* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] I ASK THAT YOU COME UP TO THE MICROPHONE. [Animal Advisory Commission on August 21, 2025.] YOU ARE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS NOT A CONVERSATION WITH THE COMMISSIONERS. WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT. IS THAT RIGHT? UM, AND SO WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. WE WILL HEAR YOU, AND USUALLY THE COMMENTS ARE ADDRESSED DURING THE PRESENTATION OF EITHER THE DIRECTOR OR SOME OF THE COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS LATER. SO I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND CALL THE FIRST SPEAKER UP. MARCIA GOMEZ. OKAY. MARCIA, I'M SORRY. IS MARCIA HERE? NO. UH, ALLIE HINKLEY. ALLIE HINKLEY. ARE ANY OF THESE PEOPLE ONLINE? NO. THEY ALL OKAY. AND THEN LAUREL VARNEY. OH, SORRY. CAN YOU GIMME JUST ONE MOMENT SO WE CAN START YOUR TIME AND WE WANNA ENSURE THAT THE MIC IS ON WHEN YOU SPEAK. OKAY. IF YOU ARE READY, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME NOW. SURE. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. UH, I HOPE YOU ALL CAN HEAR ME. UH, MY NAME IS LAUREL VARNEY. I LIVE IN NORTH OAK CLIFF. UH, I'VE LIVED IN DALLAS, TEXAS FOR OVER 20 YEARS. BEEN AN ACTIVE IN ANIMAL RESCUE SINCE I WAS A LITTLE GIRL. UM, AND NOW I'M AN OLD GIRL AND STILL IN IT. . UH, I HAVE A COUPLE OF POINTS I WANNA MAKE TO ADDRESS THINGS THAT ARE ON MY MIND THIS MORNING. ONE ITEM FROM LAST WEEK, UH, WE HEARD, UH, A DISCUSSION ABOUT DA'S FOOD PANTRY, WHERE THEY GIVE FOOD AWAY TO FOLKS WHO NEED MONEY TO HELP SUPPORT THEIR PETS THROUGH JOB LOSS OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE. I THINK IT'S A NO QUESTIONS ASKED PROGRAM. AND, AND I HEARD, UH, SOMEONE SAY SOMETHING, UH, WITH SOME INDIGNITY INDIGNANT, AN INDIGNANT COMMENT ABOUT SOME OF THESE PEOPLE SHOWED UP TO THESE OFFERINGS OF FOOD WHO ARE ASKING FOR FOOD FOR FIVE OR SIX ANIMALS, WHICH TO ME, SORT OF SURPRISED ME BECAUSE IN DALLAS, IF YOU LIVE ON A HALF ACRE OR LESS, YOU CAN HAVE SIX ANIMALS. UH, IF YOU LIVE IN DALLAS AND LIVE ON AN ACRE, YOU CAN HAVE UP TO EIGHT ANIMALS. SO, WHOEVER, UH, SAID THAT, I HOPE YOU'RE MORE INFORMED. I HOPE YOU WOULD START READING THE STATUTES AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS THAT DALLAS IS SINCE CONSIDERING THAT YOU'VE BEEN ASSIGNED AND APPOINTED TO THIS COMMITTEE, YOU'RE NOT SERVING THE INTEREST OF THE COMMUNITY IF YOU'RE ASKING QUESTIONS LIKE THAT. THE NEXT THING I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS IS CONFLICTS OF INTEREST FOR DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICE FOLKS. UH, WE HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO APPARENTLY PROFITS OFF A CONTRACT OR CONTRACTS OR, OR ENGAGEMENTS, HOWEVER ONE WOULD PUT THEM, BUT MAKES MONEY OFF DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES. AND AFTER THIS MEETING TODAY, I PLAN ON GOING DOWN TO THE CITY OFFICE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FILE AN ETHICS COMPLAINT ON STEPHANIE CASEY. SHE RUNS A NEWS MEDIA SERVICE, UH, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM. AND ONE OF HER CON, ONE OF HER, UH, CUSTOMERS IS DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES. YOU CANNOT PROFIT FROM DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES SITTING ON THIS BOARD. THAT IS WHOLLY UNACCEPTABLE, MUCH LESS HAVE HAVING A BULLY PULPIT TO SPEAK TO ANIMAL RESCUE COMMUNITIES AND ADVOCATE POSITIONS THEIR CONTRARY TO DAS AND ANIMAL WELFARE NORMS SUCH AS THE DOG SITUATION, THE DOG SITUATION WITH BULLDOG, THE BULLY DOGS, THE BULL, UH, PIT BULLS. THEY WERE ADOPTED BY THE HOG HUNTERS. THE HOG HUNTERS WERE GOING TO USE THEM FOR BLOOD SPORT. AND I'M SURE ALL OF YOU HAVE NOW BEEN, UH, FAMILIARIZED WITH WHAT THE, WHAT HAPPENS. THAT'S CRUEL TO POST A VIDEO OF A DOG IN A PEN, BEING HARASSED BY A WILD ANIMAL. THANK YOU. THAT'S YOUR TIME. