A Year In Review (2011)
Dec 31, 2011
Delta Community Animal Shelter had a great year in 2011 and we couldn't have done it without your support! On behalf of the animals in our community we want to extend our gratitude and share the successes of the year with you!
This year was another busy year for the shelter as we admitted over 700 animals! Their reasons for coming to the shelter may vary but 154 of them were surrendered so that we could find them new homes. We are happy that many of these animals have now been placed in forever homes! Our reclaim rate (owners claiming their stray pets at the shelter) for cats was only 11% which is disappointing when we consider that dogs were reclaimed 94% of the time. The low cat reclaim rate appears to be due to a lack of traceable identification. DCAS's "First Ride Home Free" program for licensed dogs continues to be a success in reducing the number of dogs admitted to the shelter and in turn adding value to dog licenses for owners. The shelter reunited over 60 dogs through a dog license trace so that owners could collect their lost dog directly from someone who found it. Nine feral cat colonies (45 individual cats) were sterilized this year and we send our gratitude to our local veterinarians involved in this project (Tsawwassen Animal Hospital and Huff Animal Hospital) for discounted veterinary care for the cats in this program. Without their support running the Trap-Neuter-Release program would be very difficult.
ADMITTED TO SHELTER: 708 ADOPTIONS RATES: 428
358 Cats 274 Cats
309 Dogs 110 Dogs
2 Mammals 7 Mammals
15 Rodents (Guinea Pigs, Ferret, Hamsters, etc) 13 Rodents
17 Rabbits 18 Rabbits
7 Domestic Birds 6 Domestic Birds
Donations made to the Tollie Fund impacted many lives this year. Eighteen animals received extra medical care totaling over $10,000 thanks to donations made to the Tollie Fund. The veterinary care provided included treatments such as dental surgery, surgery to remove bladder stones, treatment for fading kitten syndrome, eye surgery, treatment for ear cancer and starvation, cancerous lump removals, ear and eye infections, and diabetes. Many of these cases were severe in nature due to the neglect of the previous owner. We were happy to be able to provide the animals with comfort and care. We are thankful to those who contribute to the Tollie Fund so that help for these animals can be available in their time of need. Donations ensure we see them off to happy and healthy futures! Sunshine Hills Veterinary Clinic took on many of these pets but two were particularly tough as they were clearly the result of previous owner neglect. We wanted to ensure that Dr. Gillott and his team were acknowledged and thanked in this letter as they went above and beyond to ensure the comfort and care for these animals (including taking them home for monitoring). Dr. Harris and his team at Trenant Park Pet Clinic were also very generous with their time and expertise. Dr. Harris treated three extensive medical cases at no charge and we are exceptionally thankful for his enormous generosity. All of the vets in our community were involved in the care of animals at the shelter and this included performing a combined effort of approximately 250 spay/neuter surgeries. Delta animals are lucky to have amazing medical care provided by veterinarians who truly love and value the animals in their community.
Last year the shelter introduced the "Meet Your Match" program for our cat adoptions. The program has been a huge success and we are happy to report that our return rates for adoptions still remain very low and we have received positive feedback about our matches! In addition, this year, to help decrease the amount of time cats are living in the shelter before getting adopted we implemented two new strategies. We hosted adoption satellite events at the Tsawwassen Town Center Mall that were well received by the public and led to many adoptions. We were particularly happy to be able to interact with seniors in the area who are normally unable to attend the shelter because of transportation issues. We really enjoyed our time at the mall and send our appreciation to Century Group for donating the space to us and to all of our volunteers who helped make the events successful. The second initiative was the Kitty Carnival that was held on August 13th when the shelter population of cats was very high. Jamieson's Pet Food Distributors was a sponsor for this event that helped us reduce the adoption price of the cats to $75. We were thrilled to be able to find homes for 36 cats in one day! Unfortunately our cat population returned to a manageable state for only a few days as within a week we admitted 20 new cats to the shelter, however we were still grateful for the success of the event!
Shelter staff were not the only ones who were busy this year. The Animal Control Officers were equally busy responding to over 1700 calls for service. The range of calls the Animal Control Officers respond to is vast but as a sample staff responded to 480 calls related to dogs at large, 171 barking dog noise complaints, 108 calls related to care of animal concerns, 100 calls related to injured wildlife and 77 relating to aggressive or dangerous dogs. We are also pleased to report that with the support of our satellite dog license sale locations and the efforts of staff we have increased our dog license sales again this year. Dog license revenue is important to help fund programs, care of the animals that come to the shelter and help with animal related issues in our community. A special thank you to Pets-N-Us for being our top satellite location for sales for the second year in a row!
Our third annual Delta Community Animal Expo increased in popularity in 2011. We hosted 38 vendors ranging from Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Program to other lower mainland based rescue groups. Our show stage welcomed dog trainer Amber Cottle, BC Guide Dogs, Delta Police Department Dog Squad, Little Paws Agility, Paws 2 Dance, Canadian Disaster Response Team and a Pet Look-A-Like Contest! The event welcomed in excess of 1,500 visitors and was a fun and educational day. Thank you to our volunteers, sponsors and vendors for helping making the day a huge success!
One program that has become a building block in our education program is the "Be A Tree" presentation. In 2011 DCAS attended schools, children's clubs and other events to teach dog bite safety to elementary school aged children. In total we began the process of a safe community by speaking to over 800 Delta children. We are very proud of this educational opportunity and look forward to expanding it by adding additional classes in our new facility when it is completed at the end of next year.
Behind the scenes, DCAS has also taken part in the creation of the Regional Animal Shelter Manager's Committee. The committee was created in 2011 to respond to the need for more collaboration amongst municipalities when dealing with the protection of animals in our communities and the safety of our citizens. We are excited to be working with other lower mainland municipal shelters and feel that this type of collaboration will strengthen the support we can provide.
This letter should not be closed without acknowledging our AMAZING volunteer team. Volunteers have donated 3,500 hours to help care for and improve the lives of the animals in the shelter in 2011. Walking dogs, brushing and caring for cats or rabbits, fundraising, driving wildlife to care facilities and so much more! Thank you to each one of you! Each of you is a valuable member of our team!
We look forward to seeing everyone in 2012. The year will be busy with the construction of a new facility and exciting projects!
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