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[Animal Services Advisory Commission on June 9, 2026.]
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL OUR MEETING TO ORDER.UH, DID EVERYONE HAVE A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE MINUTES AND GET THOSE UPDATES? YEAH, I MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES SUBMITTED.
UM, I SUPPOSE WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START WITH OUR PRESENTATION.
AND AGAIN, I'M SORRY, I'M FEELING REALLY CRAPPY TODAY FOR SOME REASON, PROBABLY CHILDREN
UH, SO BEFORE WE START, UM, WE'RE GONNA GO OVER OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
UH, WE HAVE OVER 11,000 FOLLOWERS ON FACEBOOK, AND, UM, I UPDATED THAT FOR SOME REASON IT DIDN'T SHOW UP.
UM, IT'S OVER 2,900 FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM.
THIS GUY RIGHT HERE IN CYPRUS.
UM, HE CAME TO US AS A PUPPY AND HE PRETTY MUCH GREW UP IN THE SHELTER.
UM, HE WAS ADOPTED AND RETURNED, AND THEN HE STAYED WITH US FOR OVER 227 DATES BEFORE HE FINALLY FOUND A HOME.
OUR OPERATIONAL UPDATES, UM, RIGHT NOW WE ARE, UH, IN THE TRAINING PHASE OF PET POINT ANIMAL SHELTER SOFTWARE.
UM, OUR NEXT MEETING WITH ACCOUNTING IS IN TWO WEEKS, AND THAT'S WHEN WE WILL SOFT IMPLEMENT, LIKE ATTACH SHARING SYSTEM INTO, UM, THE PET POINT SOFTWARE.
UM, WE, THE POINT OF THAT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MONEY PART TALKS TO THE OPERATIONS PART MM-HMM
SO IT, IT GOES INTO THE SAME SYSTEM WITH FEWER STEPS.
UM, WE ALSO PROPOSE INCREASING FEES FOR ADOPTION, SURRENDER, AND IMPOUND WITH, UH, BUDGETS.
UM, TO HAVE HAD A COUPLE OF SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS WITH RISE.
WE HAD ONE IN THE SPRING AND WE JUST STARTED, UH, ONE, UH, TODAY FOR THE, FOR THE SUMMER BACK TO THE, UH, BACK TO THE ADOPTION FEES.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE FIRST TIME WE'VE INCREASED OUR ADOPTION FEES SINCE I'VE BEEN DIRECTOR OF THE VIOLATION FOR 17 YEARS.
AND WE ARTIFICIALLY KEPT THEM LOW TO ENCOURAGE ADOPTIONS, UH, BUT EVEN INCREASING THEM BY $10 A PIECE FOR USING $10 FOR A CAT KITTEN, DOG, PUPPY.
UM, EVEN BY INCREASING BY $10, WE'RE STILL THE LOWEST IN THE 15 NORTH TEXAS, 15 CITY NORTH TEXAS COMP CITIES THAT WE STUDY.
SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING FROM $15 TO $25 OR $40.
AND IT'LL HELP US PAY FOR ALL OF OUR, UH, EXPENSES WITH SOFTWARE AND IMPLEMENTATION AND UPDATES AND UPGRADES FURTHER ON IN THE FUTURE.
WE HAVE HAD MULTIPLE OUTSIDE ADOPTION EVENTS.
WE'VE DONE SOME MORE FREE MICROCHIP CLINICS.
UM, WE STARTED SUMMER SAFETY CAMP THAT WE HAVE PROBABLY BEEN DOING FOR OVER 20 YEARS NOW.
OUR MONTHLY REPORT FOR MAY, UM, IT HAD, HAS GONE UP TO 80%.
THE LIBRARY UNITS RATE, THE REASON WHY OUR ADOPTION RATE IS, UH, A LITTLE BIT LOWER IS BECAUSE WE'RE SEEING MORE INCREASE IN KITTENS, UM, AND THAT THEY STAY AROUND FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, MONTHS SOMETIMES.
SO THEY'RE NOT GOING OUT THE DOOR, THEY'RE JUST STAYING WITH US.
