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For the past few months, I’ve seen a number of press releases issued by the city of Houston regarding the current status of BARC (Houston's animal control facility). A few of these press releases have listed “live release” rates (adoption, foster, return to owner, transfer to rescue) that appear to be quite high for BARC. A press release issued on June 30 stated that “The changes at the shelter over the last six months have increased the average number of live releases to 1100 from 550, a 100% increase.” I was a bit skeptical because 1,100 live releases is a fairly big claim for BARC. To fuel my skepticism, I have seen emails and various postings regarding BARC’s weekend adoption numbers. Although adoption numbers seemed to be rising somewhat, they just did not add up to such a large increase in the live release number.
So I wondered, were that many more people going to BARC during the week to adopt? This was highly unlikely since BARC’s hours on the majority of week days is not convenient for people who work 8-5.
Were rescue groups pulling that many more animals than in the past? This was unlikely too since most rescues are at capacity.
Had BARC returned that many more animals to their owners than in previous months? This was highly unlikely as well since we know that BARC does little to return lost animals to their owners.
So was this claim of an increase from 550 to 1,100 live releases really true?
Here are BARC’s Intake and Outcome reports for June 2010. (I had to do a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request to obtain these records because, despite assurances of transparency from our city leaders and “change agent” Gerry Fusco, Intake and Outcome reports have not been posted on BARC's website since October 2009. This stopped during Mr. Fusco’s $208,000 reign. I am thrilled my tax money paid for this "change"--not.)
According to the June 2010 Outcome report, BARC’s live release was 845:
301 Adopted
064 Return to Owner
149 Relocate (TNR)
151 Foster
180 Transfer to rescue*
-------------------------------
845 Live releases
*I did not include transfers to Harris Co. animal control or Houston SPCA since these are both kill shelters and there is no guarantee that these animals were not killed there.
845 is quite a bit different from the 1,100 live releases claimed in the city’s press release. In addition, Outcome records from January - July 2009 show the 550 number listed in the press release is a lie as well. According to BARC's own reports, the numbers are:
January 2009 - 651
February 2009 - 605
March 2009 - 675
April 2009 - 702
May 2009 - 765
June 2009 - 606
July 2009 - 667
All are abysmally low live release numbers for a shelter with Intake numbers as high as BARC's, but none are 550. Granted, 845 is higher than any of the live release numbers in January - July of 2009, but 845 is not close 1,100 and it is NOT a “100% increase” as claimed by the city. So, either A) the city of Houston's ARA Department is too incompetent to read their own reports and/or too mathematically challenged to do simple math or B) they are lying to us hoping that we will stop demanding that they stop killing animals. Personally, I’m leaning towards option B but either option is a scary and ludicrous thought considering these people are running our city.
I also calculated that BARC has a Kill rate of 69% for June 2010; or only a 31% save rate.
Here is the breakdown:
3014 Impounds
1944 Euthanized / Killed
134 Died
009 Missing
005 Transferred to kill shelters
_________________
2092
2092 divided by 3014 = 69% kill rate
I also reviewed BARC's Intake and Outcome numbers for October 2009 - March 2010 and found a 57.5% KILL rate. So BARC’s kill rate has actually RISEN from 57.5% to 69% in recent months. Perhaps this is why BARC’s spin machine has been in overdrive lately … to try to obscure accurate numbers.
BARC also recently transferred a large number of animals to the Houston SPCA. The HSPCA is also a high kill shelter with a 65% kill rate the last time that they released their records to the public*. I seriously doubt there was any agreement that transferred animals would not be killed at the HSPCA or that animals already at the HSPCA would not be killed to make room for BARC animals. Considering that BARC’s kill rate is 69% and the HSPCA kill rate is 65%, the idiocy of transferring animals from one high kill shelter to another high kill shelter is truly mind boggling…. unless of course you are a spin doctor and you are attempting to “doctor” BARC’s records to increase the appearance of your live release numbers. This is not a new ruse in the city of Houston. A few years ago, the HSPCA used to regularly send animals to BARC to be killed until volunteer complaints finally stopped it. I’m sure those transfers helped to raise HSPCA's live release number even though they knew that the animals would be killed at BARC. But hey, I'm sure their donors were happy with the HSPCA's “reduced” kill rate regardless of whether the body count remained constant.
