Does Calgary, Alberta Have the Answer to Canada’s Animal Control Problem?

Today’s post runs a little long, but the Calgary model for animal control is working, and it is working well. It is my belief that the welfare of animals in shelters in Canada would be better served if the Calgary model were adopted across the country. Have a read and tell me what you think.

Bill Bruce speaks about the Calgary model for animal control at a BSL Rally in Toronto, Ontario August 29, 2010

Calgary, Alberta, Canada has a 90-95% dog licensing compliance rate. Most North American cities hover between 10-20% licensing compliance….and 20% are the good ones.  Overall, they have about 95,000 licensed dogs (in a city with the population of about 1 million).  Licensing fees are $31 per year ($52 for an unaltered dog).

In 1990 they raised the fines for getting caught with an unlicensed dog from $30 to $250 – -Bruce said that fines should generally run about 10x the cost of actually obeying the law in the first place in order to encourage compliance with the law.  They also made it very easy to license your dog — online, via phone, at your vets office, and kiosks at the animal control office, etc.

Every dollar that they raise from animal licensing (and fines for non-compliance) go back into funding animal control — not back into the city’s slush fund. So with an operating budget of $3.5-4.0 million, they are able to really do some things right with their animal control department.

All people who license their dogs are strongly advised to also have them microchipped (which allows the dogs to be scanned and the owner determined immediately).  Every animal control vehicle is equipped with a scanner. When a stray is found, the animal control officer can scan the dog for the chip, and deliver the dog home free of charge (although there are fines if your dog becomes a frequent passenger).

This home delivery a) is a service for people who obey the rules and b) saves money in animal control costs because stray dogs seldom ever make it to their shelter. They are returned home where they belong.  The city then doesn’t incur the costs of putting the dog in the shelter, maintaining the dog while it’s in the shelter, food etc.  Bruce’s goal for this year is to get 50% of the dogs returned directly home without them ever reaching the shelter.

If a dog does end up making it to the shelter, its photo is taken immediately and  within 15 minutes of the dog reaching the shelter, their photo is online. All the dogs in the shelter are treated for the basic diseases – -and if a dog is found injured, animal control will take the dog to a vet.  Calgary vets treat the stray dogs because a) animal control is usually able to find the owner of the dog because they’re all licensed and b) if they don’t, animal control will cover the medical costs associated with treating that dog.

Calgary built a new shelter for their animals about 5-8 years ago that is state of the art. It has never been filled to its capacity.

Calgary also focuses a lot of its energies on education and on  responsible dog ownership. They have a full time staff member, that is trained in education, that puts together a public education program.  They have six specific programs that are part of their public school’s curriculum that emphasizes respect for all living things.
Calgary also has 140 dedicated off-leash areas for dogs — so that’s 140 “dog parks”.  Kansas City, MO is struggling to find a way to get a second one.  These off-leash areas provide areas for socialization for the dogs to learn how to enteract with other dogs and other people.

The results of their efforts have been impressive.  Over the past 18 years, the city of Calgary has cut their number of dog bites and chases by more than 50% (all the while, the human and dog population of Calgary has doubled). In 2009 Calgary only had to euthenize 256 animals.  Almost all of the euthenizations came from dogs that had behavioral or health issues.  Bill Bruce estimates that Calgary will become a true no-kill city within the next 3-5 years.

Here’s a link to the City of Calgary website, and the Animal Control Page specifically: Calgary Animal Control

Until Tomorrow Remember

BE THE CHANGE YOU SEEK!

Janette