The proposal is listed below if you want to read the full addition.  But in short, what we the community are asking for is:

*  7-8 more animal control officers.  This will elimate overtime and only handling emergency issues after hours.  Lubbock Animal Services could also stay open 7 days a week to allow for more adoptions, especially on the weekends.  More officers means more coverage so that they can handle dangerous animal calls, complaints, etc.

* An education/training officer.  This additional position would help educating the public.  Both at the shelter and in schools.  Provide training classes for adopters, educational classes for residents, writing grants for more free spay/neuters, training animals to make them more adoptable and more.

* An additional dispatcher to assist with calls and and updated dispatch system

* An additional customers service employee to help with adoption calls, adoptions, showing animals etc.  

* A tag machine in the building to help with dog/cat identification

 

Proposal
Purpose
The purpose of this proposal is to address the lack of employees and their beneficial roles to acknowledge, educate, and service Lubbock citizens and animals. In 2014 there were 17,496 animals recovered and arriving in intake; an astounding increase from previous years and the issue continues to grow. Without acknowledging the situation, euthanizations will likely correlate with the increase of intakes and lack of adoptions.

To improve the quality of their services, reduce citizen complaints, increase education, and ultimately reducing the amount of intake to Lubbock Animal Services while increasing adoptions and reducing the cost to the city we bring forth the following suggestions to the problem:

1.       Additional 6-8 more animal control officers

2.       1 additional dispatcher

3.       1 additional customer representative and tag machine

4.       Incorporate a training and educational officer

ISSUE
Lubbock Animal Services serves the public with just ten animal control officers at the new shelter and only two animal control officers at the old location. While the officers are available Monday through Friday until 6:00pm, only one officer is available after hours and during the weekends in which they are only able to respond to an emergency situation. There are 120 sq miles that are worked in quadrants so there are not enough animal control officers to be out 24/7 to respond to calls. Complaints and concern arise regularly with this issue; it is detrimental to the safety of the public in many ways. The urgency comes from dangerous and aggressive dogs, without the staffing and proper attention from the animal control officers this becomes a public safety issue. The situation surrounding this is nothing new, for example in February 2013 Lubbock news stations report a story of a dog named Cutter, a loving 13 year old Australian Shepherd who was attacked and killed in his own backyard after two pit bulls ripped through the fence. Cutter’s owner reported the loose dogs multiple times prior to the incident, but it wasn’t until the attack that the officers searched for the dogs. Lubbock Animal Services have received 13 new service vehicles at the cost of $55,000 each, which is quite an investment. However, more officers should be on patrol and assisting Lubbock citizens with these new additions.

There is currently only one dispatcher that receives the incoming calls. However, calls tend to not be addressed in a reasonable and timely manner because of the lack in staffing. Other times untrained employees must cover this position which keeps them from their original duties. The dispatch employee receives nearly 80-100 calls daily. The amount of incoming calls can be overwhelming so adding an additional dispatcher and utilizing a CAD system would be beneficial to Lubbock Animal Services.

There is only one customer service representative that must take multiple calls per day inquiring on adoptions, lost pets, and general questions. Unfortunately, without the proper staffing in this area it interferes with other positions. Other employees have to stop their current tasks in order to assist with simple customer service duties during busy hours. This takes time away from the tasks other employees need to complete and results in un-productivity, stress, and un-organization. The stress the employees experience can be overwhelming and can impact productivity as well as interactions with each other and people who come in. Unfortunately with high volumes of calls, busy hours and a lack in staffing mistakes can arise that can be detrimental. Another issue that arises is the amount of lost animals coming into the shelter due to improper identification such as tags and microchips. Microchips are extremely beneficial for those animals that become stolen or lost, but the problem with this is that often people who find lost pets without tags don’t make the effort to take the pet to a facility that examines for microchips. The most reoccurring issue however is that microchips are often not registered, leaving them useless. Alternatively, collars and tags leave pet finders with an immediate contact to get the pet home, with a combination of both this can greatly reduce the incoming dogs into the shelter, and increase the rates of pets getting home before an accident occurs.

