Animal Services

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Animal Services can be defined as a set of services offered to animals, including care for animals needing protection, rehoming homeless animals, reuniting lost pets with their owners, and administering merciful death to animals who lack homes, when necessary. Other animal services programs include pet adoption, pet licensing, animal control and field services

The American Society for the prevention of cruelty for animals ASPCA was founded by Henry Bergh in 1866, and at that time, its primary purpose was on the poor treatment of horses. Later similar organizations were created in Boston and San Francisco besides the fact that humane organizations were also forming all over the U.S. The Women’s Humane Society was among the first facility to provide humane quick and painless death to animals in its care. (Zawistowski& Morris,2004)

Animal shelters can be grouped under municipal or private non-profit animal centers. Municipal animal control centers are run and funded by county Government, while Non-profit animal control agencies rely on sponsorship and donations for funding to run the animal services programs. Animal shelters also engage in offering other services to the public community, which include; animal health services, animal behavioral evaluation, animal training, and humane education.

The County of San Francisco has offered its residents competent and compassionate animal services for a long time now and it has grown in both size and scope over the years to keep up with the demand for animal-related services and the concern for animal welfare and safety through developing alternative foster care to increase the population of animals that can be accommodated.

The objective of this research is to focus on the impact of animal services such as animal welfare, adoption, pet rehoming, pet licensing, and field services on people and animals within San Francisco county.

NEEDS AND WANTS FOR ANIMAL SERVICES

Animal services such as adoption, animal welfare, pet rehoming, and administration of spraying and neuter services are widely needed in the San Francisco community. These rising trends in need to access and use such services indicate platforms for several animal shelters to be created. For efficient delivery of these services, animal services need to be met.

• Monetary donations are needed by animal shelters to make different purchases of medicine for the animals.
• Collapsible wire crates are also needed by filed officers to transport animals from the community to the animal Centre.
• Volunteers supplement the duties of paid workers, especially in a non-profit organization. These volunteers can help clean cages, walk the dogs, and help customers get the right pets for adoption.
• Food and clean water for the pets is a necessity for animal services office supplies such as books, papers, and pens that help when clients sign related documents.

ANIMAL WELFARE

This is a consideration of all aspects of an animal well, which provides for the physical and emotional needs of the people as well as the animals. Responsibilities of human welfare include proper housing for the animals, animal management, proper diet, prevention of diseases and treatment, responsible care, humane handling of the animals, and use of euthanasia method when necessary (Mother Nature Network,2017). Summarily, the five animal welfare needs include

• Health-protection from pain and injury, in case of diseases they should be treated.
• Behavior-animals should have the ability to show Normal behavioral patterns
• Companionship-animals should be housed with or apart from other animals depending on the species of the animals
• Diet-clean water and suitable diet should be provided for the pets to prevent malnutrition and obesity
• Environment-a suitable environment which includes spaces to rest and exercise should be provided for the animals

ADOPTION

This is the process of being responsible for a pet that is abandoned by its previous owner. Animal shelters and rescue groups are common centers that provide adoption services. The organizations either grant ownership of the pet to the adopters or use the guardianship model where the organization holds little control over the care and well being of the animal. The central issue in adoption can provide a safe, stable home for the adopted animal failure to which leads to the organization denying the supply the pets to adopters whom they see as unable basing on assessing their inability to provide the adopted animal with a suitable home.

In the U.S, animal shelters go through a thorough background check to ensure that the potential adopted pets and their respective families are in harmony and prepared to live with the adopted animal. Adoption fees, which may include veterinary care, vaccinations, and pet insurance, are also included in the adoption process. Phone interviews, written questionnaires, and home visits are methods used to gather information on the potential family’s background life with pets, their behavior, and the capacity to take care of the adopted animal (APPA National Pet Owners Survey2017-2018).

PET LICENSING

Pet licenses are required for one to be a pet keeper. A pet license number is given to the person who owns the pet together with an animal tag bearing the identifier and the contact number for the registering center. Licensing a pet requires some extra actions by the pet owner, which include ensuring that the pet is vaccinated

In San Francisco, a dog license and rabies vaccination are required. The pet license expires earlier than the vaccine. In an attempt to reduce overpopulation, A Francisco municipal authority charges a lesser fee If the pet owner has proof from the veterinary that the pet has been sprayed or neutered. States such as California and Maryland require cat licenses. Licenses are typically renewed yearly (PET LICENCING,2014).

SPRAYING AND NEUTERING

Neutering is the process of removing a male animal’s reproductive organ either whole of it or a considerably large part while spraying is the same process reserved for female animals .it is the commonly used method of sterilization of animals and this prevents unwanted births which add to the crisis of overpopulation of homeless pets in the rescue system. Consequently, in San Francisco, adopted animals are sterilized before going into their new homes.

Spraying and neutering pets help control the crisis of homelessness, resulting in millions of healthy pets being euthanized each year in the United States, taking into consideration the county of San Francisco because there are insufficient homes to go around.

Spraying the female pets helps in the prevention of uterine infections and breast tumor, which are malignant in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats (McKay, 1980) Neutering male animals prevents testicular cancer and other prostate problems (Priester,1986).

Sexual behavior such as male aggression is lowered due to a decrease in hormonal levels caused by neutering. (Polsky,1996) Neutering elongates life expectancy in cats; specifically, one study found that male cats live twice as long as intact males while female cats live 62 percent longer than intact females. Without the ability to reproduce, females have no risk of pregnancy complications, which occur in more than half of the unsprayed females.

PET REHOMING

This is the process of finding a new and better home for a pet. The owner of a pet decides to give away or sell the pet to new owners where the pet can get all welfare needs it may require in the situations that the original owner is unable to do so. Many of the reasons why owners rehome pets are because of irresponsible when it comes to caring and providing for the pet. Pets are also often abandoned because their owners find their behavior unfit for their homes. It is therefore recommended that before anyone takes in a pet, it is better to learn how to train them so that fixing the pet’s behavior becomes easy.

FIELD SERVICES

Field services are provided by animal control officers who are well trained to handle different animal-related situations in the field. They play a vital role for people and animals within the community. Their job includes responding to calls of service in terms of; public safety, enforcement of animal ordinances, animal care, animal rescue, nuisance abatement, community outreach, and pet owner support. Professional development of animal control officers and field services is done through; training, certification, and consultation.

Community outreach done by the trained animal control officers seeks to educate and enlighten the community and majorly pet owners on pet handling and care of pets. During pet vaccination campaigns, apart from offering pet vaccines, services, which include free spraying and neutering pets, are provided for qualified households. Pet owners are also trained to provide a suitable environment for the pets to live in as well as to understand the behavior of their pets and how to train the pets to fit in their environment. Donation of pet food for owners in need. Coordination of pet wellness programs with local veterinarians.

SUMMARY

In conclusion, research has shown that animal services have a significant impact on people and animals within the community in San Francisco. Pet adoption and pet rehoming have provided good homes for abandoned and uncared for animals. Spray and neuter services have reduced unwanted pet births hence controlling the problem of homelessness and also promoting healthy animals due to the reduction of infections and malignant growths. Animal welfare has improved proper housing, diet, environment, company, and a suitable environment for pets in animal shelters. Animal control officers offer field services such as public safety, animal care, and animal rescue, community outreach, vaccination awareness, pet wellness programs, spraying and neutering services, and donation of pet foods. These field services have increased community pride, animal care knowledge, independence, and involvement between animals, pet owners, and the people of San Francisco county at large. Animal services are of great importance to the county of San Francisco.