And before the kill shelter defenders jump in and say that the kill shelters are doing everything they can; they just can’t help it because times are tough; the economy is bad; or shelters “must” kill because of all of the irresponsible people ….let’s take a look at one No Kill community that has been hit just as hard, if not harder, by the economy and has just as many so called “irresponsible” people:
Last month, Washoe County, NV had 1,006 adoptions. Washoe County's population is 414,820 and they adopted out 1,006 animals in a month. Houston has 2.2 million people yet BARC adopted out only 301 animals in June 2010. Houston has over five times the number people (i.e. potential adopters) of Washoe County so we "should" be adopting out five times as many animals as they are, but instead BARC adopted out only one third the amount of animals. Why the huge difference in saved animals? Plain and simple: the difference is the shelter director. Washoe County has directors who actually work hard to save lives instead of relying on spin machines to deceive the public. If BARC, or any other kill shelter in Houston, adopted out animals at the same level as Washoe County, that would be over 5,000 animals adopted out last month. This would have emptied the cages at every kill shelter in Houston and sent every healthy and treatable pet to a home alive.
In addition, Washoe County’s return to owner (RTO) rate is now up to 65%. In contrast, BARC’s RTO rate is 7% for dogs and 1% for cats. If BARC returned animals to their owners at the same rate of Washoe County, that would mean 980 animals would have been returned to their owners from BARC in June instead of only 64. 916 MORE animals would have made it out of BARC alive (which, by the way, would have also saved the city over $100,000 because it costs more to kill animals than to save them).
BARC's website currently claims 1,157 live releases for July. Considering the above, we'll have to assume that BARC has used the same dishonest fuzzy math that they used in June to come up with July's numbers. We also know that these numbers will be "padded" by the number of animals that BARC shipped off to another kill shelter. Note to shelters: Shipping animals back and forth between high kill shelters is not saving them.
And while we’re on the topic of Deception, Spin and Lies, in my FOIA request, I also asked for “all security alerts issued between June 1, 2009 and July 21, 2010 for any person who has been restricted or banned from the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC) building…” The city’s response was that there were no records. Since, I have 3 security alerts in my hands that fit this description, I’m going to say that the city didn’t actually search their files for relevant records as required by law; or maybe it’s that spin machine kicking into high gear again. The city said they will look again. We'll see...
As I think about the current situation at BARC and the city of Houston/ARA Department, the chorus of a Talking Heads’ song keep playing in my head .... same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was….
UPDATE 8/24/10: I have received BARC's Intake and Exit reports for July and, as I suspected above, BARC/City of Houston still appears to be "mathematically challenged" because July's Live Release numbers were not 1,157 as BARC proclaims on its website, The LR number was actually 1,098. and more importantly, BARC's KILL rate was 64.5% for July 2010.
Note: I did not count the 50 animals that were transferred to the Houston SPCA and Houston Humane Society as these are high kill shelters as well and there is no guarantee that these animals were not killed or will not be killed at these shelters in the future. Again, transferring animals from one kill shelter to another kill shelter is NOT saving them. Shelters cannot honestly count these transfers in their Save or Live Release numbers.
Nathan Winograd gave me this example:
While I was the director in Tompkins County, any animal transferred to a shelter or rescue group had to be adopted from that agency, or returned to our agency. Under our agreements, these groups were not permitted to kill an animal we gave them for any reason. For example, we transferred an adult cat to a rescue shelter. The cat was adopted and returned for 'spraying in the house.' The group re-adopted the cat, who was returned again. The adopters felt the cat was not spraying intentionally. The cat underwent a full medical and neurological work up and it was determined that the cat had urinary incontinence (involuntary urine leakage) and would always have this problem. The cat was otherwise in good health and enjoyed a good quality of life. The group, however, indicated that they could not find the cat a home in that condition, because they had a policy of indoor-only homes. Because we did not permit them to kill animals we transferred (nor did they want to), the cat was returned to our shelter. We adopted her to a family who worked their own farm, were always outdoors, with heated barns for their horses. One of the horses was lonely and enjoyed the company of their former cat who died after a long and happy life. They were looking for a cat to live in the barn with the horse (it was heated during the winter, had plenty of lofts with hay, and they would be in the barn daily, giving the cat plenty of love and attention.). The cat fit the bill. If the cat had been killed, it would have been dishonest for us to claim her in our 'save rate' or 'live release rate' simply because she left our facility alive, only to be killed by the shelter we sent her too."
