATE. UM, THAT BEING SAID, RIGHT, THERE SHOULDN'T BE A BUNCH OF UPDATES AT THE END OF THE MONTH. UM, LIKE THERE HAVE BEEN. UM, SO AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN, UM, SO THAT WE CAN BE GIVING YOU CLEAN DATA. THE, THE DATA THAT I THINK IS FOR THE MOST PART WITHOUT A FEW MISSES, RIGHT, THE ACTUAL INTAKES OF A ALIVE, UM, COMPANION ANIMALS I THINK IS FAIRLY ACCURATE. UM, IT'S AGAIN, THOSE ANIMALS COMING IN ALREADY DECEASED, WE'RE RECORDING THEM INCORRECTLY, AND OR THE WILDLIFE THAT WE'RE DOING, UM, RABIES TESTING ON, UM, OR EUTHANIZING DUE TO RABIES CONCERNS, UM, ARE THE ONES WHERE WE'RE SEEING THOSE DISCREPANCIES. OKAY. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . AND, AND JUST SO YOU'RE AWARE, I'LL ADD A LITTLE BIT MORE. UM, SO YEAH, AT THE END OF THE MONTH, ME AND A FEW STAFF MEMBERS ARE GOING THROUGH EACH OF THE REPORTS JUST SEEING WHERE THERE MIGHT BE A DISCREPANCIES. I HAD ACTUALLY MENTIONED THIS BACK EARLY IN THE SUMMER WHERE I SAW, I DID AN AUDIT AND SAW THAT THERE WAS HUGE DISCREPANCIES ON SOME STUFF. SO THAT BIOME WHERE THE CALLER SEEN THOSE, THOSE CHANGES FOR THE SPRING NUMBERS, BECAUSE YES, THERE WAS JUST LIKE THINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING, WE, AND, UM, WE IDENTIFIED WHAT THE ISSUE IS AND, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, CORRECTED IT. SO WE, IT'S GOTTEN BETTER IT HAS. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE JUST WANT TO ALWAYS BE SURE BECAUSE YES, WE WANNA BE ABLE, LIKE MONICA SAID, STAND BEHIND WHAT WE PRESENT. OKAY. SO YOU'RE FEELING MORE CONFIDENT AS THE, THE MONTHS GO ON, LIKE SINCE YOU'VE BEEN HERE, MONICA, AND JUST AS YOU'RE ADDRESSING THESE? YES, AND LIKE I SAID, THE ISSUES AREN'T, UM, RIGHT. [01:20:01] CHANGING AN ALIVE ANIMAL TO DEAD NE RIGHT? IT'S A DEAD ANIMAL. USUALLY IT'S A DEAD ANIMALS RECORDED AS DEAD OR SOME OTHER NOT ALIVE CATEGORY, OR THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE BEING HOUSED IN THE WRONG AREA. UM, UH, THERE'S THAT, OR IT'S A BAT THAT IS, UM, IN THE FREEZER THAT THEY HAVEN'T OUTCOME, THEY'VE RECORDED IT IN IS DECEASED. UM, BUT THEY DIDN'T PUT, THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY OUTCOME IT. SO IT'S, IT'S THOSE PIECES. BUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COMPANION ANIMALS COMING INTO THE SHELTER ALREADY ALIVE, I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHERE THE MAJORITY OF THOSE ISSUES ARE HAPPENING. I WOULD SAY THEY'RE, THEY'RE VERY RARELY HAPPENING IN THOSE AREAS UNLESS IT'S A, UM, A REALLY MINOR, UM, CHANGE IN INTAKE TYPE, RIGHT. SHELTER BUDDY FOR GOOD OR BAD HAS AN, A NORMAL LARGE NUMBER OF OPTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM. SO THERE'S SOMETIMES THEY'RE ALL LIVE OUTCOMES, BUT IT'S NOT THE CORRECT LIVE OUTCOME OR OKAY. OR LIVE INTAKE REASON. UM, RIGHT. THEY'RE CHANGING IT FROM, I, I DON'T EVEN KNOW FROM STRAY TO OWNER SURRENDER AND THINGS LIKE THAT, WHICH IS, UM, RIGHT, THAT'S NOT AS CONCERNING. IT'S, IT'S A CONCERNING FROM THE POINT OF DATA ENTRY, BUT AS FAR AS A LIVE OUTCOME REASON, THAT PIECE IS NOT AS WORRISOME. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YEAH. OKAY. IT DOES. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . UM, AND I'M NOT A MATH PERSON, SO I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, UM, BECAUSE THE CALLER HAD MENTIONED LIKE MONTH OVER MONTH CHANGES. SO THE, WHEN THE CHANGES FROM LAST MONTH ARE SHARED IN THOSE GRAPHS, ARE THE UPDATED REALTIME NUMBERS USED OR JUST THE NUMBERS FROM THE LAST REPORT? SO IF WE'RE ABLE TO CATCH 'EM AT THE END, AT THE START OF THE MONTH, THEN THE REPORTS WILL REFLECT THE CORRECT NUMBERS. SO I, HE WAS, I BELIEVE THE WAY I UNDERSTOOD IT, HE WAS LOOKING AT IS AT THE TIME, I THINK I DID IT IN MAY OR JUNE IS WHEN I UPDATED Y'ALL. SO THOSE MARCH APRIL NUMBERS WERE PROBABLY CHANGING OR HE WAS SEEING THOSE CHANGES BECAUSE WE WERE UPDATING THE RECORDS APPROPRIATELY TO WHAT THEY WOULD'VE BEEN, OR THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN. GOT IT. AND I WOULD GO AHEAD AND I WOULD SAY THEN DID WE GO BACK AND UPDATE THE REPORTS THAT WE GAVE FOR APRIL NUMBERS AND MAY NUMBERS? NO, WE DIDN'T. SO, UM, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT THEY'LL BE REFLECTED ON THE, UH, OPEN DATA REPORT, BUT THEY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN REFLECTED ON THE, THE PDFS THAT ARE UP ON THE COMMISSION'S WEBSITE. THERE ARE REFLECTED IN THE END OF THE YEAR NUMBERS THAT, THAT WE'VE, THAT I'VE, UH, WE'VE PROVIDED FOR BACKUP THERE. OKAY. AND IF POSSIBLE, I WOULD LOVE TO REQUEST AT A FUTURE MEETING, MAYBE WE CAN GET AN UPDATE ON IF THE TRAINING CLOSES THE GAP. UM, AND IF, YEAH, I'LL END IT THERE. NO WORRIES. ALRIGHT. AND THEN I HAD A GENERAL QUESTION JUST, YOU KNOW, AS A LOT OF THE, UM, SPEAKERS EXPRESSED, UM, COMMENTS ABOUT PAIRED KENNELS, WHICH I ASSUME IS, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING TO TRY TO SAVE SPACE AND, YOU KNOW, GET THE DOGS INTO A PLACE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY CAN BE. AND, UM, AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF YOU ARE ABLE TO SPEAK TO ON IS, ARE THINGS LIKE STANDARD OF CARE OR SOPS OR THINGS LIKE THAT, ARE THOSE THINGS THAT ARE JUST BEING WORKED ON OR, YOU KNOW, ANY COMMENT REGARDING THAT? SO, SO YES. SO WE'RE CO-HOUSING ANIMALS, BOTH FOR ENRICHMENT. DOGS DO BETTER WHEN THEY'RE CO HOUSED TOGETHER, AND IT CAN HAVE NORMAL DOG RELATIONSHIPS, BUT ALSO FOR SPACE. WHEN I CAME RIGHT, FOR, ACTUALLY FOR ABOUT FOUR TO SIX MONTHS, WE HAD 60 PLUS DOGS LIVING IN CRATES, EITHER IN THE MULTIPURPOSE ROOM OR IN HALLWAYS OR IN NON-PUBLIC KENNELS WHERE THEY WEREN'T GETTING OUT. THAT'S NOT HUMANE CARE. THAT'S NOT WHAT NO KILL IS, THAT IS NOT LIFESAVING. ANIMALS ARE STAYING IN THE SHELTER, UM, ON AVERAGE FOR AT LEAST 60 DAYS OR LONGER, WHICH IS ALSO EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH. WE NEED, WE NEEDED TO FIND A PATHWAY OR A WAY TO GET THOSE ANIMALS OUT AND GETTING THEM SEEN BY PEOPLE IS THE WAY WE DO THAT. I DO NOT WANNA SEE ANIMALS CO HOUSED OR ANIMAL HA ANIMALS HOUSED IN THE NPR EITHER, UM, RIGHT. THAT THAT'S NOT NO KILL, THAT IS WAREHOUSING DOGS. HOWEVER, OUR HANDS ARE A LITTLE BIT TIED ON THAT, AND WE DON'T HAVE ALL [01:25:01] THE SAME OPTIONS THAT OTHER SHELTERS HAVE. THERE IS NO MAGIC WAND FOR WE'RE OVER CAPACITY, YIPPETY DEPUTY DO, THE ANIMALS ARE GONE. UM, SO A LIFESAVING OPTION IS TO CO HOUSE IN THOSE KENNELS STANDARDS OF CARE ARE THE SAME. WE, WE ARE STILL GONNA CLEAN FEED AND CARE FOR THOSE ANIMALS, WHETHER THEY'RE A SINGLE HOUSED ANIMAL OR A CO HOUSED ANIMAL. THEY ARE, THEY DO TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER TO GET OUT OF THE KENNEL BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO USE THE DIVIDER TO DIVIDE THEM, TO GET THEM OUT SAFELY. BUT IT, IT'S A COMMON PRACTICE THAT HAPPENS IN SHELTERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IS IT CONVENIENT? NO. IS IT LIFESAVING? ARE WE ABLE TO KEEP THOSE ANIMALS ALIVE? ABSOLUTELY. SO THAT, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT ON THOSE E EVEN IF WE WEREN'T IN A SUPER CAPACITY CRISIS, WE WOULD STILL WANNA CO HOUSE ANIMALS BECAUSE AGAIN, WHEN YOU HAVE THE SHELTERING ABLE TO DO THAT, IT ALLOWS THEM TO DEMONSTRATE BASIC CARE. THE ANIMALS IN THE ZEROS THAT ARE PAIRED ARE LEAVING THE SHELTER AT A MUCH HIGHER RATE THAN WHEN THEY'RE CO HOUSED. I'M SORRY, WHEN THEY'RE SINGLE HOUSED IN OTHER KENNELS. SO THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS, RIGHT? THE BAD NEWS IS WE STILL HAVE ANIMALS IN THE MP ROOM, SOME IN THE HALLWAY, SOME IN QUEUE, SOME IN R AND, AND THAT'S OUR GOAL TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT. UNFORTUNATELY, AS WE CONTINUE TO HAVE STRUGGLES, UM, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'LL JUST STOP THERE. SO WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS INCREASING OUTCOMES THROUGH ADOPTION. FOSTER RETURN TO OWNER. WE'VE BEEN IMPLEMENTING SOPS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THAT, WE'RE DOING IT CONSISTENT WITH SHELTER BEST PRACTICES, UM, SO THAT WE CAN INCREASE THE ANIMALS OUT AND STOP HOUSING DOGS IN CRATES AND IN A NON-PUBLIC KENNELS. GOTCHA. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION. YEAH, COMMISSIONER NELSON. UM, SO I THINK KIND OF PIGGYBACKING ON THAT, AND A LOT OF THESE COMMENTS ABOUT DOGS NOT HAVING ENOUGH WALKS AND, AND STAFF AND THINGS. UM, AND THEN IN RECENT, AMONG AMONG MANY MEETINGS, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT 2019 AND WHAT AN EXEMPLAR YEAR THAT WAS FOR THE SHELTER AND EVERYTHING WAS RUN WELL THEN. AND I NOTICED THAT IN SEPTEMBER OF 2019, A PA PULLED 85 LARGER MEDIUM DOGS FOR SPACE FROM AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER. AND THIS YEAR IN SEPTEMBER, A PA PULLED ZERO LAR LARGER MEDIUM DOGS JUST FOR SPACE FROM THE SHELTER. AND THEN LOOKING BACK OVER ALL OF 2019, A PA PULLED 690 FEWER ANIMALS THIS YEAR, WHICH IS AVERAGES OUT TO OVER 57 FEWER A PA POLLS PER MONTH. DOES THAT HAVE AN EFFECT, DO YOU THINK, ON, UM, AS FAR AS THE F FEWER, THE LE LESS DOGS, THE, THE FIRST PART ABOUT THE TYPES OF POLES, I, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT I WASN'T HERE. UM, A AND A PA WOULD BE ABLE TO BETTER ADDRESS THAT, BUT I WAS NOT HERE TO SAY WHY THEY PULLED OR DID NOT PULL, UM, THOSE TYPES OF ANIMALS AS FAR AS, UM, THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS THEY PULL, WHY THEY'RE PULLING FEWER, IT'S BASED ON, UM, THE CONTRACT THAN I BELIEVE WAS, UM, THEY NEEDED, THEY HAD TO TAKE 3000 ANIMALS OR 15%, WHICHEVER WAS GREATER. I BELIEVE IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE THAT. UM, AND THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS ENTERING THE SHELTER WAS ALMOST 8,000 ANIMALS MORE SO THAT'S WHY THEY PULLED MORE, BECAUSE WE HAD SPACE TO TAKE IN MORE. YEAH, EXACTLY. WHERE THIS YEAR, UH, WELL, RIGHT. THIS LAST FISCAL YEAR, UM, WHY THEY'RE TAKING A, A FEW LESS THAN THAT THAN IN 2019. UM, RIGHT. PROPORTIONALLY THEY'RE TAKING MORE, I THINK I FIGURED THEY TOOK ALMOST 24% OF OUR ANIMALS, UM, THIS LAST FISCAL YEAR, 24% OF OUR INTAKES, OF OUR INTAKE. BUT IF OUR INTAKES ARE CHOKED BECAUSE WE HAVE NO SPACE, YEAH. WHY ARE WE GIVE, WE, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT DESERVES PATS ON THE BACK AND IN 2019, YES, IT WAS A MINIMUM OF 3000 OR 15%. THEY TOOK 3,458 IN 2019. AND I THINK THAT WOULD MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN HOW THE SHELTER'S BEEN ABLE TO SERVE THE ANIMALS THAT COME THROUGH OUR SHELTER AND [01:30:01] HOW THE SHELTER'S ABLE TO SERVE THE PUBLIC IN BEING ABLE TO INTAKE MORE ANIMALS. AND IT, IT DOES SEEM LIKE A HICCUP OF THE CONTRACT THAT THE MORE DIRE STRAITS THE SHELTER IS IN FROM HAVING BEEN OVERWHELMED BY INTAKE AND NOT ABLE TO INTAKE MORE, A PA CONTRACTUALLY GETS TO TAKE LESS BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE, WHAT THEY'RE CONTRACTUALLY HAVE TO TAKE FROM US IS BASED ON OUR INTAKE. SO THE MORE THE CITY'S STRUGGLING, THE LESS THEY HAVE TO TAKE. SEEMS LIKE MAYBE NOT THE SMARTEST NEGOTIATION ENTERED INTO BY THE CITY THERE. LUCKILY, I DID NOT NEGOTIATE THAT. SO, RIGHT. YOU WERE, YOU WERE NOT HERE. UM, AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION THAT I HAVE FOR BOTH YOU AND A PA IS THAT I NOTICED IT WAS IN, IN APAS REPORT, I DON'T REMEMBER IF THIS IS IN YOUR REPORT OR NOT, BUT, UM, OWNER REQUESTED EUTHANASIAS, I BELIEVE WERE ALWAYS ZERO. AND, UM, I THINK THIS IS A PLACE WHERE BOTH FACILITIES, BUT SPECIFICALLY THE CITY SHELTERS REALLY, UM, FAILING TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY BECAUSE, UM, AND I'LL SAY THIS, I, UM, I RECENTLY DID A HOSPICE FOSTER OF A VERY ILL DOG THAT I BECAME VERY CLOSE TO IN THE SHELTER. UM, AND THEN IT, IT, BECAUSE IT WAS A HOSPICE FOSTER, I AGREED TO TAKE OVER ALL THE MEDICAL CARE FROM WHEN I TOOK IT HOME. AND SO WHEN IT BECAME, UM, CLEAR THAT THE BEST DECISION FOR HER WAS EUTHANASIA, AND SO I TOOK HER TO A PRIVATE FACILITY BECAUSE IT WAS SPECIFIC, UH, HOSPICE FOSTER, UM, THE, THE CHARGE FOR THAT EUTHANASIA FOR A NEW ANIMAL WAS OVER $590. AND THE THERE . SO JUST THE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO HAVE A PET THAT THEY LOVED, ITS WHOLE LIFE. IT'S AT THE END, HOW MANY OF THEM HAVE $600 TO TAKE IT TO THE VET TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THAT ANIMAL? I THINK THIS IS A SERIOUS SERVICE THAT, THAT WE COULD BE, UM, PROVIDING. SO I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU AND THANK YOU FOR FOSTERING AND I, I DON'T DISAGREE. RIGHT. AS WE SEE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD GAS, THEY CAN'T AFFORD GROCERIES. UM, THEY DEFINITELY CAN'T AFFORD GOING TO A VET OR EUTHANASIA. UM, RIGHT. WE NEED TO RE-LOOK AT THAT. I BELIEVE THAT'S IN THE ORDINANCES, WHICH WOULD REQUIRE US, IS THAT CORRECT? MM-HMM . WHICH WOULD REQUIRE US TO AMEND THE ORDINANCES, WHICH IS AN ORDEAL. UM, I BELIEVE IT'S IN THE ORDINANCES SAY THAT WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO, UM, OWNER REQUESTED EUTHANASIA. UM, SO I, I WILL LOOK INTO IT, BUT, UM, WHAT THE ONE THING THAT WE DO DO AS OFTEN AS WE CAN IS WE DO HAVE A FUND, UM, TO PROVIDE VOUCHERS TO PEOPLE WHO DO NEED OWNER, WHO DO NEED TO EUTHANIZE THEIR PET TO HAVE THEM DONE AT A VET OFFICE. I USUALLY THINK WE PARTNER WITH SOUTH CONGRESS VETERINARY HOSPITAL, UM, WHICH I DO LIKE, BECAUSE THEN THEY CAN BE WITH THEIR PET AS OPPOSED TO SURRENDERING IT TO US AND NOT BEING ABLE TO BE WITH THEIR PET WHEN WE EUTHANIZE IT. SO POTENTIALLY WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE ORDINANCES AND, OR LOOK AT FUNDING OPTIONS, UM, TO ASSIST PEOPLE WITH END OF LIFE CARE FOR THEIR PETS. THANK YOU. YES. COMMISSIONER NORTON. UH, THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, REGARDING THE, UM, FORMER CONTRACT, UM, THE NUMBER WAS THE GREATER OF 3000 OR 12%, AND 3000 WAS ALWAYS THE GREATER NUMBER. AND THE GOAL OF THAT NUMBER WAS TO EQUAL THE RENT ON TLAC. REMEMBER AUSTIN PETAL ALIVE IS A TENANT DENSITY PROPERTY. UM, IT WAS REDUCED TO 12%, WHICH MATHEMATICALLY DID NOT EQUAL THE RENT ANYMORE. BUT, UM, FORTUNATELY THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED. UM, AND YOU MAY RECALL WHEN I ASKED ABOUT HELPING THE SHELTER BY PULLING ANIMALS WHO ARE LIVING IN CRATES, UM, A PA SAID THAT, UM, THEIR, THEY HAD TO FOLLOW THEIR, UM, CONTRACT WITH BEST FRIENDS. SO THAT PLAYED A PART IN THAT. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT, UM, REGARDING THE ZEROS. SO FOR FIVE YEARS, I WAS A ZEROS WALKER FOR FIVE DAYS A WEEK AND WORKED VERY HARD WITH ANOTHER VOLUNTEER, UM, TO, UH, HAVE ALL THE DOGS WALKED IN THE ZEROS BY THE TIME WE LEFT AT 11, UM, THAT DAY. AND WE WERE, UM, PRETTY SUCCESSFUL DOING THAT. UM, THEY ARE SMALL [01:35:01] KENNELS, AND WHILE I AGREE THAT DOGS ARE GOOD TOGETHER, BEING WITH EACH OTHER 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, UM, IN THAT, THOSE SMALL KENNELS THAT ARE NOT NEARLY THE SIZE OF THE ONE HUNDREDS AND 200 BUILDINGS, UM, CAN REALLY GET TO A DOG AS A SOMEONE WHO VOLUNTEERED THERE. UM, THE OTHER VOLUNTEERS AND I WOULD WORK TOGETHER, UM, TO, UM, KIND OF GET, HELP GET DOGS IN AND OUT. AND WHEN YOU HAVE TWO DOGS IN THAT LITTLE SPACE, YOU DEFINITELY NEED HELP, UM, GETTING A DOG IN AND OUT. SO CAN YOU TELL US, UM, HOW YOU ENGAGED THE VOLUNTEERS TO, UM, UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CHANGE WAS BEING MADE IN THE ZEROS AND, UM, WHAT WAS YOUR ASK OF THEM TO HELP EACH OTHER TO, UM, GET THE DOGS OUT? I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER NOW. 'CAUSE WE BROUGHT THIS UP TO THE VOLUNTEERS AND TO THE STAFF, UM, MULTIPLE MONTHS AGO. AND I, I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHEN, UH, BUT WE HAD THOSE CONVERSATIONS ON WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE AND HOW WE CAN GET THOSE ANIMALS OUT. AND THAT THE OTHER OPTION AGAIN. RIGHT. THE OTHER OPTION IS TO LEAVE THEM STACKED IN CRATES IN THE HALLWAY WHERE THEY'RE NOT GETTING LOCKED AND SITTING IN THEIR OWN FILTH AND NOT GETTING SEEN BY THE PUBLIC. SO, UM, RIGHT. SO WE, WE TALK THROUGH THAT. UM, AND AGAIN, WE DON'T EVEN HAVE, WE, WE, WE DID THE BEST THAT WE CAN DO WITH WHAT WE HAD. UM, AND, AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE STILL AT. RIGHT. I APPRECIATE THE VOLUNTEERS AND EVERYTHING THEY DO. I'VE BEEN A VOLUNTEER. I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO GET THOSE DOGS OUT AND GET THEM LOCKED. I KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO COME IN AND SEE AN ENTIRE KENNEL BUILDING THAT HASN'T BEEN OUT FOR A WALK IN AT LEAST A DAY AND STAYING FOR EIGHT HOURS TO GET THAT ENTIRE SIDE OF THE BUILDING WALKED. UM, UM, IT'S VERY HARD WORK AND I, I WANNA HELP SUPPORT THE VOLUNTEERS AS MUCH AS WE CAN THROUGH DOG WALKERS AND GETTING THIS DONE AND PLAYGROUPS. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT, W WE DON'T HAVE OTHER OPTIONS. IT, WE HAVE PLENTY OF BAD OPTIONS ALL THE WAY AROUND, AND I DON'T HAVE A, A GOOD OPTION TO LOOK AT FOR GETTING THESE ANIMALS OUT OF THE SHELTER. SO, SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ZEROS THAT I, YOUR REPLY IS THAT YOU TOLD 'EM ABOUT IT MONTHS AGO AND THEN THEY BASICALLY HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT WORK WHEN YOU IMPLEMENTED HAVING TWO DOGS IN AN ACCOUNT. SURE. YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER LEINEN. YEAH, JUST TO CLARIFY, AS A CURRENT VOLUNTEER AND FOR THE PAST 14 YEARS BEING A VOLUNTEER, WE DID RECEIVE AN EMAIL EXPLAINING THE PROCESS FOR GETTING PAIR OF DOGS OUT OF A KENNEL. AND JUST AS A POINT, AGAIN, SOMEBODY WHO'S ACTIVELY VOLUNTEERING, I WOULD MUCH RATHER GET TWO DOGS OUT OF A ZEROS KENNEL THAN TRY AND GET A DOG OUT OF A ROLLING KENNEL IN A HALLWAY. SO, THANKS. THANK YOU. YES. UH, COMMISSIONER SOLE, UM, I WANTED TO ASK IF THERE'S AN SOP THAT COVERS, UM, PLAYGROUPS OR ENSURING THAT THE PAIRED DOGS GO TO PLAYGROUP. UM, AND IF SO, MAYBE IT CAN BE DOUBLECHECK THAT, THAT'S APPLIED TO THE DOGS THAT ARE HOUSED IN THE SINGLE KENNELS, UM, OR THAT VOLUNTEERS ARE TOLD SO THEY KNOW THAT THEY DEFINITELY NEED THE SINGLE WALKS. THEY, THEY'RE, WELL, NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, IS THERE AN SOP ABOUT DOGS GOING TO PLAYGROUPS AND ULTIMATELY, UH, THIS IS NOT GONNA BE A POPULAR STATEMENT, BUT THE DOGS THAT NEED TO GO TO PLAYGROUP ARE THOSE SINGLE HOUSED ROWDY DOGS ARE THE ONES THAT NEED TO GO AND GET DOG TO DOG ENRICHMENT AND TIME OUT OF THE KENNEL. THE DOGS THAT AREN'T GETTING WALKED ON A REGULAR BASIS, RIGHT? NOT, NOT ALL DOGS CAN GO TO PLAYGROUP. NOT ALL DOGS WANNA GO TO PLAYGROUP, BUT THOSE THAT CAN, THAT'S WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO FOCUS ON. UM, 'CAUSE AGAIN, THE DOGS THAT ARE CO HOUSED, WHETHER IT'S IN THE SUITES OR IN THE ZEROS, ARE FAST MOVING DOGS AND THEY'RE MOVING OUT OF THE SHELTER QUICKLY, AS OPPOSED TO THE SINGLE HOUSED DOGS THAT ARE THOSE ROWDIER DOGS THAT JUST NEED TO GET OUT AND DOG TOGETHER AND GET THEIR EXERCISE AND YAYA'S OUT. UM, SO ULTIMATELY THAT WOULD BE MY GOAL. THAT BEING SAID, WE HAVE 400 TO 450 DOGS ON CAMPUS. GETTING THAT MANY DOGS OUT OF THEIR KENNEL EVERY SINGLE DAY, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH PLAYGROUP OR VOLUNTEER DOG WALKERS, IS, IS A CHALLENGE, RIGHT? THAT'S A LOT WE CAN GET IF WE'RE REALLY ON TOP [01:40:01] OF IT AND REALLY GOOD, WE CAN GET 80 DOGS TO PLAYGROUP THAT LEAVES SEVERAL HUNDRED DOGS LEFT. NOT ALL OF THOSE DOGS ARE AVAILABLE TO TAKE OUT, BUT IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF DOGS TO GO OUT. AND I THINK THAT'S WHY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THOSE, UM, WHITEBOARDS, YOU HAVE A LOT OF ENDS ON THERE BECAUSE IT'S JUST, OH, AN ASTRONOMICAL NUMBER OF DOGS GOING OUT. THAT BEING SAID, I THINK SOMETHING STAFF CAN DO BETTER, AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE AT ON THAT, BUT RECORDING EVERY TIME WE'RE TAKING DOGS OUT OF THE KENNEL, RIGHT? AND THEY'RE GETTING A BREAK, SO THAT WAY VOLUNTEERS, WHILE GETTING A BREAK AND GOING PEE PEE POOPY, BUT BEFORE THEY GO INTO THE CLINIC ISN'T THE MOST IDEAL OUTING. I'M CONFIDENT THAT YOU WOULD PREFER THAT TO KNOW THAT AND WORK ON A DOG THAT HASN'T BEEN OUT AT ALL THAN, UM, TO BE TAKING THESE DOGS OUT AGAIN. RIGHT? SO I THINK WITHOUT, WITHOUT PAYING ATTENTION TO HOW RELIABLE WE ARE TO RECORDING THAT, WHEN WE'RE TAKING DOGS OUT FOR CUSTOMERS, ARE WE RECORDING 'EM OUT ON THE WHITEBOARD? WHAT ARE WE RECORDING? I KNOW THE DOGS IN THE MP ROOM STAFF REGULARLY TAKE OUT, AND WE'RE NOT GREAT AT MARKING THEM ON THE BOARD. UM, SO DOING THAT I KNOW WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR VOLUNTEERS AND MAKE IT LESS DAUNTING TO SEE WHAT DOGS AND PRIORITIZE WHAT DOGS NEED TO GET OUT OF THE KENNELS, UM, FOR THEIR DAILY EXERCISE AND BREAKS. THANK YOU. AND MM-HMM . BUT CURRENTLY ALL THE MOST PAIRED DOGS GO TO PLAYGROUP, RIGHT? THAT'S THE MAIN FOCUS. CURRENTLY? YES. CURRENTLY THE MAJORITY OF THE DOGS THAT GO TO PLAYGROUP ARE IN THE ONE AND TWO HUNDREDS. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE GETTING OUT THE ZEROS. THEY TYPICALLY ARE PRE, THEY'RE TYPICALLY PLAYGROUP DOGS, SO I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF A LOT OF THEM ARE. UM, BUT AGAIN, IT DEPENDS ON THE, THE PLAY, THE PLAY STYLES OF THE DOGS AND WHO'S RUNNING PLAYGROUP AND THE SKILLS AND ALL OF THAT, RIGHT? THERE'S A LOT OF, A LOT OF THINGS AT PLAY. UM, AS WELL AS MAKING SURE WE ARE ALSO GETTING DOGS INTO PLAYGROUP AS THEY COME INTO OUR CARE SO THAT WE HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THEM TO SHARE WITH ADOPTERS AND SO WE CAN APPROPRIATELY PLACE THEM WITH, UM, OTHER, UM, WITH OTHER DOGS IN THE, IN THEIR HOMES. SO THAT'S THE OTHER THING THAT THEY'VE BEEN CHARGED WITH, IS GETTING THOSE DOGS OUT FOR THAT. ANY DOGS THAT COME IN OR THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN THERE THAT WE'RE SEEING CONCERNING BEHAVIORS FROM THAT, WE GET THEM INTO PLAYGROUP TO SEE WHAT ARE, ARE THOSE CONCERNING BEHAVIORS A BIG PROBLEM OR ARE THEY NOT? AND OR LET'S KEEP BRINGING THAT DOG TO PLAYGROUP IF THOSE BEHAVIORS ARE DUE TO FRUSTRATION OF BEING IN THE KENNEL, RIGHT? SOMETIMES WE'LL HAVE SOME NOTES THAT ON INTAKE THEY'RE JUST A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE BIT SKETCHY OR IN VET SERVICES, WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE. LET'S GET OUR HANDS ON THEM IN PLAYGROUP. HOW ARE THEY? THEY'RE GREAT. THEY WERE EASY GETTING 'EM IN AND OUT. WONDERFUL. WE KNOW THAT THIS DOG, UM, IS A LITTLE NERVOUS IN NEW SITUATIONS OR WITH VET SERVICES AND THAT'S SUPER VALUABLE INFORMATION TO ALSO BE ABLE TO GIVE TO POTENTIAL ADOPTERS, RIGHT? WHEN YOU TAKE HIM TO THE VET, HE MIGHT BE A LITTLE WEIRD, UH, WHEN NEW PEOPLE ARE COMING INTO YOUR HOME MIGHT BE A LITTLE WEIRD, BUT HERE'S, YOU KNOW, HERE'S HOW YOU MAKE THEM COMFORTABLE. HERE'S HOW THEY DO WHEN THEY'RE WITH OTHER DOGS. SO THAT, THAT'S A MUCH BIGGER PRIORITY FOR ME TO GET THAT INFORMATION SO WE CAN APPROPRIATELY, UM, COUNSEL PEOPLE AND MATCH PEOPLE WITH THE RIGHT DOGS. ALRIGHT, ANYONE ELSE? ALRIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE IT. AND, UH, WITH THAT THEN, I THINK, UH, I THINK THAT CONCLUDES IT. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, DIRECTOR DANGLER AND JASON GARZA. APPRECIATE YOUR TIME ON THIS. [4. Presentation from Austin Pets Alive! regarding the quarterly reports. Presentation by Mara Hartsell, Quality of Care Director, Austin Pets Alive! and Rory Adams, Director of Strategic Customer Service, Austin Pets Alive!] UM, NEXT WE WILL BE MOVING TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR WITH THE AUSTIN PETS ALIVE QUARTERLY REPORTS. SO I'D LIKE TO INVITE, UH, MARA HARTZEL AND RORY ADAMS TO PRESENT WELCOME. HI. JUST ME TONIGHT. DID I TAKE IT BACK? ? NO. ALL GOOD. UM, GOOD EVENING. I'M HERE TO PRESENT APAS QUARTERLY REPORT, UH, ON OUR LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY COVERING JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER, 2026. DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER, A PA ACCEPTED 886 ANIMALS DIRECTLY FROM AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES AND DIVERTED AN [01:45:01] ADDITIONAL 307 ANIMALS FROM ENTERING THE MUNICIPAL SHELTER THROUGH TRAVIS COUNTY PROGRAMS. TOGETHER, THESE EFFORTS ACCOUNTED FOR 1,224 ANIMALS DURING THE QUARTER, INCLUDING ANIMALS BORN IN APAS CARE. FOLLOWING TRANSFER. A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THIS WORK INVOLVE YOUNG AND MEDICALLY VULNERABLE ANIMALS. OUT OF THE 886 DIRECT TRANSFERS, 553 WERE BOTTLE BABY KITTENS 104 WERE MATERNITY OR NURSING CATS. 66 WERE MEDICALLY COMPROMISED DOGS AND 47 WERE MEDICALLY COMPROMISED CATS. THE QUARTER ALSO INCLUDED BEHAVIOR RELATED CASES, PARVO CASES, AND OTHER ANIMALS NEEDING ADDITIONAL SUPPORT. SEPTEMBER WAS OUR HIGHEST VOLUME MONTH OF THE QUARTER WITH 340 DIRECT TRANSFERS FROM A A S AND 95 ADDITIONAL TRAVIS COUNTY DIVERSIONS. THESE NUMBERS REFLECT BOTH THE VOLUME OF ANIMALS MOVING THROUGH THE PARTNERSHIP AND THE RANGE OF NEEDS APAS EQUIPPED TO ADDRESS THROUGH FOSTER CARE, MEDICAL TREATMENT, BEHAVIOR, PRO BEHAVIOR PROGRAM SUPPORT AND PLACEMENT. THE REPORT ALSO TRACKS PROGRESS TOWARD OUR AN ANNUAL CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENT. THE FISCAL YEAR 2026 TRANSFER REQUIREMENT WAS 1,360 ANIMALS. BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER, A PA HAD ACCEPTED A NUMBER EQUIVALENT TO 204% OF THAT REQUIREMENT. I JUST WANNA UNDERSCORE THAT PERCENTAGE, GIVEN PREVIOUS COMMENTS TONIGHT. UH, WITH FOUR, WITH FOURTH QUARTER TRANSFERS ALONE REPRESENTING 90% OF THE ANNUAL REQUIRED NUMBER, THAT TRANSLATES TO EXACTLY 2,768 ANIMALS ACCEPTED THIS FISCAL YEAR. IN SEPTEMBER, A PA REPORTED A 93% SURVIVAL RATE AMONG MEDICALLY VULNERABLE ANIMALS TRANSFERRED FROM A A S APAS OVERALL LIVE RELEASE RATE FOR THE MONTH WAS 94% WITH 686 ADOPTIONS. THANK YOU. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REPORT AND THE ACTIVITIES COVERED BY OUR LICENSE AGREEMENT. I CAN'T SEE IF ANYONE ONLINE HAS A QUESTION. I DON'T SEE ANY QUESTIONS. OH, OH, OKAY. COMMISSIONER NELSON? YEAH. UM, JUST SAME QUESTIONS THAT I ASKED. UM, A A S DO IS DOES A PA THAT I KNOW HAS ALSO REFERRED TO 2019 AS AN EXEMPLAR YEAR OF HOW THE SHELTER WAS FUNCTIONING AND, AND HOW THE SHELTER AND A PA WERE WORKING TOGETHER. UM, BUT THEN AT THE SAME TIME, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE VERY HAPPY WITH THIS REDUCED NUMBER OF ANIMALS THAT YOU'RE TAKING FROM AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES, ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO 2019, LIKE SEPTEMBER, 2019, UM, YOU TOOK 85 LARGE MEDIUM DOGS FOR SPACE FROM AUSTIN ANIMAL ER SERVICES, AND THEN THIS SEPTEMBER YOU REPORT ZERO MM-HMM . AND NO PLANS TO TRY TO GET BACK TO THAT 2019 LEVEL WHERE, WHERE ACCORDING TO LEADERSHIP FROM A PA, THE SHELTER WAS FUNCTIONING. MM-HMM . REALLY WELL, I WAS NOT HERE AT THAT TIME, SO I CAN'T SPEAK TO WHAT INSPIRED THOSE MOVEMENTS OUT. I KNOW THAT A PA TAKES THE HARDEST ANIMALS FROM A A S UM, LARGE TO MEDIUM HEALTHY DOGS ARE RELATIVELY FAST TRACKED. UM, AND LAST YEAR ALONE IN FISCAL YEAR, YEAR 2025. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? WHAT DID YOU, YOU SAID LARGE AND MEDIUM DOGS ARE FAST. YEAH. HEALTHY, LARGE AND MEDIUM DOGS, UH, HIGHLY ADOPTABLE. THOSE ARE NOT THE, UM, YOU'RE TAKING LARGE AND MEDIUM DOGS ARE HIGHLY ADOPTABLE. THEY ARE COMPARED TO SEVERE MEDICAL AND BEHAVIOR CASES. OH, OH, OKAY. SO LARGE AND MEDIUM DOGS WITH ZERO BEHAVIOR ISSUES. OKAY. MORE OR LESS. YES. UM, AND THAT, THAT THOSE REMAIN OUR FOCUS POPULATION SO THAT A S CAN MOVE THOSE RELATIVELY EASY ANIMALS THROUGH THE SYSTEM MORE EFFICIENTLY, MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN A PA DOES OR MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN WHAT? AS EFFICIENTLY AS A LARGE HIGH FUNCTIONING SHELTER CAN. I'M NOT COMPARING A S AND APA HERE. OKAY. BUT IN 2019, A LARGE HIGH FUNCTIONING SHELTER NEEDED A PA TO TAKE 85 LARGER MEDIUM HEALTHY DOGS FOR SPACE. YEAH. AND AGAIN, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THAT, BUT AS I UNDERSCORED A MOMENT AGO, WE HAVE ACCEPTED 204% OF THE CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT THIS YEAR. MM-HMM . AND THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ANIMALS [01:50:01] WE HAVE PULLED HAVE BEEN TWENTY SEVEN HUNDRED AND SIXTY EIGHT. YEP. SO WE HAVE TRIED VERY, VERY HARD TO BE INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE TO THE CITY SHELTER. YEAH, IT'S GREAT THE WAYS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SUPPORTED, BUT WHEN YOU PULL 690 FEWER ANIMALS IN 2026 THAN YOU PULLED IN 2019 AND THEN SAY THAT WAS THE YEAR WHEN THE SHELTER WAS WORKING BEST, IT'S HARD TO SQUARE THAT CIRCLE SO YOU FEEL THAT WAY. I DO THINK THIS YEAR WE HAVE REALLY REVVED UP OUR PERFORMANCE AND IN TERMS OF HOW WE'VE BEEN SERVICING THE CITY. SO, UM, AGAIN, I WASN'T HERE IN 2019, BUT IN 2026 I WAS OVER THE INTAKE DEPARTMENT AND WE WERE IN CONSISTENT DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HOW WE COULD SUPPORT YOU MUCH BETTER. ALRIGHT. AND THANK YOU FOR DOING ALL OF THAT. I'M CU I'M CURIOUS NOW ALSO BECAUSE WE SWITCHED OVER TO SHELTER BUDDY. HOW IS A PA NOTIFIED OF, OR ARE YOU NOTIFIED OF BEHAVIOR DOGS THAT THE SHELTER WOULD LIKE YOU TO TAKE? OR DO YOU GET TO SELECT, SELECT THEM? I WAS NOT INVOLVED CLOSELY IN THAT PROCESS. I KNOW THAT OUR BEHAVIOR TEAM MAINTAINS REALLY CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH A A S STAFF. I THINK MOST OF THE COMMUNICATIONS HAPPEN INITIALLY OVER EMAIL. AND I KNOW THAT OUR BEHAVIOR STAFF VISIT A A S TO MEET THE DOGS OKAY. AND WORK VERY PROACTIVELY THERE. OKAY. IF YOU LIKE, I CAN, UH, ANSWER THAT. I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT'S SO LOUD AND ECHOY. UM, MAYBE THAT'S IT. I WAS LIKE, WHOOPS, WHAT'S HAPPENING? UM, SO, UH, WE, WE'VE HAD A VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH A PA OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS WHERE THEY WILL, THEY COME TO THE SHELTER WEEKLY. UM, AND JULIE, OUR BEHAVIOR SUPERVISOR WILL INTRODUCE THEM TO ANY DOGS THAT MIGHT BE GOING ON THE RPL, UM, OR ANY JUST URGENT DOGS, UM RIGHT. THAT JUST AREN'T DOING WELL IN THE SHELTER THAT WE, WE KNOW ARE, NEED SOME EXTRA HELP TO GET OUTTA THE SHELTER. SO WE'LL INTRODUCE THEM TO THEM AND THEY'RE ALWAYS GOT THEM ON, YOU KNOW, A RUNNING LIST. UM, AND THEN, UM, AND WE'LL EMAIL ALL OF THE PAPERWORK TO THEM AS THOSE ANIMALS COME UP. AND WE'VE BEGUN DOING THAT ON A DAILY BASIS AS WE COME ACROSS THOSE ANIMALS, LETTING THEM KNOW AND THEN INTRODUCING THEM TO THEM WHILE THEY'RE IN THE SHELTER. UM, AND THEN ONCE THEY GO ON THE RPL, THAT'S WHEN WE SEND OUT AN OFFICIAL, UM, NOTIFICATION BOTH TO A PA AND ALL THE SHELTERS THAT WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE THE RPL NOTICE. UM, IF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION THE LAST FEW MONTHS, OTHER THAN THIS LAST MONTH, THE LAST FEW MONTHS, WE VERY RARELY PUBLISHED AN RPL OR THERE'S ONLY BEEN ONE-ISH DOG ON IT. UM, AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF THAT PROACTIVE RELATIONSHIP. WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM, GETTING THOSE ANIMALS OUT AND THEY'RE PULLING THEM BEFORE THEY'RE DEADLINED. UM, SO, UM, THAT THAT'S HOW IT'S KIND OF OPERATING. DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? UM, YES. OKAY. BECAUSE I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN ALSO CURIOUS IF THERE'S LIKE A TIMELINE BETWEEN IF, IF WE COULD SEE A TIMELINE BETWEEN WHEN A PA HEARS OF A DOG THAT THE SHELTER THINKS WOULD DO BETTER BEHAVIORALLY AT A PA THAN IS DOING AT THE SHELTER AND WHEN A PA FINALLY TAKES THEM. AND THAT REALLY DEPENDS ON A WHOLE LOT OF FACTORS. , UM RIGHT. IT DEPENDS ON SPACE. AT A PA IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THE ISSUES ARE WITH THE DOGS. DOG FRIENDLY DOGS TEND TO BE ABLE TO BE PULLED A LITTLE BIT QUICKER BY THEM BECAUSE THEY CAN GO TO PLAYGROUP. UM, BUT IT JUST REALLY DEPENDS ON THE DOG AND, AND JUST WHAT THEY NEED AND THEIR SHELTER SPACE. UM, THAT BEING SAID, RIGHT. ONCE THEY GO ON RPL, IF THEY GO ON RPL, THEN IT'S USUALLY, IT, IT'S WITHIN THAT TIME. THEY USUALLY WAIT AND SEE IF THERE'S ANYONE ELSE THAT CAN HELP US WITH THOSE DOGS, WHICH IS GREAT. UM, BUT IT WILL, THEY'LL, THEY COME THROUGH TOWARDS THE END, BUT IT JUST, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE DOG AND HOW FRIENDLY THERE ARE DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DOGS. MM-HMM . I SHOULDN'T SAY FRIENDLY, THE DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT DOG. YEAH. DIFFERENT CHALLENGES. SURE. SO IS IT ACCURATE TO SAY THAT IN SEPTEMBER THERE WERE ONLY SIX MEDIUM AND LARGE DOGS AT THE SHELTER THAT THE SHELTER HAD BEHAVIOR CHALLENGES WITH? YEAH, SO SEPTEMBER WAS, UH, ANOMALY MONTH. UM, DUE TO JUST LOTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS ON OUR END. UM, WE HADN'T, WE, A LOT OF THE DOGS HAD, UM, THAT WE THOUGHT WOULD GO ON RPL. EITHER WE WERE HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING INFORMATION FROM THEIR PREVIOUS OWNERS REGARDING BITES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, OR GETTING THEM OUT AND, UM, TESTING THEM IN PLAYGROUP. SO IT JUST SLOWED THINGS DOWN. TYPICALLY, APAS TAKING ABOUT 10 TO 11 DOGS THAT ARE BEHAVIOR DOGS EACH MONTH. MM-HMM . UM, THIS ONE SLOWED DOWN A LITTLE BIT [01:55:01] BECAUSE WE WEREN'T, UM, GETTING THEM THROUGH AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE HAD VACATIONS, THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, AND THAT'S WHY THE RPL IS A LITTLE BIT LARGER BECAUSE WE HAD THESE DOGS THAT WE KNEW, UM, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO GO THROUGH, BUT WE HAVEN'T HAD THOSE COMMUNICATIONS AS OFTEN AS WE SHOULD HAVE, UM, UH, FOR THOSE DOGS. MM-HMM . THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. ALRIGHT. UH, COMMISSIONER HOLT, AM I ALLOWED TO ASK DIRECTOR DANGLER A QUESTION IN ORDER TO INFORM A QUESTION I NEED TO ASK A PAI JUST WANNA MAKE SURE. YES. OKAY. AWESOME. UM, MONICA, HOW MANY, AND I'LL ACCEPT A HARD NUMBER OR A BALLPARK PERCENTAGE, WHATEVER FEELS MORE APPROPRIATE TO THIS QUESTION. UM, IT SEEMS LIKE MEDIUM TO LARGE DOGS IS ALWAYS THE, LIKE CONTENTION POINT A AND EVERYTHING, BUT LIKE B IN THIS AGREEMENT. SO IF YOU HAD TO, AND I KNOW NOBODY LIKES TO SPECULATE, BUT IF YOU HAD TO SPECULATE , HOW MANY LARGE TO MEDIUM DOGS HAVE BEEN IN THE SHELTER FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS WITHOUT AN EXTENDED FOSTER STAY SOMEWHERE? SO, LIKE, IF THEY'VE BEEN IN FOSTER THE WHOLE TIME, I'M NOT HUNG UP ON THAT. IF THEY'VE BEEN LIKE IN A KENNEL