UM, OUR TOTAL INTAKES FOR ADULT DOGS, UM, FROM MAY TO APRIL, IT'S PRETTY MUCH CONSISTENT.
IT'S ABOUT SAME CONSISTENCY, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE FOR THE KITTENS, UM, MAY, 2025, WE HAD A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE.
WE HAD ABOUT 97 KITTENS, BUT THIS MONTH WE ONLY HAVE, UH, 62 KITTENS COMING, I THINK IS,
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UH, HAVING TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, THE SPAY NEUTER PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE IMPLEMENTING AND, AND JUST LESS KITTENS COMING IN.BUT WE DO STILL SEE A LOT OF KITTENS AND THE TOTAL, YEAH, THE TOTAL INTAKE OF DOGS.
THAT INCLUDES THE, UM, SHELTER TRANSFERS ALSO.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, YOU JUST MAYBE COMMENT ON OUR, UM, OUR PARTNERS WITH, UH, YES.
UM, BOTH FRAUDS AND THEN ALSO OUR FOSTERS AND OUR RESCUES AND OUR RESCUE, STUFF LIKE THAT, THAT ARE HELPING US OUT WITH US.
SO OUR RESCUES AT FRIENDS OF RESCUED ANIMALS, UM, THEY HAVE INCREASED THEIR VOLUNTEER HOURS WITH US OVER A THOUSAND HOURS.
THAT IS MAINLY, UM, IN RICHMOND EVENT, UH, HELP, UM, CLEANING, WALKING THE DOGS.
SO THAT'S A MAJOR THING FOR US, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR ADOPTABLE DOGS.
ALL THE, THE, THE, THAT THAT OPERATION MANAGES THE VOLUNTEERS.
WHICH IS A, A BURDEN THAT YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO BEAR.
THAT WE WORK WITH TOGETHER, BUT THERE'S NO, UH, THEY ARE AMAZING AT WHAT THEY DO.
UM, THEY HAVE PROVIDED US WITH SO MUCH, UH, ASSISTANCE, ESPECIALLY WITH SENDING OUT EMAILS, THE RESCUES, GETTING DOGS SEEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE TIKTOK, WHICH WE CAN'T USE, BUT THEY CAN, AND A LOT OF THOSE VIDEOS ARE SEEN BY PEOPLE ONLINE OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND THAT IS WHY THEY'RE COMING IN.
THEY'RE LIKE, I SAW THIS DOG ON TIKTOK, AND I'M LIKE, THAT'S AMAZING.
I'M SO HAPPY THAT THIS DOG IS GETTING ADOPTED BECAUSE THAT DOG PROBABLY HAS BEEN HERE FOR LIKE OVER A HUNDRED DAYS.
AND SO EVERYTHING THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING HAS BEEN SUPER HELPFUL.
THEY DIDN'T REALLY HAVE TO PULL ANY CATS FROM US BECAUSE OUR CAT INTAKE WAS PRETTY PLATEAUED.
UM, SO NO CATS PULLED APRIL OR MAY.
AND, UM, AT THEIR TNR, UM, PARTNERSHIP WITH GARLAND, THEY DID, UH, TWO RICHARDSON CATS.
WE'RE GETTING THERE IS, SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
WHEN ANIMALS ARE ADOPTED, IS IT TRACKED HOW PEOPLE FOUND OUT ABOUT THAT ANIMAL? WAS IT THE SIGN OUTSIDE OR? SO WEBSITE, WE DON'T HAVE A, A TRACKING SYSTEM.
I'M SURE IN OUR NEW SOFTWARE THERE WILL BE SOMETHING LIKE THAT
UM, NO, I KNOW THERE WILL BE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, AND SO WE CAN PUT IN OUR, OUR NOTES AND THEN IT'LL GO TO OUR REPORTING CLOUD AND I CAN JUST PULL IT UP AND BE LIKE, WAS IT TIKTOK? WAS IT FACEBOOK? WAS IT, WHATEVER? AND IT'LL TELL ME ALL OF THAT.
YOU HAVE TO KNOW IT'S WORKING RIGHT.
WE'RE FINDING, BUT THEY'RE TELLING, A LOT OF RESCUES ARE FINDING FACEBOOK IS NOT WORKING LIKE WE GET USED TO, SO WE GOTTA PIVOT.