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE A QUICK COMMENT TO OUR AUDIENCE MEMBERS. YOU WERE GLAD YOU'RE HERE. WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND WE SEE YOU. JUST SO YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND, THERE COULD BE NO TALKING FROM THE GALLEY. IF YOU GUYS ARE WHISPERING, THAT'S FINE. AGAIN, YOU CANNOT TALK TO INDIVIDUALS UP HERE, UM, OUR COMMISSIONERS. AND IF I SEE THAT HAPPENING EXTENSIVELY, I WILL ASK THE OFFICER, UH, [00:05:01] OFFICER GREEN TO REMOVE YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OUR JULY 17TH MEETING, UM, 2025. UM, I HOPE EVERYBODY HAS HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THOSE MEETING MINUTES. DO, UH, HAS EVERYBODY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY? THANK YOU VERY MUCH. DO I HAVE A MOTION? MAKE A MOTION. LET'S DO IT. SET. APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES. AND COMMISSIONER CASEY, SECONDS. IT ALL IN FAVOR? I AYE, IF I CAN SEE A SHOW OF HANDS. THANK YOU. OKAY. I THINK THAT'S QUORUM. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. YEAH, WE MADE IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, OH MY GOSH. WE ARE SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED. AND, OKAY. UM, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME NEW COMMISSIONERS. WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND DO ROLL CALL. I'M GONNA ASK THE INDIVIDUALS ONLINE TO GO FIRST ASKING HILL GEARING AND REPP IN THAT ORDER. COMMISSIONER HILL, CAN YOU TURN ON YOUR MICROPHONE? YES. I'M BONNIE HILL, DISTRICT 10. THANK YOU. HELLO EVERYONE. RACHEL NELSON. YOU DISTRICT TWO, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM JESSE MORENO. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER REPP. YOU CAN CALL, SHE POPS ON. COMMISSIONER REPP, CAN YOU GO AHEAD AND TURN ON YOUR CAMERA AND, UM, UNMUTE YOURSELF AND GO AHEAD AND, UM, LET US KNOW YOU'RE HERE. WHO? OKAY. UM, WE'LL, WE'LL CALL ELIZABETH OR EMAIL HER 'CAUSE SHE'S THERE. WE JUST CAN'T HEAR. SAME WITH COMMISSIONER HANSEN. ARE YOU ONLINE? I DON'T SEE IT. OKAY. IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR HEADPHONES ARE, ARE POPPING UP, BUT WE NEED YOU TO TAKE YOURSELF OFF MUTE FOR ROLL CALL AND SHOW US YOUR VIDEO. OKAY. WE'LL, UM, IF YOU GUYS APPEAR WE'LL, UH, DULY NOTE IT LATER ON IN THE MEETING. I'M GONNA GO AHEAD WITH THE HORSESHOE, STARTING WITH COMMISSIONER SANDERS. IF, IF EVERYBODY CAN TAKE THE MICROPHONE AND GO AROUND, PLEASE MAKE SURE IT'S TURNED ON. THANK YOU SO MUCH. HI, COMMISSIONER SANDERS. UH, DISTRICT 14, UH, PAUL RIDLEY. HI, JENNIFER BENNETT, DISTRICT SEVEN. ADAM BAA. BONNIE MATTHIAS, DISTRICT FIVE. HI, ME RESENDEZ. AARON ES, DISTRICT FOUR, MAX JOHNSON. STEPHANIE CASEY, DISTRICT THREE IS AARON GRACIE. UH, JONATHAN SACKER, DISTRICT ONE, UH, CHAD WEST. OKAY. AND I TRULY APOLOGIZE. WE'VE GOT ONE COMMISSIONER LEFT. COMMISSIONER SED, IF YOU WANNA GO AHEAD. GOOD MORNING. SED REPRESENTING DISTRICT 15. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. UM, NEXT ON OUR AGENDA, WE ARE PLEASED TO HAVE, UM, JESSICA ZO, WHO IS THE CHIEF, UH, OF THE ANIMAL CRUELTY UNIT OF DALLAS COUNTY. THE DALLAS COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GIVE A PRESENTATION, UH, BASED ON COMMENTS THAT OUR COMMISSIONERS ASKED AT THE LAST MEETING ON SUSPECTED ANIMAL CRUELTY. AND WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE HER TIME THIS MORNING. I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO MS. ZO. HOLD ON. WE CAN'T HEAR YOU. I'M SO SORRY. CAN YOU UNMUTE? THERE YOU GO. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. APOLOGIES. UM, I APPRECIATE Y'ALL INVITING ME TO THIS MEETING. UM, I KNOW THAT, UM, THE ISSUES THAT YOU GUYS DISCUSS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY TO MY UNIT. SO I'M SORRY I'VE MISSED THEM FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, BUT I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE. UM, DO YOU GUYS WANT ME TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF MY UNIT COMPARED TO WHAT THE CITY DOES? UM, I HAVE A PRESENTATION IF YOU WANT TO SEE IT. WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR PRESENTATION AND THE FLOOR IS YOURS, AND WE'RE JUST LOOKING FOR YOU TO EDUCATE US. OKAY. I'M GONNA DO THAT FOR YOU. ARE YOU GUYS ABLE TO SEE THE PRESENTATION? I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S POPPING UP ON Y'ALL'S END. OKAY. CAN [00:10:01] YOU GUYS SEE IT? YES. YES. OKAY. YES. PERFECT. OKAY. SO I WANNA START OFF BY GIVING YOU GUYS JUST THE BASIC LEGAL AUTHORITY THAT I WORK OFF OF. UM, I DON'T NECESSARILY WORK OFF CITY CODE THAT'S LEFT TO THE CITY ATTORNEY. UM, IF THERE'S A CITY VIOLATION, THE CITY ATTORNEY TAKES CARE OF IT. I WORK OFF THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE, UH, THE PENAL CODE AND THE TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE CODE. THOSE ARE THE THREE MAIN, UM, AREAS OF LAW THAT I PROSECUTE. FELONY AND MISDEMEANOR CASES. IF IT'S A CLASS C OR A CITY CODE VIOLATION, IT STAYS WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS OR WHATEVER MUNICIPALITY. UM, THEY'RE DEEMING IT TO BE VIOLATED. UM, I DO NOT DO ANY CIVIL CASES. SO IF SOMEONE IS WANTING MONEY FOR A DOG BITE CASE OR SOME SORT OF TORT, UM, WHERE THE ONLY REMEDY IS MONEY, I DON'T HANDLE THAT AT ALL. I STRICTLY DO MISDEMEANOR AND FELONY CRIMINAL CASES WHERE WE'RE ALLEGING AN INDIVIDUAL COMMITTED AN ACT OF ANIMAL CRUELTY OR FAILED TO PREVENT A DOG FROM, UM, LEAVING THE ENCLOSED, UH, FACILITY OR HOME OR WHATEVER, AND BIT SOMEONE ELSE. UM, THIS IS THE BASIC, YOU KNOW, LAWS THAT WE OPERATE UNDER FOR OUR, OUR PENAL CODE. UH, THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE HAS DIFFERENT LITTLE NICHES, UM, AS WELL AS THE TEXAS WILDLIFE CODE, SO I WON'T GO OVER THAT. BUT THIS IS THE MAIN, THE MAIN AREA OF LAW THAT I USE TO, UM, PROSECUTE INDIVIDUALS. UM, SPECIFICALLY THE FIRST AND SECOND ONE, UM, ARE THE TWO MAIN ONES. TORTURING AN ANIMAL IS NOT NECESSARILY, UM, AS YOU MAY THINK, LIKE OVER HOURS OR JUST MALICE AND, YOU KNOW, POKING AT IT OR BURNING IT. UM, ANYTHING THAT CAUSES UNJUSTIFIABLE PAIN AND SUFFERING TO AN ANIMAL I CAN PROSECUTE. UM, SO A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE TELL ME THAT MY CASES AREN'T, UM, VERY STRONG BECAUSE THERE'S NO REAL TORTURE. WELL, IF SOMEONE CAUSED PAIN TO AN ANIMAL AND THERE'S NO JUSTIFICATION FOR IT, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, VETERINARY PRACTICES, UH, BREEDING, UM, HUNTING, WILDLIFE HUNTING, UM, IF THERE'S NO ACTUAL LEGAL JUSTIFICATION, I CAN PROSECUTE AND INDICT HIM ON, UM, A TORTURING AN ANIMAL. UM, AND THE EXAMPLE I GIVE IS, I HAD A CASE LAST YEAR OUT OF HIGHLAND PARK WHERE, UM, A CITIZEN OF HIGHLAND PARK WAS WALKING HIS DOG AND A NEIGHBOR WAS RUNNING ON THE STREETS JOGGING. UM, AND HIS NEIGHBOR WAS KNOWN TO CAUSE A LOT OF TROUBLE IN HIGHLAND PARK AND TO JUST BE KIND OF A MENACE SOCIETY, AND HE PEPPER SPRAYED THE DOG. UM, A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE WOULD SAY, WELL, THAT'S NOT REALLY OFFENSE. I BELIEVED IT WAS BECAUSE THAT, THAT PEPPER SPRAY WAS AIMED AT THE DOG AND