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*Kill rate statistics are from the 2005 Mayor's Task Force report. Current statistics are not available for some shelters as they refuse to produce their kill rate statistics to the public.
Comments
So when Alfred Moran told City Council at a recent budget meeting that the Chihuahua killed by BARC was *not* the same as the one whose "LOST" picture was plastered on the BARC bulletin board, his assertion was another deception-spin-lie? Hmmmmmm.
Could BARC be feeling the heat from this truth: until a No Kill director is hired and the No Kill Equation is implemented, the city pound will remain a death row for most dogs and cats, Gerry Fusco's $208,000 contract notwithstanding?
It need not be this way. Mayor and City Council have the authority to execute change (instead of innocent animals). How many of them have read "Redemption" and "Irreconcilable Differences"? These two Nathan Winograd books lay out a simple strategy and specific tactics proving that No Kill works in places where it is implemented. Why is there such reluctance to admit that BARC alone, not the public, is responsible for these needless deaths? Will any Council member stand up and say "NO MORE" to the spin?
I met with one of the City Council members who surprisingly told me that they were not allowed to challenge the Mayor's decisions when it came to BARC. I was very shocked by this comment made by one of the most outspoken Council Members that Houston has. Also, when I questioned the Mayor for months in regards to my banning, here is what her response IN WRITING was to me:
"I appreciate receiving your email describing your experiences at BARC and protesting your “ban” from volunteering at BARC. I also appreciate the hours of time you have spent giving of yourself at BARC".
"I have turned your email over to my Deputy Chief of Staff who oversees Administration and Regulatory Affairs/BARC so that he can be aware of the issues. I have also asked Alfred Moran, ARA director, to respond to your email. It is not my policy to intervene at the level of administration that determines who is permitted to volunteer and who is not permitted to volunteer."
Letter from the Mayor of Houston continued
"I do want you to know that I share your concern for animals and have just ordered BARC to cut the cost of dogs and cats adopted from BARC in half to encourage more adoptions. I do understand the management problems we have had at BARC and am working hard to see that they are corrected. I am acutely aware of the overcrowding at our BARC facility. Yesterday Council approved the purchase of land adjacent to BARC to permit us to grow".
Sincerely,
Annise D. Parker
(Oh and by the way, her letter is dated July 1, 2010 and here it is August 12, 2010 and I've yet to here a follow up from Moran or anyone for that matter)
When I asked for the numbers, it took 4 days of back and forth emails before they finally said they would honor my request and then they sent a bill for 203 pages that was astronomical. Really, I needed less than 10 numbers for each of the three months- it could have all fit on one page. My rule is that any organization that tries that hard to keep information from getting out has something to hide.
Houston needs a basic refresher on what "live release" means. The "release" part of that means released from that facility's control to either an adopter, owner (returned to owner) or another organization (transfer out).
Sorry BARC, foster is not a "release" it is only a temporary housing change. Instead of your house, the animal is in someone else's. Those animals are STILL your animals to ultimately "release" to someone else's custody. Calculated in your "save rate"? Sure. Why not. Calculated in your "live release" rate? No.
Bottom line measurement is the number of animals in versus the number of animals who are euthanized/killed. Not fuzzy, poorly understood LR's and SR's.
"Redemption" is a fairy tale. It IS the public's fault. Do you think standing in line to turn in your "pet" because you are "moving", or "having a baby' is a good thing? Or not neutering your animals because it takes away their "manhood" is intelligent? THEN..dumping the puppies several times a year at a Shelter is okay? How is that NOT that public's fault? Where and how would the city get appropiate space to house these animals? Crazy, just crazy to not think the public is involved and to blame BARC.
I think you should talk about how the Houston Humane society off Almeada Rd. does *not* work with rescues. I volunteer with a breed rescue and they "offered" us two dogs and they said they would release them to us for a "small fee" of $75 per a dog... hm..We pay them because they are over crowded and they are kindly *not* murdering a dog... whatever! I don't like BARC and I have horror stories of attempting to pull dogs from there for the rescue (I told you one when I met you at reliant) but at the very least they don't charge us for taking the dogs out.