SO WHATEVER, THEY SEND ME THEIR NUMBERS, BRAS TELLS ME EXACTLY LIKE IT WAS BECAUSE OF A VIDEO ON TIKTOK OR, UM, SOMEBODY POSTED IT ON INSTAGRAM OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I THINK THE MAJORITY OF THEM IS, IS INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK.
SO, UH, WHENEVER I WENT TO BEST FRIENDS, UM, CONFERENCE, THEY, UH, GAVE ME SOME REALLY GREAT ADVICE AND INFORMATION AND HOPEFULLY IN THE FUTURE, UM, WE CAN IMPLEMENT A-T-N-D-R PROGRAM.
UM, SO IT'S THE TA TRAP NEUTER VACCINATE RETURN.
IT'S TARGETED AT COMMUNITY CATS AND IT CONTROLS THE FERAL POPULATIONS HUMANELY.
UM, THE ONES THAT WE GET IN THAT ARE FERAL, UM, UNFORTUNATELY WE CAN'T ADOPT THEM OUT.
I'VE DONE SOME BARN CAT RESCUES, BUT THERE'S JUST A LIMITED NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WANT THE BARN CATS.
UM, AND THEN WE'VE ALSO TRIED LIKE WAREHOUSE CATS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT WAREHOUSE CATS AND LIKE, UH, WHAT ARE THEY CALLED? WHAT MARINE GREENERY OR NURSERIES? MM-HMM
SO SOME OF THOSE PLACES SEE ERODED POPULATIONS AND THAT HAS HELPED OUT.
SO WE'VE BEEN USING THAT, BUT LIKE I SAID,
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IT'S A LIMITED RESOURCE.UM, BUT WE WOULD LOVE TO START A-T-N-V-R PROGRAM.
UM, THE RESOURCES RIGHT NOW, SINCE WE DON'T DO IT, UM, WE REFER THEM TO GARLAND ANIMAL SERVICES IF IT'S FREE.
SO THERE'S A SPECIFIC VAPE LIKE EVERY MONTH THAT GARLAND RESIDENTS, CREATURES AND RESIDENTS AROUND THAT.
RESIDENTS, WE GO TO GARLAND, GET THEIR CATS SPAYED OR NEUTERED, VACCINATED EAR TIPPED, AND THEN THEY JUST PICK THEM UP AT THE END OF THE DAY AND IT'S ALL FOR FREE.
AND THIS IS BECAUSE OF, UM, THE FRIENDS OF RESCUE ANALYSTS.
THEY, THEY'RE PROVIDING THAT, THAT RESOURCE OF THE FUNDING TO DO ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS SO WE CAN INCREASE OUR LIBRARY RATES.
AND UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T HAVE A LOT MORE TO SAY.
WILL THERE BE LIKE AN ON THAT, ON THE TRAP METER RELEASE? I KNOW I'VE RECEIVED SOME EMAILS FROM FOLKS ABOUT THAT.
IS THAT SOMETHING WE'LL GO OUT AND ACTIVELY DO OR IS IT THE COMMUNITY TRAPS THEM, BRINGS THEM IN, WE HANDLE IT? OR ARE WE COMING OUT TRYING TO TRAP 'EM OURSELVES? SO HOW DOES THAT WE ARE NOT DOING THAT.
UM, WE PROVIDE THEM WITH A FLYER ABOUT THE PROGRAM THAT'S HAPPENING IN GARLAND AND UM, THEY'RE WELCOME TO UTILIZE THAT AS WELL AS USING ANY OTHER TNR, UH, LIKE TCAP, TEXAS COALITION FOR ANIMAL PROTECTION OR FERAL FRIENDS OR ANY OF THOSE PLACES.
BUT THIS ONE SEEMS TO BE, UH, MORE CENTRALIZED.
YOU'RE NOT HAVING TO DRIVE ALL THE WAY TO MESQUITE OR SOME OF THE OTHER LOCATIONS.
IT'S JUST A RESOURCE, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER OH, SO THAT WE WOULDN'T BE IMPLEMENTING THAT PROGRAM HERE? NO.