THE WHOLE TIME, HOW MANY, HOW MANY WOULD YOU SAY FALL IN THAT CATEGORY? I, I HONESTLY COULDN'T SPECULATE AT ALL. I CAN TELL YOU WE HAVE ABOUT 25 TO 35 DOGS ON THE UPL LIST AT ANY GIVEN TIME. AND THEY'RE TYPICALLY ON THEIR, IF THEY HAVE A BITE OR IF THEY'VE BEEN IN THE SHELTER A YEAR LONGER. UM MM-HMM . I KNOW THAT WE HAVE ABOUT FOUR-ISH DOGS THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE SHELTER A YEAR LONGER THAT DON'T HAVE A BITE ON THEIR RECORD. UM, BUT, UM, I, I COULDN'T SAY HOW MANY FOR SIX MONTHS. I, I, I HONESTLY HAVE NO IDEA. YOU, YOU GAVE ME ENOUGH OF A BALLPARK WITH THAT UPL LIST, SO THAT'S USEFUL. AND I APOLOGIZE IF THIS IS SOMETHING, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS BETTER FOR YOU TO ANSWER OR, AND I APOLOGIZE TO THE A PA PERSON, UM, THAT I FORGOT YOUR NAME, BUT, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHO, IT MAKES MORE SENSE OF Y'ALL TO ANSWER THIS, BUT WHAT PERCENTAGE OF DOGS ON THAT UPL LIST IS A PA TAKING? UM, 'CAUSE IT SEEMS, I KNOW IT'S NOT IDEAL FOR US TO WAIT FOR A YEAR FOR DOGS AND IF WE'RE HAVING TO BALANCE MULTIPLE COMPETING PRIORITIES, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET AN IDEA ON LIKE HOW THAT'S PLAYING OUT IN REALITY. SO ALL OF THE DOGS THAT THEY'RE TAKING, UH, YEAH, I, I WOULD SAY ALL OF THE DOGS THAT THEY'RE TAKING ARE EITHER ON THE UPL OR THEY'VE COME IN AND THE BITE IS BAD ENOUGH THAT WE KNOW THEY'RE GONNA GO RPL. SO YOU COULD CONSIDER THEM ON THE UPL UNTIL THEY GO ON RPL. UM, SO THEY'RE ALL GONNA BE OFF OF THAT, BUT THEY REGULARLY DO TAKE, UM, RIGHT. THERE'S USUALLY ABOUT SIX-ISH DOGS THAT WOULDN'T JUST NATURALLY GO RPL, UM RIGHT. REGARDLESS BECAUSE OF THE BITE. AND THEN THE, THE REMAINING ONES ARE ALWAYS OFF OF THE UPL FOR THE MOST PART. UM, UNLESS IT'S A MEDICAL ISSUE. THERE'S A, THERE'S A FEW OF THESE WEIRD DOGS THAT AREN'T QUITE MEDICAL, WELL, THEY'RE MEDICAL, BUT THEY'RE ALSO BEHAVIOR. SO SWEET PEA IS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT. SHE HAS BEEN DETERIORATING IN THE KENNEL WHILE SHE'S BEEN THERE. WE KNOW SOMETHING'S WRONG. WE'VE DONE THE TESTING WE CAN DO. UM, SHE'S NOT AN ACTUAL BEHAVIOR DOG. UM, SHE DOESN'T HAVE A BITE ON HER RECORD, BUT SHE'S AN ESCAPE ARTIST. SHE'S GONE AFTER DOGS. SHE'S, UH, GOT PRETTY BAD SEPARATION ANXIETY. SO SHE'S KIND OF IN BETWEEN. SHE'S NOT REALLY A BEHAVIOR DOG. SHE'S, SHE'S KIND OF A MEDICAL DOG. WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER. SO IT'S KIND OF THOSE IN BETWEEN. SO WE SOMETIMES HAVE THOSE DOGS TOO THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY, ALTHOUGH I THINK YOU, I THINK SWEET PEA'S PROBABLY ON THE UPL FOR THE AMOUNT OF TIME SHE'S BEEN AT THE SHELTER. BUT THERE ARE SOME OF THOSE DOGS LIKE THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT CONTEXT. SORRY I DIDN'T END UP ACTUALLY HAVING A QUESTION FOR A P . YOU ANSWERED WHAT MY QUESTIONS WOULD'VE BEEN, SO IT'S OKAY. AND I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OTHER STATS THAT ARE NOT DIRECT ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS, BUT MAY BE HELPFUL HERE. UM, IN SEPTEMBER, 2026, APS ACCEPTANCE OF 340 DIRECT TRANSFERS EQUALS APPROXIMATELY 36% OF SEPTEMBER'S PUBLIC INTAKE AT A A S FROM 2025. AND, UH, AND Q4 OF 2026, A PA ACCEPTED APPROXIMATELY 31% OF A S'S PUBLIC INTAKE FROM Q4 OF LAST YEAR. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THAT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, UPL OR PL SPECIFIC, BUT I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT TOO. TOTALLY. I, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY IS IN, UM, QUESTION ON WHETHER OR NOT Y'ALL ARE FULFILLING YOUR CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENTS [02:00:01] AND LIKE TAKING IN WAY ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR CERTAIN POPULATIONS. I JUST KNOW THAT THIS POPULATION COMES UP QUITE A BIT AS A POINT OF CONTENTION. SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO GET SOME MORE CLARITY ON. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. COMMISSIONER NORTON. UM, UH, SORRY. SORRY, I KEEP HITTING THE VIDEO BUTTON. UM, I LIKE TO BE THERE IN PERSON. UM, JUST TO CLARIFY FOR, UM, DR. NIELSEN'S QUESTION, UM, IN 2019 BEFORE THE NEW OPERATIONS AGREEMENT WAS PUT IN AUSTIN, THAT'S LIVE WAS REQUIRED TO TAKE ANIMALS FROM THE TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE FIVE AND THE FOUR SURROUNDING COUNTIES. SO IT WAS HAYES, TRAVIS WILLIAMSON, BASTROP, AND CALDWELL, UM, AGAINST THE ADVICE OF THE LAW DEPARTMENT THAT WAS CHANGED BY COUNSEL THAT THEY COULD PULL FROM ANYWHERE IN THE STATE. AND THAT HAS IMPACTED, UM, THE NUMBERS BECAUSE NOW THE MEDIUM LARGE DOGS SEEM TO BE COMING FROM ALL OVER THE STATE INSTEAD OF, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY. AND, UM, I HAVE SOME INFORMATION I CAN SEND YOU, UM, THAT HAVE PUT TOGETHER, UM, ABOUT THAT. UM, ALSO SINCE A PA HAS REQUESTED THE OPERATIONS AGREEMENT BE REVISITED, UM, THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO LOOK AT MAYBE WHAT HASN'T WORKED WITH THE NEW OPERATIONS AGREEMENT THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE IN 2023 AND TALK TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER AND TELL THEM, HEY, HERE'S THE IMPACT OF THIS AND WE SHOULD UNDO SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT HAVE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED, UM, THE PETS OF AUSTIN. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. JUST CHECKING. ALL RIGHT. I THINK THAT'S IT. AND I ALSO JUST WANNA SAY HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE THE TRUE PARTNERSHIP THAT IS HAPPENING HERE BETWEEN, UM, AUSTIN PETS ALIVE AND AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER. I'M, I'M SURE, I'M ASSUMING IT'S HIGHLY BENEFICIAL FOR, UM, AUSTIN PETS ALIVE TO BE ABLE TO GO AND VISIT THESE ANIMALS, YOU KNOW, IN PERSON, UM, YOU KNOW, ON A REGULAR BASIS. I FEEL LIKE THAT HAS TO HELP FAST TRACK SOME OF THOSE DECISIONS AND STUFF TO BE ABLE TO EVALUATE THEM THERE ON THE CAMPUS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THEM. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE PARTNERSHIP ON THAT. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, [5. Assign a commissioner to the No Kill Committee. ] NOW WE'RE GOING TO TACKLE NUMBER FIVE ON THE AGENDA HERE. SO ITEM FIVE CONCERNS THE ASSIGNMENT OF A COMMISSIONER TO THE NO KILL COMMITTEE. AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO ASK IF THERE ARE COMMISSIONERS WILLING TO SERVE ON THIS COMMITTEE. SO THE FIRST STEP IS, DO WE HAVE A COMMISSIONER WHO WANTS TO BE ON THIS COMMITTEE? THE SECOND STEP WILL BE NUMBER SIX, WHERE, UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ASSIGN A CHAIR FOR THAT. BUT THE FIRST STEP IS, DO WE HAVE COMMISSIONERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE ON THIS COMMITTEE? LET ME START WITH WHO, WHO IS CURRENTLY ON THE COMMITTEE? OKAY. OH, CURRENTLY WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER VANLANDINGHAM, DO HOLT FERGUSON AND LO AND THEN THERE'S ONE MTC NOW. NO, I'M SORRY. ONE WHAT? EMPTY SEAT. EMPTY SEAT. SO WHO ELSE WOULD LOVE TO BE FANTASTIC? COMMISSIONER NELSON. THANK YOU FOR APPLYING . MY PLEASURE. ALL RIGHT. I COULDN'T HEAR ANYTHING BECAUSE MY, I'M HAVING TECHNICAL PROBLEMS THERE. OH, OKAY. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, I CAN HEAR YOU NOW. OKAY. YEAH, SO I WAS JUST ASKING, UM, YOU KNOW, CURRENTLY WE'RE HAVING TO, UM, I'M JUST ASKING FOR ANOTHER COMMISSIONER TO JOIN THE NO KILL COMMITTEE BECAUSE WE HAVE AN EMPTY SEAT TO FILL ON IT. AND SO, UH, COMMISSIONER NIELSEN JUST, UH, VOLUNTEERED FOR THAT. CAN, CAN WE NOMINATE PEOPLE? WELL, I THINK, I DON'T THINK THIS IS A NOMINATION 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT VOTING, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT LIKE VOTING A POSITION. SO IT'S MORE OF PEOPLE, UM, WHO ARE INTERESTED. OKAY. WHO ARE TRULY INTERESTED IN BEING ON THIS COMMITTEE. DID I GET THAT RIGHT? YEAH. ALL. ALL RIGHT. SO COMMISSIONER NELSON, ARE YOU WILLING TO SERVE ON THE NO KILL COMMITTEE THEN? YES, I AM. THANK YOU. AND, UH, SO UNDER THE COMMITTEE PROVISIONS OF OUR BYLAWS, THEN I'LL APPOINT, UH, COMMISSIONER [02:05:01] O NIELSEN TO THE NO KILL COMMITTEE, AND THAT TAKES CARE OF NUMBER FIVE. AND NOW [6. Assign a Chair for the No Kill Committee. ] ON NUMBER SIX, WE'LL BE ASSIGNING A CHAIR FOR THE NO KILL COMMITTEE. SO I'D LIKE TO INVITE, UH, ANYONE TO EXPRESS INTEREST FROM THE ELIGIBLE COMMITTEE MEMBERS OF WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE CHAIR. I, I'M INTERESTED IN BEING CHAIR. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. WELL, WELL, THAT MAKES IT EASY. . WONDERFUL. ALL RIGHT, WELL, UH, COMMISSIONER ES YOU ARE, UM, I APPRECIATE YOU WILLING TO SERVE AS THE CHAIR OF THE NO KILL COMMITTEE. AND I WILL, UH, WITH YOUR CONSENT, I'LL APPOINT YOU, UH, COMMISSIONER ZAES AS THE CHAIR TO THE NO KILL COMMITTEE. THANK YOU CHAIR. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, WONDERFUL. ALRIGHT, [7. Update from the Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) on recent meeting and recommendation progress.] NOW, ITEM NUMBER SEVEN. LET'S SEE. WE'LL HAVE, LET'S SEE, COMMISSIONER. OH, OKAY. BUT WE WE'RE GOING TO SPEAK ABOUT IT FIRST AND THEN PUB PUBLIC, UH, CO WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC COMMENT ON IT. PUBLIC COMMENT, YEAH. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'RE GONNA TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT FIRST ON THE F-E-L-V-F-I-V WORKING GROUP UPDATE BEFORE WE, UM, GET INTO THAT, UH, DISCUSSION. AND SO WE WILL HAVE KELLY JANES COME ON DOWN. OKAY. AND WELCOME BACK. IT IS GOOD TO BE BACK AGAIN. UM, SO THIS ONE WILL TAKE THE ENTIRE THREE MINUTES. SO, BUT I AM A, AN ADOPTED CAT OWNER OF A CAT WITH FIV. UM, IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME WHEN I ADOPTED MY CAT TO KNOW THAT THEY HAD FIV AS YOU CAN TELL FROM MY PRIOR STATEMENT, I'M A RESEARCHER, UM, AND LEARN A LOT OF INFORMATION. AND SO I DO THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT. WHEN I WAS KIND OF LOOKING INTO THIS PART OF THE AGENDA, UM, I LOOKED AT SOME REDDIT COMMENTS ABOUT AUSTIN ANIMAL SHELTER, ABOUT FIV TESTING. AND THERE WERE SPECIFIC COMMENTS THAT HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP THAT IF THIS KIND OF TESTING WAS DISCONTINUED, THAT IT WOULD IMPACT THEIR WILLINGNESS CAT, POTENTIAL CAT OWNERS WILLINGNESS TO ADOPT A CAT SPECIFICALLY FROM THIS SHELTER VERSUS OTHER SHELTERS THAT DO TEST AND MAINTAIN TESTING FOR FELV AND FIVI. I KNOW NOW AS A CAT OWNER, UM, HOW PARTICULARLY WE MIGHT BE ABOUT INTRODUCING NEW CATS INTO THAT ENVIRONMENT. IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THAT MAINTAINING THAT TESTING IS AN OVERWHELMING FINANCIAL BURDEN. UM, AND I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT FOR MAINTAINING AND ADOPTING OUT AS MANY CATS AS POSSIBLE, WHICH NOW I CARE MUCH MORE ABOUT AS A FIRST TIME CAT OWNER WHO AGAIN, HAS A CAT WITH FIV. SO THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. AND NOW WE'LL GET INTO ITEM SEVEN AS AN UPDATE FROM THE, UH, F-E-L-V-F-I-V WORKING GROUP, UH, CONCERNING THE RECENT MEETING IN PROGRESS TOWARDS RECOMMENDATIONS. UH, SO COMMISSIONER NORTON, GO AHEAD. OKAY. UM, THANK YOU. UM, SO, UM, COMMISSIONER, UM, DANIEL AND I, UM, MET AND, AND TALKED ABOUT THIS, UM, A BIT AND WE ACTUALLY DRAFTED, UM, A PRETTY LONG, UM, RECOMMENDATION THAT WE WERE GOING THROUGH. AND WE HAD HOPED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE IT TONIGHT AS A DISCUSSION ITEM, BUT, UM, JUST TIME GOT AWAY FROM US, SO WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO THAT. SO, UM, OUR GOAL FOR NOVEMBER IS TO, UM, BE ABLE TO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR YOU. UM, OUR, I THINK SOME OF OUR PRIORITIES ARE TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN DECISIONS ARE MADE BY THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER, THAT WE FOLLOW THE STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY'S ENGAGED. UM, WE DON'T JUST SURPRISE PEOPLE WITH A MEN WITH A, WITH A, UM, MEMO. UM, AND THINK ABOUT THE IMPACT. UM, WE DON'T HAVE EVIDENCE THAT THAT WAS ACTUALLY DONE. UM, IT SEEMED THIS WAS A SURPRISE TO EVERYBODY. UH, WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT ON THE ADOPTIONS, WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT ON THE VOLUNTEERS. UM, IT JUST KIND OF SHOWED UP. UH, SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE WERE DOING IS TAKING WHAT WE HAD DONE AS RECOMMENDATIONS AND TRIED [02:10:01] TO RELATE IT BACK TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN. UM, I THINK THAT PART OF WHAT WE DEVELOPED, UM, WILL HELP WITH SOME OF THE SPEAKERS. WE HEARD ON VARIOUS ISSUES WHERE THEY FEEL THAT THEY'RE NOT ENGAGED. UM, I CAN SEE WHY, UM, THEY FELT THAT WAY. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF A CHANGE IS MADE AT THE SHELTER, THAT IT ACTUALLY FOLLOWS DOCUMENTATION, THAT IT DOESN'T GO AGAINST IT. UM, PUTTING A, FOR EXAMPLE, PUTTING A CAT, GIVING A CAT TO A FOSTER WHO HAS A CAT AT HOME AND THEN SAYING, WELL, THE MANUAL SAYS, UM, THEY CAN'T, YOU KNOW, GO TOGETHER. THAT'S NOT WHAT THE MANUAL SAYS. THE MANUAL SAYS THEY CAN ONLY GO TOGETHER IN THE ADOPTED HOME, IN THE FOSTER HOME. UM, DOES ACTUALLY PUT THE FOSTER CAT AT RISK. UM, WE WERE TOLD THAT IT DIDN'T. UH, SO WE WANNA REALLY MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS, UH, DOTTED AND WE HAVE EDUCATION IN PLACE, UM, WHICH I DON'T BELIEVE THERE WAS ANY FOR THE ADOPTERS. UM, I AGREE WITH THE LAST SPEAKER THAT I LOOKED UP. UM, JEN, COMMISSIONER DANIEL AND I LOOKED AT HUMANE SOCIETY. WE LOOKED AT AUSTIN PETS ALIVE. THEY ALL DO TESTING. SO SUDDENLY A A S IS JUST NOT COMPETITIVE OVER, UM, A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY. SO IF ANY OF YOU, UM, SO I APOLOGIZE, UM, JEN MIGHT WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS TOO, BUT, UM, THAT WE COULDN'T HAVE IT DONE TODAY. BUT, UM, WE UM, WILL DEFINITELY HAVE SOMETHING FOR NEXT MONTH. AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD TO IT OR THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE INCLUDE, UH, LET ME KNOW. UM, REGARDING NEXT MONTH. AND, UM, CHAIR, I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND ME SAYING THIS. UM, SOME OF, YOU KNOW, UM, I HAVE REQUESTED THAT I BE REPLACED ON THE COMMISSION. UM, IT'S BECAUSE OF SOME FAMILY STUFF AND I HAVE TO TRAVEL MORE TO THE MIDWEST AND IT'S JUST HARD FOR ME TO DO EVERYTHING. UM, SO, UH, BUT WE HAVE, WHEN YOU DO THAT , YOU HAVE 60 DAYS THAT YOU CAN SERVE, UM, WHILE THEY TRY TO GET SOMEONE ON BOARD. SO, UM, THERE IS A CHANCE I'LL BE AT THE NOVEMBER MEETING TO CONTINUE TO DISCUSS THIS. UH, BUT, UH, ANYWAY, UM, I CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS OR, UH, COMMISSIONER DANIEL, IF YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING TO THAT. CAN I JUST ASK WHAT, WHAT IS THE GENERAL COST THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? UM, WHAT WE READ IN THE MEMOS AND WHAT WE WERE TOLD WAS ABOUT $32,000 PER YEAR. PER YEAR. IT WAS VIEWED AS A, IT WAS VIEWED AS A BUDGET SAVINGS. OKAY. PER YEAR, CORRECT? YES. ALRIGHT. ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER ISSUES? YES, COMMISSIONER HOLT? UM, I APOLOGIZE, I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH ALL THE THINGS. UM, I AM SURMISING AS MUCH THAT FIV AND FELB TESTING HAS STOPPED AT THE SHELTER. TO BE CLEAR, IS THAT ALL CATS ALL THE TIME? IS THAT CATS UNDER A CERTAIN AGE? IS IT JUST A BLANKET THING? AND THIS IS A QUESTION TO WHOEVER CAN ANSWER THAT, I GUESS JOAN, UM, FROM, IT'S OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT IF IT'S A CAT GOING TO FOSTER CARE, IT'S NOT BEING TESTED. MM-HMM . IF IT'S A CAT GOING TO A RESCUE, IT'S NOT BEING TESTED. UM, IF IT'S A, UM, CAT, UM, THERE WAS ANOTHER CATEGORY, UM, THAT WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT. 'CAUSE THOSE ARE THE ES UH, STATEMENTS THAT WE'VE PUT IN. UM, UH, THERE'S, UM, JEN, I THINK THOSE WERE THE MAIN ONES WE WERE LOOKING AT, WERE THE, THE TRANSFERS, THE RESCUES, THE ADOPTIONS. OH, IF IT'S BEING ADOPTED, THEY DON'T KNOW. SO IT'S TRANSFERS, FOSTERS AND ADOPTIONS THAT WE REALLY WERE FOCUSED ON. ARE THERE CASES WHERE THEY ARE BEING TESTED? LIKE IF THERE'S SYMPTOMATIC OR I CAN SAY FROM WHAT I'VE OBSERVED THERE, THAT AT ANY POINT A VETERINARIAN CAN REQUEST AN F-E-L-V-F-I-V TEST ON ANY CAT THAT THEY FEEL IT'S INDICATED. UM, AND THAT I JUST KNOW THAT I'VE OVERHEARD TECHNICIANS TALKING ABOUT THEY'RE GETTING A LOT OF REQUESTS FOR TESTING FOSTER CATS. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S HAPPENING DURING A FOSTER CONSULTATION AND THEN IT ENDS UP HAPPENING. I DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT'S WHAT I CAN SPEAK TO. AND THEN I KNOW THAT, UM, CAT VOLUNTEERS CAN REQUEST IT IF THEY OR, OR ANIMAL CARE CAN REQUEST IT IF THEY WANT A CAT TO BE MOVED TO A MULTIPLE CAT ROOM. [02:15:01] MM-HMM . THAT'S THE INFORMATION I HAVE. OKAY. YEAH. YES. AND, AND THAT WOULD ALIGN WITH WHAT WE WERE TOLD. IF THEY WENT INTO LIKE A BIGGER GROUP ROOM, THEY WOULD BE TESTED, BUT, UM, YEAH, BUT NOT TO A HOME THAT ALREADY HAS A CAT. MM-HMM . OKAY. SO THEN WE'LL, WE'LL JUST LOOK FOR MORE, UH, FOLLOW UP AND RECOMMENDATION THEN FOR, SORRY, I DON'T KNOW IF MY HAND SHOWING, OH, SORRY, I FORGOT TO LOOK. NO, THAT'S OKAY. THAT WAS MY FAULTS. YEAH, NO, YOU'RE GOOD. UM, THIS IS MORE OF A, A COMMENT THAN ANYTHING. AS SOMEBODY WHO'S PERSONAL CATS ALL HAVE FELINE LEUKEMIA, UM, AS SOMEBODY WHO HAS RUN A CAT RESCUE AND AN ANIMAL SHELTER, AS SOMEBODY WHO WAS A MASSIVE, MASSIVE ADVOCATE THAT CATS WITH FELINE LEUKEMIA CAN LIVE NORMAL LIVES, CAN LIVE LONG HEALTHY LIVES, THEY SHOULD NOT BE STICK STIGMATIZED AND ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THE DISEASE IS CONTAGIOUS WITHOUT PROPER MEASURES. I FIND THIS TO BE DEEPLY TROUBLING, UM, THAT WE WOULD STOP TESTS LIKE THIS, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE SENDING CATS INTO ADOPTIVE HOMES AND TO FOSTER HOMES. UM, I DO NOT THINK THAT IF THE INTENTION OF THIS IS TO DE-STIGMATIZE FELINE LEUKEMIA OR IF THE INTENTION OF THIS IS TO SAVE MONEY, I THINK THAT FOR AS MUCH AS BEEN SAID ABOUT BUILDING COMMUNITY TRUST, UM, I CANNOT THINK OF A FASTER WAY TO MAKE PEOPLE NOT WANT TO ADOPT A CAT THAN TO HAVE HORROR STORIES ABOUT FEELING LEUKEMIA CATS BEING MIXED IN HOUSEHOLDS AND FOSTER RESIDENT CATS OR ADOPTIVE RESIDENT CATS BEING EXPOSED. I AM JUST, I KNOW THAT MONEY IS SAVED. I KNOW THAT FEELING LEUKEMIA NEEDS TO BE DE-STIGMATIZED. I AM HORRIFIED THAT THIS IS A PRACTICE THAT'S TAKING PLACE. WELL, AND I, AND I ALSO JUST WANT TO INTERJECT FOR FOR A SECOND ON THAT TOO, THAT, UM, JUST TO, TO OFFER SOME OF THE EXPLANATION THAT HAD BEEN GIVEN PREVIOUSLY ON THAT TO COMMISSIONER HULL IS, UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF IT ALSO WAS SOME OF THE CONCERN OF FALSE, UM, POSITIVES AND, UH, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WERE HAPPENING OR, OR YES. I CAN JUST TO PUT THAT OUT CAN SPEAK TO THAT. YEAH, YEAH. NO, I CAN SPEAK TO THAT. UM, I, IF I RE REMEMBER CORRECTLY, AND SOMEBODY FACT CHECKED ME ON THIS, I KNOW THAT THERE'S SOMETHING LIKE A 33% FALSE POSITIVE RATE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE UNDER SIX MONTHS. UM, BUT THERE ARE PCR TESTS THAT CAN HAPPEN AND BLOOD PANELS THAT CAN BE DONE. AND I, I'M I, FROM MY KNOWLEDGE, THE EQUIPMENT IT WOULD TAKE TO BRING THAT KIND OF TESTING IN HOUSE WOULD ACTUALLY PROBABLY NOT BIG PICTURE BE SUPER EXPENSIVE. SO MM-HMM. I UNDERSTAND THAT. I KNOW ALL THIS. I STILL FIND THIS LIKE MM-HMM. LY OFFENSIVE , UM, THAT WE ARE USING, UM, UH, FALSE POSITIVE RATES AS AN EXCUSE TO STOP TESTING RATHER THAN A REASON TO BETTER EQUIP OURSELVES WITH KNOWLEDGE ABOUT CATS BEFORE WE'RE MIXING THEM IN FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE HOMES. MM-HMM . UNDERSTOOD. NO, I YOU FORWARD. YEAH. AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS TOO, I THINK THAT'LL HELP OUT. YES. COMMISSIONER, ONE QUESTION, AND WHITNEY, I AM CURIOUS IF YOUR CAT IS A PAID ACTOR, BUT ALSO, UM, THIS IS ACTUALLY MY FIV POSITIVE FOSTER THAT THEY NOW HAS TO LIVE IN A DIFFERENT PART OF MY HOUSE. SO I GOT, I GOT BOTH THOUGH . UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO RAISE A CONCERN WITH THE COMMENT THAT WAS MADE BY THE COMMUNITY MEMBER ABOUT MORE CATS BEING SENT, UM, OUT THROUGH TNR, UM, BECAUSE THESE DISEASES ARE CONTAGIOUS BETWEEN CATS. RIGHT. OKAY. SO THAT SEEMS VERY CONCERNING IF MORE CATS ARE GOING INTO THE COMMUNITY AND SPREADING IT RAMPANTLY. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT CONCERN. IS THAT BEING TRACKED THROUGH THIS WORKING GROUP AND RECOMMENDATION AS WELL? MR. DANIEL, DO YOU WANNA ADDRESS THE TNR? SO TNR BEST PRACTICES? YOU DON'T TEST FOR THIS. WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT I BELIEVE YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS SNR, WHICH IS SHELTER NEUTER RETURN. YES. SO THOSE ARE THE CATS THAT GO INTO THE SHELTER. UM, MAYBE IT'S TIME TO DO A PRESENTATION ON SNR FOR FOLKS. UM, BE HELPFUL, ESPECIALLY WITH CONCERNS COMING UP THAT THE PROGRAM'S CHANGING AND MORE CATS ARE GOING OUT. THAT'S A BIG CONCERN FOR ME. UM, SO IF WE'RE NOT TESTING SNR CATS, THEY DEFINITELY CAN BE GOING OUT AND SPREADING IT. THEY CAN ALSO BE SPREADING IT IF THESE CATS ARE ADOPTED AND THE ADOPTERS DON'T KNOW THE STATUS AND THEY DECIDE TO LET THEIR CAT BE AN INDOOR OUTDOOR CAT. SO IT COULD POSSIBLY SPREAD TO NEIGHBORHOOD CATS COULD GET INTO A COLONY. VERY REAL CONCERN. UM, AND ACTUALLY GOES AGAINST A STRATEGIC PLAN. SO YES, THAT IS SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING, LOOKING AT. THANK YOU. AND, UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, UM, I APPRECIATE ALL THE COMMENTS. I'M TAKING NOTES AND I APPRECIATE, UM, ALL THE COMMENTS THAT WE'VE HAD FROM THE PUBLIC TONIGHT BECAUSE I DO THINK THIS IS, UH, ALSO A PROCESS PROBLEM. UM, IT WAS A COMMUNICATION PROBLEM AND I HOPE THAT IN MAKING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED FOR THE FUTURE SO WE [02:20:01] DON'T HAVE ANOTHER, UM, CHANGE THAT'S MADE AND WE'RE SUDDENLY BLINDSIDED AS A COMMUNITY. WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING. THE ADOPTERS DUNNO ANYTHING. IT WAS JUST MADE BY, UM, LEADERSHIP FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND AND WE WEREN'T INFORMED OF IT. AND IT'S A, IT'S DIFFICULT WHEN THAT HAPPENS AND THAT'S NOT THE GOAL OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN EITHER. YES. THANK, THANK YOU DANIEL. AND ANOTHER THOUGHT, UM, I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS EARLIER WITH THE EC COST. UM, JASON, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT THERE WAS $200,000 SET ASIDE FOR THAT. UM, IT LOOKS LIKE WE SPENT 82,000, SO THAT'S NOT EVEN HALF. SO $118,000 THAT, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT WAS USED OR IF IT WAS LOST, BUT IF WE'RE JUST LETTING $118,000 GO, BUT YOU WANNA STOP VITAL TESTING FOR $32,000. MAKE THAT MAKE SENSE TO ME. I MEAN, WELL THE 81,000, UM, THAT'S, I THINK FOR THE LAST, WE ONLY HAVE 200,000 FOR THE ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR, WHICH DOESN'T IT SAY. YEAH. SO WE WERE ONLY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE END OF BALANCE WAS FOR THE, FOR LAST WEEK, BUT YEAH, WE ONLY HAD 200,000 FOR THE, TO COVER FOR THE ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR. AND NORMALLY WHEN WE SPEND ABOUT HALF A MILLION ON THAT, UM, FOUR, FOUR TO 500,000. YEAH, WE, I THINK WE UTILIZED ALL THOSE FUNDS FOR, SO THE LAST INVOICE FOR 81 8800 WAS JUST FOR LAST MONTH. IT COULD BE. I NEED TO, I NEED TO LOOK WHAT THAT INVOICE WAS. YEAH, BECAUSE WE TEND TO RANGE ABOUT 10 TO 12,000 AND I THINK THAT WAS, UM, UH, I'LL NEED TO CHECK THAT. 'CAUSE I THOUGHT WE, WE DIDN'T SPEND, I THOUGHT WE WERE SPENDING MORE THAN THAT, SO I'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT. I MEAN, I'VE THOUGHT IT, IT'S BEEN KIND OF LOW, BUT YEAH, I'D BE INTERESTED AND SEE WHAT THAT IS BECAUSE IF YOU'RE NOT USING ALL OF THAT MONEY, BUT YET YOU WANT TO CUT THIS SERVICE FOR $32,000, MAKE IT MAKE SENSE. ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER COMMENTS FOR TONIGHT ON THIS ITEM? ALRIGHT THEN WE'LL LOOK, UH, WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND GOING THROUGH, UM, ON THOSE THEN FOR NEXT MONTH HOPEFULLY. AND LET'S SEE, MOVING ON TO [8. Approve the creation of a working group to review current foster onboarding materials.] ITEM NUMBER EIGHT. ITEM NUMBER EIGHT IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF CREATING A WORKING GROUP TO REVIEW CURRENT FOSTER ONBOARDING MATERIALS. SO I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND, UH, INVITE WHOEVER WANTED TO START THAT DISCUSSION. I THINK THAT WAS COMMISSIONER VAN INGHAM'S ITEM. AH, BUT I COULD BE MISTAKEN. ALL RIGHT. SO PERHAPS WE SHOULD TABLE THIS ONE TILL NEXT MONTH SO THAT SHE CAN SPEAK IN MORE DETAIL TO IT. YEAH. OKAY. ALRIGHT. EXCUSE ME. UH, AH, SO THE 2027 ANNUAL SCHEDULE, AND I THINK THIS IS, UM, THE EMAIL ALSO THAT YOU HAD SENT ABOUT RESERVING THE ROOM FOR NEXT YEAR, UM, THAT THIS IS RELATED TO. SO, [9. Approve the 2027 Annual Schedule of the Animal Advisory Commission.] UH, IN THE MATERIALS PRESENTED, UM, OR IN THE MATERIALS INCLUDED ON OUR EMAIL HERE TONIGHT WERE THE 2 20 27 MEETING SCHEDULE DATES. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT JUST SEEMS TO KIND OF CONTINUE WITH THE, UH, REGULAR SCHEDULE THAT WE'VE HAD FOR THIS YEAR. AND I WANTED TO SEE IF, UH, THERE ARE ANY, UH, ISSUES OR CONFLICTS OR QUESTIONS ON THE PROPOSED DATES. IT STILL APPEARS TO BE THE SECOND MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH, SO KIND OF BUSINESS AS USUAL GOING INTO THE NEXT YEAR. ALL RIGHT. AND IF THERE IS NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, THEN I'D LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE 2027 ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULE AS YES, AS SHOWN. YOU WANNA MAKE THE MOTION. ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONER NIELSEN MAKES THE MOTION. DO I HAVE A SECOND TO THAT? MOTION TO COMMISSIONER DANIEL? ALL RIGHT. UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING, UH, THIS 2027 ANIMAL COM ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION ANNUAL MEETING SCHEDULE THAT IS UP HERE, PLEASE. OH, YES. WE NEED TO SEE WHO'S VOTING AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED, SO THE MOTION PASSES. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL CONTINUE INTO [02:25:01] THE NEXT YEAR. . IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD START, . ALL RIGHT. AND LET'S SEE. [12. Approve the election of Vice Chair. ] OKAY. AND THEN AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, ITEMS 10 AND 11 HAVE BEEN WITHDRAWN AT THIS TIME, WHICH LEAVES US TO OUR LAST AGENDA ITEM OF APPROVING THE ELECTION OF A VICE CHAIR. SO I WOULD LIKE TO OPEN THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS. YES. I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE COMMISSIONER PATEL, PLEASE. ALRIGHT, ARE THERE ANY FURTHER NOMINATIONS? HMM? WHO WILL IT BE? LEMME SEE. OH YES, COMMISSIONER FERGUSON. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE COMMISSIONER NELSON. ALRIGHT. ALRIGHT. ANY FURTHER NOMINATIONS? ALL RIGHT. HEARING NONE. CAN I ASK, DO Y'ALL BOTH ACCEPT THOSE ? YES. OH, SORRY. YOU MUST ACCEPT. OKAY, . THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. UM, SO HEARING NO FURTHER NOMINATIONS, THE NOMINATIONS ARE CLOSED AND WE WILL NOW PROCEED TO THE ELECTION. ALL RIGHT. SO THE FIRST NOMINEE, UH, WE'LL START WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER PATEL. UM, AND ACTUALLY I WANNA GO AHEAD AND JUST, UM, INVITE PEOPLE TO SAY A FEW WORDS FIRST IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO. COMMISSIONER PATEL. I DID NOT PREPARE ANY, SO I'LL JUST WING IT. UM, BUT I AM VERY EXCITED FOR THIS NOMINATION, UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST BECAUSE IN MY DAY JOB I LEAD GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONS FOR TECHNICAL STANDARDS BODIES, INCLUDING, UH, COMPANIES LIKE MICROSOFT AND NVIDIA FOR PROJECTS THEY'RE WORKING ON IN THE TECH SPACE. SO I'VE READ ROBERT'S RULES, UM, AND UNDERSTAND HOW RUNNING MEETINGS WORKS THROUGH THAT IN MY DAY JOB, UM, AND HAVE TO PRACTICE THAT BY TRADE. AND I KNOW IT IS HARD WORK TO MANAGE THESE MEETINGS AND ALL THE, UM, EXTREME TOPICS THAT ARE DISCUSSED. SO I WOULD, UM, DO MY BEST TO BRING THOSE SKILLS HERE AS WELL AS MY PASSION FOR ANIMAL WELFARE. I, UM, TAKE PRIDE IN MY INVOLVEMENT ACROSS DIFFERENT LINES OF ANIMAL WELFARE WORK IN AUSTIN, INCLUDING JUST STREET RESCUE AS A PERSON THROUGH A RESCUE, AS A RESCUE PARTNER TO THE SHELTER, VOLUNTEER IN OTHER ROLES, AND LOVE HEARING FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON WHAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING. SO I HOPE THIS IS THE WAY THAT I CAN CONTINUE TO BE INVOLVED IN THE COMMISSION. UM, THAT'S IT FOR NOW. ALRIGHT. AND THEN, UH, COMMISSIONER NIELSEN. YEAH, I THINK PEOPLE HAVE HEARD MY SPIEL BEFORE. UM, I'VE BEEN ON THE COMMISSION FOUR AND A HALF YEARS. I AM, UM, VERY FAMILIAR WITH LIKE THE, THE FLOW OF THESE MEETINGS AND HOW, HOW WE LIKE TO RUN THESE MEETINGS AND WANT THE, UH, WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING TO BE THIS, TO BE, UH, PRODUCTIVE PLACE OF OPEN DEBATE AND HONEST DISCUSSION AND TRUTHFULNESS AND UM, AND INTEGRITY AND, UH, AND ALWAYS WANNA BE DOING THE RIGHT THING FOR THE ANIMALS AND PEOPLE OF OUR, OUR COMMUNITY AND JUST WOULD BE OKAY SERVING AS VICE CHAIR AGAIN, IF THE CHAIR'S EVER ABSENT, I AM USUALLY HERE AND THAT'S ALL. ALL RIGHT. THEN WE WILL PROCEED TO THE ELECTION AND, UM, MIGHT REMIND HIM THAT EITHER OF US WOULD NEED SEVEN VOTES. OH, YES. SO YEAH, SO SEVEN VOTES IS THE MAGIC NUMBER, UM, THAT, WELL, THAT'S THAT WE WOULD NEED, UM, FOR EITHER PERSON HERE TO, UH, BE CONFIRMED AS THE VICE CHAIR. SO WE DO HAVE TO HAVE SEVEN PEOPLE FOR ONE PERSON HERE. AND, UM, SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED TO THE ELECTION. ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT. AND YOU CAN VOTE FOR BOTH, HUH? YOU CAN VOTE FOR BOTH. OH, I CAN, YES. . YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. VOTE, VOTE BOTH ELECTIONS. I GOTCHA. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. SO THEN, UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START SINCE [02:30:01] I CALLED YOUR NAME FIRST. SO WE'LL START WITH THE, UM, ELECTION NOMINEE. SO THE FIRST NOMINEE IS COMMISSIONER PATEL. UM, SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR LOOKS LIKE FIVE MM-HMM . MM-HMM . OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO WE DID NOT HIT SEVEN AND NOW WE WILL MOVE TO COMMISSIONER NELSON AND ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. CAN WE, UM, SORRY. OH, SORRY. BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD, CAN WE DO LIKE AGAINST AND ABSTAIN, UM, FOR COMMISSIONER PATEL? OH YES. SORRY. YES. ALRIGHT, SO WE HAD FIVE, UH, FIVE FOUR. UM, ANY OPPOSED, ANY ABSTAINING? YES, I DID. ALRIGHT. WE HAVE ONE ABSTAIN. I DID OFFICIALLY DECLARE THAT BEFORE THE MEETING, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHO WAS GONNA BE OKAY. KNOW I WAS GONNA BE NOMINATED. IT'S ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. AND NOW WE'LL MOVE TO THE NOMINEE OF COMMISSIONER NELSON. AND ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. 2, 3, 4, 5. AND WE HAVE FIVE, UH, AGAINST ABSTAIN. YEP. ANY AGAINST. ALRIGHT. AND ANY ABSTAIN. ALRIGHT, YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN. WE CAN DO IT AGAIN. ALL RIGHT, ONE MORE TIME. , WE WILL START WITH COMMISSIONER PATEL AS THE NOMINEE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? 4, 5, 6. WAIT, WHAT? 1, 2, 3, 6. LET'S JUST GET HER DONE. . OKAY. 1, 2, 3. FERGUSON. OH, COMMISSIONER FERGUSON JUST RAISED HER HAND. DID WE DO IT? MM-HMM . WE DID IT. . ALRIGHT. OH, WELL. ANY, ANY AGAINST ABSTAINING. EXCELLENT. CONGRATULATIONS. VICE CHAIR PATEL. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU GUYS. ALL RIGHT. LET'S SEE NOW. ALRIGHT. DID YOU GET EVERYTHING YOU NEED MS. WATSON? YES. OKAY. THEN [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] AT THIS POINT I'M GOING TO ASK FOR IF THERE'S ANY KNOWN, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS OR ANY PROPOSED SUBJECTS FOR THE FUTURE MEETING DISCUSSION REGARDING A WORKING GROUP TO LOOK INTO SBI PROCEDURES. MM-HMM . DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION. OKAY. YEAH, DEFINITELY A HOT TOPIC. SO, ALRIGHT. AND THEN I THINK WE WERE GOING TO, UM, TABLE, WHAT WAS THE OTHER DISCUSSION ITEM WE WERE GONNA TABLE? WORKING GROUP FOR? UM, FOR COMMISSIONER VANLANDINGHAM, RIGHT? YEAH. WORKING GROUP ON FOSTER HANDBOOK. YES. SO THOSE TWO WE KNOW FOR SURE. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANYTHING? ALRIGHT. YES. COMMISSIONER [02:35:01] PATEL, VICE CHAIR COMMAND, WHATEVER. NO IGNORING, RETRACTED. DENIED. NO KIDDING. . THANK. OH, YES. COMMISSIONER DEES. OH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ON MUTE. YOU'RE STILL ON MUTE. WE TALK ABOUT THE CALENDAR FOR NEXT YEAR. UH, YES, WE APPROVED IT. OH, YEP. WE, WE APPROVE. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. YES. YOU SAID THE CALENDAR. OOH, THAT SCRATCHES MY BRAIN. THAT HURT ME. . ALRIGHT, UH, COMMISSIONER DEES, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION ON THE CALENDAR? Y YES. OKAY. SHE WATCHING. OKAY. OKAY, WE'RE GOOD. WE'RE GOOD. NEVERMIND. I GOT THE THUMBS UP. . ALRIGHT. YOU, YOU COULD SEND AN EMAIL WITH YOUR QUESTION AS WELL. . ALRIGHT. BUT THE, UM, I, I DID HEAR THE WORD CALENDAR. SO WE DID APPROVE THE CALENDAR THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE EMAIL THAT WAS SENT OUT, UM, BEFORE. SO THAT ONE WAS APPROVED WHERE IT STILL REMAINS ON THE SAME, UM, SCHEDULE PRETTY MUCH AS IT IS THIS YEAR WITH THE SECOND MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH. AND, UH, ANY OTHER FUTURE POSSIBLE ITEMS? I KNOW YOU'VE ALREADY COVERED OH, THE, UH, F FE FIV RECOMMENDATIONS. RIGHT. ALRIGHT, SO I THINK THAT ABOUT DOES IT, I THINK THAT CONCLUDES OUR POSTED BUSINESS. IS THERE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? OH, SO MANY HANDS RAISED . YES. COMMISSIONER NELSON. SHE, SHE MAKES, DO WE HAVE A SECOND? THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER DANIEL? YEAH, , I'LL TAKE ALL THE MOTIONS. ALL RIGHT. THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 8:38 PM THANK YOU SO MUCH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.