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The D.A.R.T Mobile Unit

(Disaster, Adoption, Response, Transport)
 

Executive Summary

Salt Lake County Animal Services requests your consideration of funding a D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit in the approximate amount of $46,900.00.  This unit will enable the Animal Services staff to enhance and expand its services in Disaster response, mobile Adoptions, hoarding and cruelty/neglect Response, and Transportation of adoptable animals for a broad variety of current and projected needs. 

·       The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will enable Salt Lake County Animal Services to respond to natural or man-made disasters to assist the needs of people and their companion animals.

·       The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will present a mobile adoption unit that will bring adoptable animals to the public at venues located throughout the Salt Lake County region.

·       The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will enable Salt Lake County Animal Services officers and staff to respond to emergency situations involving hoarding, cruelty and neglect, thereby helping get affected animals into a safe, healthy environment quickly and safely.

·       The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will be used to transport animals to several other no-kill or low euthanasia shelters and rescue operations within Utah and its neighboring states, thereby sharply reducing the euthanasia of healthy and adoptable animals.

Rationale

As the largest municipal shelter in Utah, Salt Lake County Animal Services would like to expand and enhance its services to the people and animals of its area in four very significant and valuable services that are not currently available anywhere in our state. The introduction of the new D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will also enable Salt Lake County Animal Services to take great strides in its quest to sharply increase animal adoptions and decrease animal euthanasia.

Salt Lake County (SLCo) Animal Services would like to develop the first real emergency relief capacity in this most heavily populated county in Utah. There are many instances of both small and large emergency situations where animals are victims of tragic circumstance and need the mobile shelter and transport capacity that the D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit could provide.

SLCo Animal Services would like to develop a supportive partnership with [Charities] in offering the first mobile adoption unit in the state of Utah. Currently, SLCo Animal Services is unable to transport its adoptable pets to areas around our heavily populated county where people could conveniently visit with potential new family members, complete adoption procedures on the spot, and take their new pets home to begin the family acclimation process.  The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will enable a limited number of staff to take a transport trailer full of animals to several locations around the area, many times throughout each year.

There have been several discoveries of animal hoarding, cruelty, or neglect situations which have been extremely uncomfortable and difficult for SLCo Animal Services to respond to in any meaningful or successful manner. When there have been many animals involved, staff have had to make many trips with many vehicles, consuming many hours, and resulting in significant suffering, even death, to many of the animals. The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will enable staff to respond to these situations with a single vehicle that will provide immediate shelter, aid, comfort, food, and transport capacity.

One very significant recent effort of our SLCo Animal Services adoption staff has involved the development of strong ties to adoption and rescue shelters throughout our state of Utah and in the states of Idaho, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming. In these relationships, we have developed the capacity to avoid euthanizing healthy and adoptable animals by delivering them to these other organizations where there is a greater likelihood for adoption into caring families. However, there has been a significant transportation obstacle that has prevented this program from expanding to its realistic potential. The introduction of the D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will very successfully fill this void. We have the trucks needed to tow the unit, the staff to operate it, the licensing and insurance capability; we just need the unit.

We believe these four very significant purposes merge wonderfully with your mission and values. We are eager to develop this new partnership that will be enabled in the introduction of the D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit to Salt Lake County Animal Services operational capabilities.

Applications for the D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit

Disaster Response

Public health during a disaster is directly related to the safety of animals.  Owners may fail to evacuate because they cannot take their animals with them.  Sometimes, owners who were forced to leave their animals behind will later try to reenter the area to rescue them.  The impact of disasters on pets and other animals is often far more devastating than the impact of the disaster on the human population within the disaster area.  Animals are not allowed in most human shelters, and their owners often have no time to make other arrangements for their pets’ safety and security before the disaster strikes.  With the D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit readily available during the time of a disaster, pet owners can put their mind at ease knowing that their pets will be safely temporarily housed and transported to a nearby animal shelter.  It is not unusual for pet owners to suffer grief and other psychological trauma, including feelings of guilt, if a pet must be abandoned during emergencies or disasters.  Availability of this mobile unit will provide temporary shelter as well as food and water to be brought to the location of the emergency or disaster.  Potable water and uncontaminated food would be readily accessible.  A federal Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act has been introduced in Congress to compel states to provide an effective disaster plan for pets.  The bill would make federal assistance dependent upon the state’s having a disaster plan that considers the transport and sheltering needs of pets.  We are taking disaster planning very seriously to ensure the safety of our county’s animals in the time of an emergency or disaster.  In addition, medical supplies, special equipment, and animal care staff can all be brought to the disaster site to treat victims and keep them safe until their owners can find them.  Disaster planning has been an ongoing effort since the events of hurricane Katrina in 2005 and we are actively involved in becoming more and more prepared in the event of a disaster or emergency.