NO, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST A RESOURCE OF, OF FOR SOMEONE TO GO USE THAT'S CLOSER BY THAN WHAT, THAN WHAT WE'VE HAD BEFORE, SO.
SO THERE ARE NO PLANS EVEN IN THE FUTURE TO IMPLEMENT THE TRAP AND NOT IMMEDIATELY THAT WE CAN THINK ABOUT MM-HMM
WORKING ON, DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR I CAN BRING A KITTEN FOR CUDDLING.
WE DO HAVE A, UM, A VACANT POSITION.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY OUR, OUR, UH, OUR NEWEST EMPLOYEE THAT, UH, UH, THAT WE HAD THAT HAD STARTED WITH US, UH, DID NOT MAKE IT THROUGH HIS PROBATIONARY PERIOD.
SO WE ARE ACTIVELY TRYING TO GET THAT POSITION APPROVED TO BE POSTED AND FILLED.
UM, YOU KNOW, BE THIS OPERATE, IT RUNS ON SUCH A, A, YOU KNOW, JUST A TIGHT, TIGHT ROPE THIN STAFFING LEVELS ANYWAY.
UM, HOW MANY FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES? 12 FOR A SEVEN DAY WEEK OF OPERATION WHEN YOU'RE MANAGING BOTH THE FACILITY AND FIELD CALLS MM-HMM
WE'VE ADDED A COUPLE OF POSITIONS OVER THE YEARS.
I MEAN, IT WASN'T LONG ACOS YES.
ACOS AND SHELTER ATTENDANTS AND FRONT DESK AND NORA AND JOSH AND, YES.
SO A LOT OF TIMES JOSH AND MARSHALL HAVE TO FILL IN WITH CLEANING, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE SUPERVISORS.
UM, AND A LOT OF TIME NORA HAS TO FILL IN YES.
SO SHE'S LIKE, UM, SO THERE THEY'RE, IT, IT GETS TIGHT.
AND SO WE JUST HAVE TO DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TO GET THE ANIMALS TAKEN CARE OF.
UM, WE ONLY HAVE FOUR ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICERS RIGHT NOW.
UH, SO THERE'S TWO ON SHIFT A TWO ON SHIFT B.
AND AS YOU KNOW, IF ONE CALLS IN SICK OR ONE HAS A VACATION, IT JUST KINDA CAUSES AN IMBALANCE AND IT SHIFTS TO THE OTHER STAFF.
SO CAN BE STRESSFUL AT TIMES WITH THE HEAT OF, SORRY, I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS TODAY.
UM, WITH, SO THE HEAT IS ON MY MIND OF SUMMER, RIGHT? MM-HMM
DOES THAT CHANGE PROTOCOLS FOR DOG OUTSIDE TIME? LIKE, SO TAKE DOGS OUT FOR, WE LIMIT, WE EXPLAIN TO THE VOLUNTEERS YOU'RE LIMITED LIKE TO, UH, FIVE TO 10 MINUTES, DEPENDING ON THE, THE TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE TO AREAS THAT ARE SHADED.
UM, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE WALKING THEM ON THE GRASS.
UM, BUT THE, THE DOGS IN THE KENNELS HAVE
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AC ALL ALL THE TIME, SO THEY'RE GOOD.ANYTHING ELSE? SO, DO WE WANNA SET OUR NEXT MEETING DATE, WHICH HISTORICALLY WOULD BE LIKE AROUND OCTOBER.
SO MAYBE THE 13TH OR THE SIXTH IF TUESDAYS WORK FOR EVERYBODY.
IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD TO THE AGENDA TO DISCUSS THAT WE, THAT WE'RE NOT DISCUSSING, OR YOU HAVE AN ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA KNOW ABOUT OPERATIONS WISE OR OUTREACH OR WHATEVER, WHATEVER YOU, YOU THINK MIGHT BE SUITABLE FOR THIS GROUP, JUST LET ME KNOW.
HAVE IT AT NO, DON'T SEND IT AROUND ME.
SIXTH OR THE 13TH OR BETTER? ONE IS FINE.
SO IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, THEN WE CAN ADJOURN THE MEETING.