IT CAR. YEAH. CAN WE TURN IT UP? I CAN'T HEAR IT. I REALLY DON'T WANT TO BE DOING THAT. YOU CAN, OH, THIS CAN JESSICA, HOLD ON ONE SECOND. YEAH. INTERRUPT. CAN YOU GO AHEAD AND MUTE YOUR, OH, I'M SORRY. NO WORRIES. AND SO THAT CASE, I, I WAS ABLE TO GET A CRIMINAL INDICTMENT ON A FELONY LEVEL. UM, HE DIDN'T PLEAD TO ANYTHING, SO WE TOOK IT TO TRIAL AND A JURY CONVICTED HIM OF A FELONY. UM, SO WE ARE ABLE TO DO WHAT WE CAN WITH A CASE IF WE HAVE ENOUGH FACTS THAT CAN SUPPORT AN INDICTMENT AND A CONVICTION. UM, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? ONCE SOMEBODY REPORTS, UH, NEGLECT ANIMAL ABUSE, STUFF LIKE THAT, IT USUALLY COMES IN THROUGH THE CITY. THEY CALL NINE ONE ONE. THEY CALL D-A-S-D-A-S SENDS DALLAS ANIMAL CONTROL, UH, DALLAS ANIMAL CONTROL DECIDES. IS THIS SOMETHING THAT DPD DETECTIVES NEED TO COME OUT ON AND INVESTIGATE? AND IF THEY DO, THAT'S WHEN I GET INVOLVED. USUALLY, THE CIVIL SEIZURE HEARING, I ONLY DO FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS. EVERY OTHER MUNICIPALITY, EVERY OTHER SUBURB DOES THEIR OWN CIVIL SEIZURE HEARINGS, THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. BUT, UM, WAY BEFORE I GOT IN THIS UNIT, UM, THEY MADE A DEAL, I GUESS, WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS THAT THE, UH, DA'S OFFICE WAS GONNA DO THE CIVIL SEIZURE HEARINGS. AND THAT'S BEEN HELPFUL, UH, BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY, UM, DALLAS HAS, IF NOT THE TOP ANIMAL CRUELTY UNIT IN THE UNITED STATES, DEFINITELY THE TOP ONE IN, IN, IN TEXAS. UH, WE'RE THE UNIT THAT'S PROSECUTING THE MOST ANIMAL CRUELTY CASES IN THE ENTIRE STATE. AND THAT IS WITH THE HELP OF DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEIR UNIT. UM, SO ONCE WE GET THE CIVIL SEIZURE HEARING, I GO OUT THERE, I PROVE UP THAT THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF ANIMAL CRUELTY. DETECTIVES, VETS GO OUT THERE, UM, AND WE DO WHAT WE CAN AND USUALLY WE'RE SUCCESSFUL. THE SECOND PART IS IF THERE'S EVIDENCE OF A DANGEROUS DOG ANIMAL, I ALSO DO THOSE WHERE WE HAVE TO TAKE AN ANIMAL AWAY FROM AN OWNER BECAUSE IT'S DEEMED TO HAVE BITTEN SOMEONE, OR IT HAS A HISTORY OF BEING AGGRESSIVE. UM, THE CIVIL SEIZURE HEARINGS ARE KIND OF SUPER SHORT BECAUSE ONCE WE GET A WARRANT, WE HAVE TO DO IT WITHIN 10 DAYS AND GO BEFORE A JUDGE. JUDGE NASH DOES THEM. UM, AND SHE'S REALLY EXPERIENCED AND, AND REALLY WELL VERSED IN ANIMAL CRUELTY LAWS. UM, THIS IS KIND OF A, A BRIEF BREAKDOWN OF HOW IT GOES. UM, SPECIFICALLY [00:15:01] FOR CIVIL SEIZURE HEARINGS, UH, WE DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALLEGING ACTUAL ANIMAL CRUELTY, UH, SO THAT WE CAN USE THIS TO INDICT. IF WE DON'T WIN AT THE CIVIL SEIZURE HEARING, WE'RE NOT LIKELY TO GET A CRIMINAL, UM, INDICTMENT OR INFORMATION DONE. UM, DANGEROUS DOGS, UM, I'M GONNA GIVE JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW. IT'S BASICALLY AN UNPROVOKED ATTACK OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOME. UM, AND WE ALSO HAVE TO PROVE THAT YOU DIDN'T DO WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT DOG WAS KEPT INSIDE. UM, IT HAD TO HAVE GOTTEN OUT. UM, AND IF THERE'S HISTORY OF YOUR DOG GETTING OUT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND THEN ATTACK SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOME AT THAT POINT, YOU CAN BE CRIMINALLY LIABLE FOR A THIRD DEGREE FELONY. UM, ONCE THE DOG IS DEEMED DANGEROUS, YOU HAVE TO REGISTER IT WITH ANIMAL CONTROL. YOU HAVE TO KEEP IT RESTRAINED. YOU EVEN HAVE TO GET LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR AT LEAST A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. UM, IF THE OWNER CAN'T COMPLY