Paramount Theatre
Wake Up, Austin; Lower Animal Birth Rate
RECEIVED Thu., Aug. 7, 2008
Dear Editor,
I guess no one wants to talk about the success many other cities have had in lowering their kill rates by lowering their intake [“Does Austin Need Fixing? Ask Reno.” News, Aug. 8]. Someone should go online and look at King County Washington's statistics (Seattle), www.kingcounty.gov/safety/AnimalServices/about/statistics.aspx, and look at the chart on final disposition. How did they drop intake by almost 50%? How did they drop DOA's by 80%? How did they lower the number of healthy adoptable animals that were euthanized to zero? They bit the bullet. They dealt with the controversy. They did what more than 30 other cities and counties have done. They did what San Antonio just did and should have done years ago. They did what Dallas just did and should have done years ago. They did what Los Angeles just did and should have done years ago. They passed a working, enforceable, and enforced spay/neuter ordinance. Yes it causes controversy. Every good idea that ever came along does. As someone who has worked in rescue and trap/neuter/return and maintain programs for years, I can tell you, cats and dogs do what cats and dogs do, and that is make lots and lots of kittens and puppies. They've been doing it for several hundred thousand years, and they've grown very good at it. In fact, they breed 700% faster than we do. There is simply no way that we as humans can ever create enough new humans to adopt all the kittens and puppies that are being born. I just wish FixAustin would focus on fixing Austin by helping us pass a working spay/neuter ordinance. You can set up adoption programs from here until Sunday, but until we find a way to lower the birth rate of cats and dogs, we will never, ever produce enough adopters. They can rant and rave about adoptions and shelter location all they want. They could move the shelter onto the grounds of the Capitol, but until we get around to lowering intake through lowered birth rates, there will never, ever be enough adopters. And even if there were, has anyone factored in the term "qualified adopters" yet? Are we to be so desperate to find adopters that we are willing to take a chance on sending a cat or dog out into a living hell just to find it a home?
Sigh, the answer is so simple, and it lies right in front of us, but there are so many bruised egos at play that the solution is not even on the table. Wake up, Austin; quit trying to reinvent the wheel! So many other municipalities have already found the answer. Pass and enforce a working spay/neuter ordinance. Lower the birth rate.
I guess no one wants to talk about the success many other cities have had in lowering their kill rates by lowering their intake [“Does Austin Need Fixing? Ask Reno.” News, Aug. 8]. Someone should go online and look at King County Washington's statistics (Seattle), www.kingcounty.gov/safety/AnimalServices/about/statistics.aspx, and look at the chart on final disposition. How did they drop intake by almost 50%? How did they drop DOA's by 80%? How did they lower the number of healthy adoptable animals that were euthanized to zero? They bit the bullet. They dealt with the controversy. They did what more than 30 other cities and counties have done. They did what San Antonio just did and should have done years ago. They did what Dallas just did and should have done years ago. They did what Los Angeles just did and should have done years ago. They passed a working, enforceable, and enforced spay/neuter ordinance. Yes it causes controversy. Every good idea that ever came along does. As someone who has worked in rescue and trap/neuter/return and maintain programs for years, I can tell you, cats and dogs do what cats and dogs do, and that is make lots and lots of kittens and puppies. They've been doing it for several hundred thousand years, and they've grown very good at it. In fact, they breed 700% faster than we do. There is simply no way that we as humans can ever create enough new humans to adopt all the kittens and puppies that are being born. I just wish FixAustin would focus on fixing Austin by helping us pass a working spay/neuter ordinance. You can set up adoption programs from here until Sunday, but until we find a way to lower the birth rate of cats and dogs, we will never, ever produce enough adopters. They can rant and rave about adoptions and shelter location all they want. They could move the shelter onto the grounds of the Capitol, but until we get around to lowering intake through lowered birth rates, there will never, ever be enough adopters. And even if there were, has anyone factored in the term "qualified adopters" yet? Are we to be so desperate to find adopters that we are willing to take a chance on sending a cat or dog out into a living hell just to find it a home?
Sigh, the answer is so simple, and it lies right in front of us, but there are so many bruised egos at play that the solution is not even on the table. Wake up, Austin; quit trying to reinvent the wheel! So many other municipalities have already found the answer. Pass and enforce a working spay/neuter ordinance. Lower the birth rate.
Delwin Goss