When appropriate, the D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit could be pressed into support roles in the assistance of emergency action teams when fighting some of the terrible wildfires that erupt each year in Utah and some of our neighboring states.  As many of these wildfires threaten homes where domestic pets are housed, our D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit could safely take care of the emergency needs of the animals while their owners are forced to evacuate their homes, sometimes for several days.

Were there the unfortunate reality of a tragic disaster at the SLCo Animal Services shelter itself, the D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit could become the only quick, efficient, and reliable means of evacuating and safely transporting sheltered animals away from the disaster and to a suitable back-up arrangement until the disaster is diverted and any necessary repairs contemplated and completed.

Adoptions

Salt Lake County Animal Services is dedicated to sharply reducing the euthanasia of healthy, adoptable animals by increasing the number of successful adoptions.  The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit would provide an excellent way for the shelter to bring adoptable animals into a variety of public areas where viewing and adoption can be facilitated.  Many adopters are weary of coming into a shelter to adopt a pet for fear of the mental toll that it will take on them.  Also, people who cannot come to the shelter can stay near home and still adopt a lovable dog, cat, puppy, or kitten.  Inside, it will be business as usual as potential adopters can become acquainted with their soon-to-be new best friends while adoption counselors conduct interviews and process forms – just like at the shelter.   Neighborhood sites and times will be publicized in newspaper ads and on our website.  Interested adopters will be able to select the most convenient location.   Our high standards will be maintained and the same criteria that are used in the shelter will be adhered to for potential offsite adopters. SLCo Animal Services can significantly increase our pool of adopters because the D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will be able to attend many venues and area events that could not otherwise be attended due to impossible transportation and housing limitations.   Customers will also be able to get more information about fostering one of our animals, learn about our volunteer opportunities, and even learn about licensing and leash laws.

Response

Salt Lake County Animal Services responds to over 1,800 cruelty, neglect, and hoarding cases each year.  This year we are estimated to respond to nearly 2,000 cases.  With citizens becoming more aware of deplorable conditions, the number of complaints is rising.  When we are called out in situations like these, it is crucial to get the animal out of the deplorable conditions as quickly and as safely as possible.  The speed is key not only for the health of the animals, but for the health of the persons as well.   It can take several hours for an Animal Control Officer to retrieve all of the animals in a case like this.   The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will offer a quick and safe way to retrieve and temporarily house the animals that have been rescued from these conditions until they can be brought into the shelter.  The animals will be in a quiet, safe, healthy environment from the moment they are retrieved from the home until the time they reach the shelter.  The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will also be able to house supplies needed in the investigation of cruelty and neglect cases as well as hoarding situations.

Transport

Salt Lake County Animal Services is dedicated to reducing the euthanasia of healthy, adoptable animals, and in order to do so, we need to find more homes for them.  The longer an animal is in a shelter environment the more likely it will become ill.    We have partnered with several agencies in a transfer program in which no-kill and low-euthanasia shelters are willing to take adoptable animals that we ourselves have been unable to place.  These shelters have very high adoption rates and fast turnaround on the animals that are in their care.   The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will be transporting animals scheduled for euthanasia from our shelter to a different shelter where the animal can have another, better chance for adoption.  Intake numbers are on the rise for Salt Lake County Animal Services, yet the number of kennels within our shelter remains the same.  The D.A.R.T. Mobile Unit will offer a second chance for animals that would have otherwise been destroyed due to limited space and time constrictions.

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