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Item 13 - OC Grand Jury's Investigative Report, Findings, and Recommendations Regarding Group Homes and the Orange County Animal Care Shelter
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Item 13 - OC Grand Jury's Investigative Report, Findings, and Recommendations Regarding Group Homes and the Orange County Animal Care Shelter
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3/5/2024 3:40:01 PM
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Agenda Packet
Agency
Planning & Building
Item #
13
Date
8/15/2023
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Gimme Shelter and a Pound of Advice <br />guidelines and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) guidelines (which is the <br />current standard). <br />The allocation of Animal Care Attendants at OCAC is insufficient for the shelter to meet <br />industry standards for level of care. NACA and HSUS recommend a minimum of 15 <br />minutes of care per day per animal for feeding and cleaning each animal housed in the <br />shelter; 9 minutes for cleaning and 6 minutes for feeding and watering. <br />There are currently 21 Animal Care Attendant positions allocated at the shelter. Three <br />positions were vacant as of May 1, 2023. A normal Animal Care Attendant daily shift at <br />the shelter is 10 hours, of which the attendants are expected to spend half their time <br />cleaning, feeding, and watering the animals and half their time attending to other <br />- responsibilities, including those responsibilities noted above. Half the Animal Care <br />Attendants work from Wednesday through Saturday and the others work Sunday through <br />Wednesday. Animal Care Attendants spend about 4'/2 hours cleaning and feeding the <br />animals each day. <br />The Grand Jury evaluated the Animal Care Attendant's workload during the four -month <br />period between December 4, 2022 and April 10, 2023. Individual Animal Care Attendants <br />cared for 48 animals per shift on average and in some cases up to 90 animals per shift. <br />Conservatively, Animal Care Attendants at the shelter spend less than 6 minutes on <br />average per animal attending to cleaning and feeding, which is much less than the 15 <br />minutes recommended by the NACA and HSUS guidelines. <br />Of note, the four -month period reviewed by the Grand Jury is not the shelter's busy <br />season. During kitten season, the cats and kittens alone can number up to 500 to 600 <br />cats and kittens. per day. -The Grand Jury could not evaluate daily census records prior to <br />December 4, 2022 because OCAC did not keep daily animal census records prior to that <br />date. <br />There are still other needs the animals have, such as time for animal enrichment which is <br />required daily. The other half of the Animal Attendant's shift is devoted to picking up <br />animals from intake, showing animals for potential adoptions, walking dogs, stocking <br />supplies, washing dishes or other non -direct animal care tasks. <br />- - --ASV-Guidelines stress enrichment should be given the same significance as feeding, <br />_watering, and veterinary care. Successful enrichment programs prevent the development <br />- and display of abnormal behavior and provide for the well-being of the animal. Regular <br />positive daily social interaction with humans is essential for both dogs and cats. Animals <br />need daily walking, playing, grooming, petting, etc. OCAC's 2018 Strategic Plan called <br />_ for all sheltered dogs and cats to receive appropriate daily enrichment tailored to their <br />needs. The Grand Jury found that other shelters in Orange County walk their dogs <br />_ several times per day and provide numerous opportunities for enrichment. At the OCAC <br />shelter,.dogs -are -not always _walked daily. Instead, animal care attendants only walk <br />dogs every other day, as time permits. <br />The Grand Jury recognizes that resources are limited, but the shelter must prioritize the <br />welfare of the animals over other shelter operation considerations. This puts pressure on <br />management to operate the shelter efficiently. Other animal care facilities report 50% of <br />ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY 2022 12023 . PAGE 15 OF 51 <br />
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