WITH THESE LAWS, THEN THEY MUST GIVE THE DOG TO ANIMAL CONTROL. AND THEN ANIMAL CONTROL AT THAT POINT DECIDES WHAT TO DO WITH IT. UM, LAW ENFORCEMENT CAN PROCEED WITH A SEIZURE HEARING, EVEN IF THE OWNER DOESN'T COMPLY IN A DANGEROUS DOG SITUATION. UM, THE DALLAS DA'S OFFICE, WE PROSECUTE CRIMINALLY ALL THESE CASES, UM, INCLUDING BESTIALITY CASES. IT DOESN'T GO, UH, WITH ANY OTHER SPECIAL DIVISION. UH, ONLY OURS. UM, CRUELTY TO LIVESTOCK. WE RARELY GET THESE. UH, WE ARE A CITY, SO WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF LIVESTOCK, UM, ISSUES. MOSTLY IT'S HORSES AND MOSTLY IT'S HORSES THAT NOT BEEN FED OR CARED FOR. WELL, UH, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY OTHER PROBLEM BESIDES, BASICALLY YOU'RE NOT FEEDING YOUR HORSE OR YOU'RE NOT TAKING CARE OF IT. AND IT'S USUALLY ELDERLY PEOPLE, UM, THAT JUST AREN'T, UM, SOMETIMES, UH, ABLE TO FEED THEM A LOT OR JUST DON'T SEE THE ISSUES OF THAT THE BEHAVIOR IS CAUSING THE, THE HORSES. SO AT THAT POINT, WE DO SEIZE THEM AND, AND TRY TO TAKE CARE OF 'EM AS BEST AS WE CAN. UM, THIS IS KIND OF WHAT THE DIFFERENT CHARGES ARE. STARTING WITH A MISDEMEANOR ALL THE WAY UP TO A SECOND DEGREE FELONY. UM, IF WE HAVE CERTAIN PRIORS OR CERTAIN, UM, FACTS IN THE CASE THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO BUMP IT AS HIGH AS A SECOND DEGREE FELONY, UM, AN ANIMAL IS DEEMED A DOMESTICATED ANIMAL UNDER THE CODE. SO WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT SQUIRRELS, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT FISH. UM, SO THAT'S WHY A LOT OF TIMES IT GETS A LITTLE FINICKY WITH THE OUTER OUTER CITIES, BUT MAINLY IT HAS TO BE AN ANIMAL THAT HAS BEEN DEEMED DOMESTICATED. HOWEVER, IF SOMEONE ADOPTS A RABBIT OR, UM, A SQUIRREL, I GUESS, AND IT'S BEEN DEEMED DOMESTICATED, MEANING IT LIVED IN THE HOME AND SOMEONE'S TAKEN CARE OF IT AT THAT POINT, UH, THE ANIMAL CRUELTY LAWS DO KICK IN AND, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE TAKING CARE OF THEIR PETS. UM, TORTURE AGAIN, I THINK THAT I JUST EXPLAINED IT. UM, IT'S BASICALLY JUST UNJUSTIFIABLE PAIN AND SUFFERING EVEN A KICK EVEN. UM, A SIMPLE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT CAUSES LIKE A PEPPER SPRAYING A DOG IN THE FACE WITHOUT JUSTIFICATION, THAT IS UNJUSTIFIABLE PAIN AND SUFFERING, AND THAT PERSON CAN BE HELD LIABLE. UM, BESTIALITY CASES, I THINK THESE ARE PRETTY SELF-EXPLANATORY. WE DO HAVE QUITE A FEW OF THESE, UH, BUT WE KIND OF WORK WITH THE CHILD ABUSE UNIT BECAUSE THEY GO HAND IN HAND. UM, DOG FIGHTING. UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT DPD IS ACTUALLY RAMPING UP THE CASES THAT THEY'RE, UH, INVESTIGATING. UM, THESE TAKE A LOT OF TIME TO INVESTIGATE AND DO THEIR DUE DILIGENCE ON. WE HAVE TO DO SURVEILLANCE, WE HAVE TO DO SEARCH WARRANTS, WE HAVE TO GET DRONES OUT THERE SO THEY'RE NOT EASY TO CATCH. UH, BUT DPD IS WORKING TIRELESSLY, I GUARANTEE YOU TO GET THESE CASES PROSECUTED. UM, THEY START OFF AS LOW AS CLASS A MISDEMEANOR, BUT IT CAN GO ALL THE WAY UP TO A FELONY. COST FIGHTING IS SOMETHING THAT DPD AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS. UM, AND THEN WE EVEN PROPOSED LEGISLATION CHANGE TO, UH, THE LEGISLATOR THIS SESSION. UM, ULTIMATELY KIND OF GOT STUCK ON THE CALENDAR. WE WERE NEVER ABLE TO PUSH IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE DO PLAN ON GOING AHEAD AND TRYING TO GET THIS MADE A, A FELONY, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THE ONLY WAY WE CAN GET A FELONY OUT OF IT IS IF WE CATCH 'EM IN THE ACTUAL ACT OF COCKFIGHTING, WHICH IS RARE, IF EVER. UM, SO I WANNA MAKE SURE IF I HAVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE, UM, BIRDS