Licensing and foster pets

[tuxedokitties]

Hello Mark,

My city (San Antonio, Texas) has a huge stray population, overwhelming local shelter capacity. The neighborhood that I live in seems to be a popular "dumping ground" for unwanted pets, and over the last couple of years we have cared for and rehomed many strays.

It's proven impossible to get any of them into the no-kill shelter, and it seems a shame to send an adoptable pet to the city shelter, so we've tried to do what we can to give them basic medical care and send them on to a good home.

My concern is with licensing - according to local animal codes, all pets must be licensed. I don't want to violate the law, but vaccinating and caring for all of these strays in addition to our own pets has proved quite burdensome financially, and if it's at all possible, we'd like to avoid the additional fees involved in licensing the animals that we only foster temporarily in our home (some for as little as a few days, others for months).

To the best of your knowledge, is the city more lenient with rescue licensing, or do they make exceptions for foster pets? We do, of course, keep these pets confined to our property, with the exception of socialization exercise for the puppies that come our way.

Thank you.

 

[mark kumpf]

I will inquire directly w/ SanAntonio AC and find out their policy. I will let you know shortly.

 

[mark kumpf]

I have received a request from a San Antonio resident who has inquired about animal license and limits for rescue or foster homes. I have reviewed the animal codes posted on your website and read the current license & limit information. Do you have a standard operating procedure that covers investigation procedures, sets criteria for home based rescues, or defines your stance on companion animal caregivers who do not meet the traditional definition of "owner"? If so, can you please forward an electronic copy of the respective documents to this email address. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Email forwarded to SAACC. I will call them in the next couple of days if they do not respond via email.

According to their website, licenses & vaccinations are required for all owned pets. Its unlawful to harbor strays and the maximum indoor animal limit is 10.

and the reponse with my reply above
Is the draft available for public comment or input? Can I obtain a copy? We have recently passed legislation in Virginia regulating rescue organizations and several local animal control agencies have developed policies for working with these groups to insure proper compliance. I would be happy to forward this information if you are interested.

From: Arthur Fencl [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 2:07 PM
To: Kumpf, Mark T.
Subject: RE: Licensing Restrictions


Mark,
We have nothing at current. We are in the middle of trying to
design and implement a pure breed rescue program but the
proposal has to be submitted to and approved by the City Council.
Sorry we couldn't be of more help.
Art Fencl

 

[tuxedokitties]

Thanks. We definitely stay under 10...I can't imagine how some people handle more. We never have more than 1 or 2 fosters at a time. But the stray harboring part

- it seems awful to condemn an adoptable pet to death if there's an alternative way to find it a home. I do hope they make an exception for fostering.

BTW, we do get them vaccinated & dewormed, and altered if they're old enough, as soon as we can afford to pay for the spay or neuter surgery. If we let them go unaltered, it's with a promise that the adopter will take care of it (and we do follow up).

Thanks for your help - looking forward to an answer.

 

[mark kumpf]

Originally posted by Mark Kumpf

and the reponse with my reply above
Is the draft available for public comment or input? Can I obtain a copy? We have recently passed legislation in Virginia regulating rescue organizations and several local animal control agencies have developed policies for working with these groups to insure proper compliance. I would be happy to forward this information if you are interested.

and the final reply
From: Arthur Fencl

Our initial draft won't be ready for presentation to the City council
for 30 - 45 days and we don't want to release it until initial approval
is received from the City Council. However, thanks for your offer of
support and we will keep you in mind.
Regards
Art Fencl



This differs from our city Codes Committee which works under the best practices model by involving all of the stakeholders in the code to refine it prior to sending it to council for approval. Rather than fight the ugly, often counterproductive, battles over these codes in council, we all get together in a locked room with figurative rubber bats and deal with the issues BEFORE hand. Nothing like presenting a well reasoned public and private partnership to the elected mucky-mucks. My advice to San Antonio: start asking questions now. If the draft is too controversial to open to the public things might not be the best all around. Check on your local state codes regarding freedom of information act disclosures.

 

[tuxedokitties]

Our lovely city's closed-door policy at its finest!

Thanks for trying.

I also just noticed that they only mentioned a purebred rescue program. The majority of animals that come my way are mixed-breed. With purebreds, I also have the option of calling the local purebred rescue for that breed...that's not an option with the mixed breeds, which is where my primary concern lies. It doesn't look like they're doing anything to address the rescue of mixed breeds...I'll have to see what I can find out (without losing my anonymity).

 

[mark kumpf]

Originally posted by tuxedokitties

Our lovely city's closed-door policy at its finest!

Thanks for trying.

I also just noticed that they only mentioned a purebred rescue program. The majority of animals that come my way are mixed-breed. With purebreds, I also have the option of calling the local purebred rescue for that breed...that's not an option with the mixed breeds, which is where my primary concern lies. It doesn't look like they're doing anything to address the rescue of mixed breeds...I'll have to see what I can find out (without losing my anonymity).

I have no problem sending an FOIA request. Tends to make people run a little scared when things like that come in. To the best of my knowledge, proposed ordinances usually have the opportunity for public input. No indication on this here. Continue to recommend caution. Karnac detects ill omens in the air.