An obvious reoccurring issue is the lack of resources and education provided to the public. Education is the center point in reducing the amount of animals lost, euthanized and returned. In addition, the community is unaware of the proper laws, ordinances, and animal care practices because the resources and education is not provided. With an Education and Outreach coordinator the issues surrounding animal welfare education can be spread and provided to the community including training services for dogs. The Lubbock area is home for many people, many who share their lives with pets, but also some who cannot due to unruly pets, housing limitations, and lack of education. However, with the additional Education and Outreach coordinator they can provide training classes which ultimately will build the credibility of pet ownership which will increase the housing in Lubbock that will accept pets.

SOLUTION
                With the additional animal control officers the ability to handle emergency situations in a safe and quick manner can be improved. With the concern for public safety, having more officers to patrol parks and public areas can substantially reduce the risk of an incident in addition to arriving at scenes quickly.  With this there can be increased investigations on aggressive animals which pose a public safety issue. More officers will have the ability to do better and thorough investigations that consist of bark complaints, reports of tethered dogs, loose dogs and leash enforcement. Response times will be faster, for example situations in which a dog is locked in a hot car. More issues will be addressed and the public will be a safer environment for all and their pets. The animal control officers will experience less stress while on the job because the volume of calls and complaints they receive will be handled by multiple officers. There will be an increase in welfare checks as well as an increase in the ability to administrate fines and tickets which will produce revenue.

                With the additional dispatch employee hold times can be reduced drastically, and response to emergency situations can be handled immediately. The CAD system would allow incoming calls to be prioritized by importance and nature making response more efficient. It would also keep record of who is on the call and where they are at for the safety of the officer. 

                The Customer Service representative can assist with customer and adoption calls, calls looking for lost pets, and provide customer needs to those who come into the Animal Shelter.  With an additional customer service representative they will be able to provide days off for the other customer service representative. The additional representative will also be able to handle all the incoming inquiries and provide customer service while promoting adoptions without the pressure because of the additional help. Adoptions will increase while other employees do not have to interfere and continue with their tasks during times of high volume calls and busy hours. The customer service representative will also supervise the additional tag machine. When pets leave the facility, owners will be able to instantly have a tag in place for them for only $6. If there were at the least 2 tag sales per day, for 5 days in the week, the machine will be paid for in one year. After this, the Lubbock Animal can produce $2867 in profits easily which could go towards education, resources, vouchers, etc. Not only will this reduce the amount of animals that are lost and are never to find their way back home, but there will be less strays and animal euthanized.

                With an added Education and Outreach coordinator Lubbock will see improvements in animal behavior, adoptions, and owner responsibility. The coordinator will plan, schedule, and conduct educational and training classes for staff and volunteers as well as on and off site classes. Classes such as bite prevention and safety can be conducted in schools, community organizations, and to public field workers by the coordinator. The coordinator can also conduct classes on responsible pet ownership to code violators, schools, and adopters. In addition, classes on basic manners can be offered in order to reduce destructive behaviors in dogs which is the leading cause of why dogs are euthanized, dumped, chained, or surrendered.  This individual will be able to provide and encourage education within the Lubbock community on pet ownership and apply resources to the public on spay/neutering, micro-chipping and vaccinations. Not only will the Education and Outreach coordinator educate but will also serve as a media liaison who will work proactively with the local media to promote adoptions, safety and responsible pet ownership. They will also assist in writing grants for spay/neuter programs, catch and release programs etc.

Lubbock is home for many pet lovers and is a growing community. With this proposal we wish that the modifications will make Lubbock a safe and pet friendly city that will accommodate its citizens and furry friends. The changes we propose will be presented to the Lubbock City Council in the Spring meeting in March and will bring about the best in animal welfare and encourage pet ownership amongst all. The biggest impact on this movement comes from the support of its citizens; we all can make this change and make Lubbock the best home for us and our pets.