THAT WE KNOW ARE BEING USED FOR COCKFIGHTING, THAT WE CAN INDICT 'EM ON A FELONY AND NOT JUST A MISDEMEANOR. UH, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR UNIT IS REALLY WORKING HARD TO PUSH, AND THE LEGISLATORS TO MAKE SURE THESE CASES ARE FELONIES, NOT JUST MISDEMEANORS. UM, 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW THE LOWEST IS EVEN JUST A STATE JAIL, BUT THEY HAVE TO BE CAUGHT IN THE ACT. UM, AND SO IT'S REALLY HARD TO DO THAT WITH THESE KINDS OF CASES. UM, UNLAWFUL RESTRAINTS, UM, THIS AGAIN, KIND OF GOES TO A CITY CODE VIOLATION WHERE THEY'RE TETHERED. UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CITY HANDLES. UM, BUT IF, IF IT DOES GET TO THE LEVEL WHERE THEY'RE NOT BEING PROPERLY FED OR HOUSED, THEN WE CAN INDICT THEM ON A FELONY EVEN, UH, BUT AS LOW AS A MISDEMEANOR. UM, FINALLY, UM, A COUPLE SESSIONS [00:20:01] AGO, WE WERE ABLE TO GET PAST THAT. IF YOU ARE CONVICTED OF ANIMAL CRUELTY, UM, YOU ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO OWN AN ANIMAL IN THE FUTURE. UH, SO FOR ME, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WHEN IT COMES TO ANIMAL CRUELTY CASES, IS AT LEAST GET THAT CONVICTION SO I CAN MAKE SURE THEY DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO OWN AN ANIMAL AGAIN IN THE FUTURE. UM, AND THAT'S IT FOR ME. IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UM, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. MM-HMM . UM, WE ARE GONNA GO AHEAD AND OPEN THE FLOOR FOR THE COMMISSIONERS TO ASK QUESTIONS, AND I'M GONNA ASK THAT JILLIAN, UM, WE'RE GONNA GIVE EVERYONE FIVE MINUTES. I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD. UM, LET'S START WITH COMMISSIONER HILL, THEN GEARING, THEN REPP, AND THEN WE'LL GO FROM THERE. I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PRESENTING TODAY AND GIVING US A CLEAR PICTURE OF, UM, WHAT IT MEANS IN TEXAS FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY AND, UM, WHAT TYPES OF THINGS QUALIFY AND WHAT DON'T. BUT, SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. UH, SAME HERE. I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. I DO JUST WANNA REITERATE, I DONE A VERY SMALL . MR. PLEASE GIMME ONE MOMENT. SO EVEN FOR COMMENTS, WE NEED TIME. OKAY. UM, JUST TO KEEP THINGS IN ORDER, . UM, SO WE'RE GONNA REFLECT THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER HILL SPOKE, UM, AND EVEN FOR COMMENT, I'M JUST GONNA GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME NOW, COMMISSIONER GEARING. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, AND HAVING DONE A SHORT STINT IN THE DA'S OFFICE IN LAW SCHOOL, I KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO PROSECUTE AND PULL THESE CASES TOGETHER. AND I KNOW, UM, AND I WOULD ASSUME YOU GET A LOT OF, UH, PEOPLE WANT THINGS TO BE, YOU KNOW, EXPEDITED AND THING, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT IT'S, AND I JUST, I KNOW THE PROCESS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH. WE'RE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR YOU AND FOR ALL THAT YOU'RE DOING FOR THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GREAT. UM, COMMISSIONER RE OKAY. I THINK YOU'RE MUTED. CAN YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF? YES. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH, JESSICA. I, I FOUND THAT VERY INTERESTING. I MEAN, THAT'S ONE OF MY BIG THINGS. I CAN'T HANDLE ANIMALS BEING ABUSED OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. TORTURED. UM, I, I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA GET SICK WHEN I READ ABOUT THE COX STUFF. UM, BUT, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'M, I'M GLAD THAT Y'ALL ARE UP ON THIS AND, AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONER ED. SHE, SHE WAS, WE JUST NEED TO, WE JUST NEED TO SEE YOUR, UM, FACE. COMMISSIONER SED, WE, WE CAN COME BACK TO YOU AT THE END. WHO? OH, WAIT, HOLD ON. HOLD ON. WHO LOOKS LIKE COMMISSIONER SED. OKAY, YOU CAN COME BACK TO ME. SORRY, I'M HAVING ISSUES. NO WORRIES. SHOWING MY CAMERA. GOTCHA. COMMISSIONER HANSEN. BUT WE NEED TO SEE HER FACE IN ACCORDANCE WITH TOMA RULES. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT. OKAY. OKAY. WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO, UM, COMMISSIONER SED AND HANSEN, IF WE CAN SEE HER FACES. UH, COMMISSIONER, UM, LET'S START. COMMISSIONER SACKER, THIS ONE. COOL. , UH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR COMING OUT. UH, THIS IS A GREAT PRESENTATION. UH, ONE QUESTION, JUST I OFFER ANYBODY WHO COMES AND SPEAKS TO US, UH, WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST STRUGGLE? WHAT IS YOU AND YOUR TEAM'S BIGGEST STRUGGLE, UH, HERE IN THE CITY OF DALLAS RIGHT NOW? AND IS THERE ANYTHING THAT COMMISSIONERS CAN HELP WITH? UM, IN THE CITY OF DALLAS? NO, HONESTLY, LIKE I TOLD YOU GUYS BEFORE, I FEEL THAT IT'S, IF NOT THE TOP UNIT IN THE UNITED STATES, IT'S THE TOP ONE IN TEXAS AS FAR AS WILLINGNESS TO PROSECUTE CASES, EVEN DOWN TO ANIMALS GETTING ABANDONED IN MOTELS. UM, I JUST PROCESSED ABOUT 20 CASES THIS WEEK OF PEOPLE WHO LEAVE MOTELS OR EVICTED FROM APARTMENTS, AND THEY JUST LEAVE THEIR PETS THERE. WE ABSOLUTELY, YOU KNOW, FILE CASES ON THEM FOR DOING THAT. UM, I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER CITY IN DALLAS COUNTY DOING IT. UM, SO THERE IS NO COMPLAINTS FOR, FOR ME, OR EVEN ISSUES WITH THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT AND, AND THEIR UNIT. THEY, IF THEY CAN MO WORK WITH A CASE AND TELL ME ABOUT IT, WE USUALLY GET IT DONE AND AS FAST WE CAN. AWESOME. COMMISSIONER CASEY, WE'RE [00:25:01] GONNA START YOUR TIME NOW. GREAT PRESENTATION. OH, IS THAT ON? YEAH. OKAY. UH, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION. I HAVE NO QUESTIONS. THOUGHT IT WAS NICE AND THOROUGH. APPRECIATE YOUR WORK. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER GOSS, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. NO QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. UH, MATTHIAS, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. ARE WE GOING TO GET, UH, A COPY OF THAT SLIDE PRESENTATION BY ANY CHANCE? THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL. SURE. I CAN CERTAINLY SEND IT OUT, UM, TO THE PERSON THAT I COORDINATE IT WITH, UM, FOR YOU GUYS TO JUST KIND OF LOOK AT AND REFERENCE ANYTIME YOU, YOU NEED A REFRESHER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU JESSICA. APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO. OF COURSE. YOU KNOW, I CALL YOU ALL THE TIME AND I YES, YOU DO. JUDGE , YOU'RE ALWAYS ANSWERING MY CALLS. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA TELL ANYBODY ABOUT THE STRUGGLES OCCASIONALLY THAT I WAS SHOCKED TO HEAR ABOUT, ABOUT GETTING A JURY FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF CASES, PEOPLE THAT IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT YOU WOULD THINK CARE ABOUT. YEAH. SO, BUT THAT WAS, I KNOW, A RECENT CHALLENGE THAT YOU FACED AND MAYBE THEY MIGHT FIND ENLIGHTENING. I CERTAINLY WAS SHOCKED. YES. SO THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD POINT BECAUSE, UM, ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO I STARTED A JURY TRIAL IN JUDGE ERNIE WHITE'S COURT. THAT'S THE ONE 94TH. UM, AND IT'S A CASE WHERE A GUY HAD, I THINK, NINE DOGS TETHERED ON A PIECE OF PROPERTY WHERE, UM, THEY