Summary of Meeting Held June 7^th, 2007 at 1:00p

Attended:    Animal Control: Lloyd G., Carol G.

                                 FGCAS: Howard F., Lisa B., Becki W.

      Introductions were made

A.     Lloyd provided and explained the “Animal Rescue Organizations Policies and Procedures for the Adoption of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets from Genesee County Animal Control”, copy now on file in FGCAS's files. He stated they work with the Humane Society, C.A.R.E., Adopt a Pet and Pet Ark.  Points of interest are noted below.

  Becki asked about the first policy (#1) It states "all animal rescue groups must be currently licensed by the State of Michigan Department of  Agriculture to operate and must have an application on file with Genesee County Animal Control". She clarified that only rescues with kennel facilities are licensed by the MDA but it's the kennel that is licensed, not the actual rescue. She asked if #1 meant that only rescues with kennels could work with GCAS.  Lloyd said that the spay/neuter fee was waived only for rescues who had kennels that were inspected by the MDA and all other rescues would be required to pay the fee.

  Lloyd said all dogs over 4 months of age would be required to be licensed in Genesee County before they left the Shelter regardless of which county the new owner lived. He said it's the best way to keep the records straight, they have no way of knowing if someone who lived outside the county ever licensed the animal in their home county. He stated that most, not all counties allow licenses to be transferred, so the new owner can transfer the license to their home county and not pay a fee. He also said that Genesee County allows the transfer in of such licenses from other counties.

  Lloyd explained that all strays with collars must be held for 7 business days. The shelter opts to hold all animals without collars for 7 business days as well. There had been a misunderstanding on their part about the 7 days, they discovered it was 7 business days and have adjusted their times correctly.

  Some confusion was remedied when it was made clear that FGCAS did not call the MDA  about the length of time an animal was being held at the Shelter,  nor did our webpage state that they "sometimes worked with rescues". It had originally stated that they "worked with some rescues" but the webpage has since been updated and no longer mentions that at all.

        The Animal Control Staff decides what animal will be allowed to be adopted.

B.     FGCA's agenda was covered.

Asked what volunteers could do to help the shelter. Lloyd stated that he did not have final say in what we could or could not do, unions and the  Board of Directors were also involved. He asked us to write a list of what we would like to do for the shelter and submit it to him. He would then find out what we would be able to do. All agreed to do so.

         Lisa brought up Petfinder. She said she would be more than happy to assist in any way, taking pictures, writing descriptions, uploading to the website, etc. Lloyd said they had previously had an employee doing that but he had retired. He said the officer doing it now had not originally been shown how to upload the photos but had been shown since. Lisa said she knew it took a long time to do all of it and said we'd be glad to either help or take over the job, since it takes time away from their other duties.

Howard asked about the link to Pet Ark on the Genesee County Animal Shelter County page. He mentioned that the link goes nowhere and asked if it could be changed to reflect the new Petfinder site. Lloyd was unsure if this could be done and said he'd have to check with M.I.S. No phone number was found for M.I.S. but all agreed that it would be a good move to have the link changed.

Howard, Lisa and Becki talked about Livingston, Ingham and Oakland County Animal Control. All three of these larger Animal Controls use volunteers for many tasks, including managing Petfinder and assisting potential adopters. Lloyd asked us to get more information on how these Animal Controls started their reform and also said he would be making phone calls to people to get ideas.

Lisa spoke about her confusing, first visit to the shelter with her daughter a few months ago. Becki agreed that the process and "Room Days" are very confusing and both said they'd like to come up with a plan to assist visitors in understanding the shelter and adoption process. Lloyd was very receptive and thought perhaps a flyer or brochure would help. He asked us to come up with some designs and said the county would print them once they were approved. The flyers could be held in a holder mounted by the door that leads into the animal area. He felt this would also help take some of the pressure off the officers at the desk. A possible map of the shelter being posted on the wall was also briefly mentioned to help visitors find the stray dogs.

Lloyd asked us, as volunteers, to be very careful in what we told people about the dogs, preferring to have us refer them to the front desk with any questions. Becki said when she's at the Shelter, she always tries to encourage people to adopt, tells them they can take the dog to the "Quiet Room" if they want but always tells them to ask any questions at the desk. She also tries to explain the Day Rooms, basically just telling people they can go to look at the dogs there but they aren't available for adoption yet and can't be taken out of their cages. She tells them that they need to let the front desk staff know the Day room and cage number of any dog/pup they see and ask to have it moved to the adoption room when it's stray time is over. Lloyd said that was fine, however, we had to understand that things do change so they should always check with the desk first.

Putting up signs in the Adoption and Day rooms explaining how to adopt and what to do if there is an animal in the Day room that you’re interested in was also discussed. An explanatory sign directing people around the corner to the Day rooms was mentioned as well. All agreed these things would help better explain the Shelter’s adoption policy to the public and make the Shelter more “user friendly”. Lloyd and Carol felt this may also help the Shelter staff by eliminating many general questions asked about adopting.

Howard talked about eventually developing a low cost spay/neutering program, one that would work directly with the Animal Shelter. All agreed it was much needed and a very necessary step toward reducing the overload of animals, especially kittens, that they take in.

C.    Carol Gillespie gave FGCAS's members a tour of the Shelter. During the tour, she showed us a very nice grooming room complete with a deep tub. She mentioned it might be possible for volunteers to bathe and groom the animals who are up for adoption.