Also Montgomery Animal Shelter is equally as appalling. It reminds me of BARC 3 years ago... I love you are fighting this fight but BARC is not the only shelter in the area that has a high death rate
Thank you RescueMomma. Did you know that one key to NOKILL shelters are all allowed to turn away animals and thus they effectively "hand pick" the animals they take in - so they only take the most adoptable animals - therefore all their animals get adopted! Cha Ching!
Let's talk about how SPCA has stopped taking stray turn ins from the community recently, so all those people get in their car and drive to BARC, and how CAPs does not accept large dogs (>40 lbs), so those people get in their cars and drive to BARC, and all shelters other than BARC euth pitbulls immediately or don't accept them, and so those people come to BARC with hopes the pitty they found or must surrender will have a chance at adoption (thus crowding BARC space with so many pits that unfortunately still don't get adopted) - talk about BARC - where no dog or cat, in any condition or of any size or breed, can be turned away. Also talk about the new dedicated BARC foster/rescue manager who is doing their best to save all these animals by working with rescues and fosters, and talk about how the new BARC volunteer manager is working to develop new volunteer programs to increase enrichment and adoptions for all these animals, and talk about the new Adoptions Manager at BARC whose work will increase adoption rates, and talk about the new Education Coordinator at BARC who will develop new community outreach programs in the community in order to teach responsible pet ownership to children to try to break the cycle that creates all of this despair. BARC is doing alot to improve "Live Releases" and those number will continue to grow, count on it, you'll see.
You can directly help effect live releases at BARC by volunteering. Register to be a volunteer on the web site and get instruction on how to attend orientation and learn all you need to know to help animals at BARC. http://web.volunteer2.com/public/organization/listjobs.aspx?Organization...
"Nutty" I never said that there weren't irresponsible people in the world or people who give up pets for a variety of reasons, valid or not. Despite this, other shelters and communities are still saving all healthy and treatable pets. A list of these communities is on our website.
Apparently you did not read the part about Washoe Co adopting out over 1,000 animals in one month. If BARC adopted out this many animals last month, it would have emptied the cages of the animals currently at BARC. But instead BARC adopted out 1/3 of this amount, and killed almost 2,000, even though Houston has FIVE times the population i.e. potential adopters.
There would be no need for all the space that you claim to need if BARC increased adoptions and returned lost pets to their owners the same way Washoe Co. does. There are 11 elements to the No Kill Equation. We can see the huge impact that implementing only 2 of these elements would have had. Just think what could happen f BARC implemented all 11 of them.
No Kill is a reality. If you want to continue living in the dark ages of killing millions of pets, that is certainly your perogative. Some of us have moved on to the 21st century where all healthy and treatable pets are saved.
Anonymous, your statement isn't exactly true. Sure, there are no k*ll shelters or rescues that turn animals away when they are full. But, that is not the No K*ll model of sheltering that we are talking about or that the No K*ll Equation is based on. We are advocating for open admission shelters to become No K*ll as well. And there are, in fact, many open admission shelters who have become No K*ll. Many are listed on our website and the list is growing all the time.
Also, BARC may be doing some things to increase Live Releases, but they are also lying to the public about their Live Release numbers. We have a right to expect the whole truth.
As far as BARC's new Volunteer Coordinator, I just hope she does a better job for BARC than she did at the recent Dog Show. (See my article Opportunities to Increase Adoptions-missed again)
NOTE TO READERS: Examiner.com's profanity filter is catching comments that don't contain profane language. It is a glitch in the new system. In my comment above, I have substituted k*ll for the real word as the real word seems to be triggering the profanity filter.
Sorry about the inconvenience. We're hoping they get the bugs worked out soon.
well, i can say that they are making it easier for rescue to pull dogs from there because they are now fully vetting and microchipping for rescue pull for free so i know of more people that are pulling from there. on the other hand, i have also been lied to about the amount killed each day. a person higher up will tell you there are none scheduled for today and an actual floor worker will tell you at least 20 (and that was just the puppies).
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