ORIGINALLY THOUGHT THERE WAS STOLEN CARS BEING DUMPED ON AND CRUSHED ILLEGALLY. SO THAT'S HOW DPD WAS MADE AWARE THAT ALL THESE DOGS WERE THERE BEING TETHERED, WHERE WITH NO POTABLE WATER, UM, ALL THE WATER WAS GREEN, THERE WAS REALLY NO FOOD. AND ONE OF THE DOGS DIED IN FRONT OF ONE OF THE OFFICERS. UM, SO I STARTED A TRIAL ON IT. UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE, WHAT WE SAY IS WE, WE BUSTED THE JURY, MEANING WE DIDN'T QUALIFY ENOUGH JURORS THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO SIT, UM, AND BE FAIR AND IMPARTIAL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THEM COULDN'T, COULDN'T FOLLOW THE LAW, OR THEY DIDN'T AGREE WITH THE LAW, UM, OR THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY SOMETHING LIKE THIS WAS BEING PROSECUTED ON A FELONY LEVEL. I'M STARTING THAT CASE AGAIN NEXT WEEK, MONDAY, ACTUALLY. UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PROSECUTORS WOULD'VE JUST DISMISSED IT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. BUT, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE CONDITIONS OF THOSE ANIMALS, MY GOAL WITH THIS CASE IS FOR THAT MAN NOT TO OWN DOGS AGAIN. AND HE DOESN'T WANNA TAKE ANY TYPE OF PLEA DEAL, NO PROBATION, NOTHING LIKE THAT. HE IS OLDER, HE'S ABOUT 75. UH, BUT BASED ON THE CONDITIONS OF THE DOGS, I HAVE GREAT CONCERNS WITH HIM GETTING ANIMALS AGAIN. UH, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY DON'T SEE WHY WE'RE PROSECUTING THESE CASES INSTEAD OF MURDERS OR AGGRAVATED ROBBERIES. UH, BUT WE TRY OUR BEST TO EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT JUST LIKE A HUMAN DESERVES DECENCY, UM, AN ANIMAL AS A LIVING CREATURE ALSO DESERVES DECENT TREATMENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU TAKE ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ADOPTING THEM OR OWNING AN ANIMAL. THERE'S CERTAIN, CERTAIN LAWS THAT YOU HAVE TO ABIDE BY, UH, WHEN YOU BECOME A PET OWNER. UH, SO YEAH, LIKE JUDGE BENNETT SAID, IT, IT, IT GETS PRETTY COMPLICATED SOMETIMES GETTING A JURY TO KIND OF FOLLOW YOU AND UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING. BUT THAT'S NOT GONNA STOP US. AND, AND WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CASE ANYWAYS. GOOD JOB. UM, HI, THIS IS, UM, MY NAME'S KAREN. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING. THAT WAS A REALLY INVALUABLE PRESENTATION AND, UM, I GOT A LOT FROM IT. SO THANK YOU FOR COMING. I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION. UM, HOW DOES THE A CO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS TO KIND OF PREVENT ANIMAL ABUSE? OR IS THERE COMMUNITY OUTREACH THAT YOU GUYS DO OR THAT WE CAN MAYBE GET INVOLVED WITH TO HELP EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITIES ON WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND HOW WE CAN PREVENT, UM, PROSECUTE? YES. SO I KNOW THAT THE CITY ITSELF, THE ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS, UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY, UM, DIRECT, UH, WORK WITH THEM BECAUSE THEY WORK FOR THE CITY, NOT THE COUNTY. AND I WORK FOR THE COUNTY. I KNOW THEY GO OUT THERE WHEN THERE'S CALLS MADE AND THEY EDUCATE CITIZENS ON WHAT TO DO OR WHAT NOT TO DO, OR THEY TRY THEIR BEST TO MAKE SURE THEY STAY ON TOP OF OWNERS THAT MAY BE STRUGGLING OR AREN'T EDUCATED. AS FOR ME, UM, I DO GO OUT TO THE AGENCIES AND TRAIN POLICE OFFICERS ON WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY GET CALLED OUT TO A ANIMAL CRUELTY UNIT, UH, UM, INVESTIGATION BECAUSE NO OTHER AGENCY IN DALLAS COUNTY HAS AN ACTUAL ANIMAL CRUELTY UNIT. IT'S JUST LIKE DETECTIVES WHO ARE DOING HOMICIDE CASES, ROBBERIES AND ANIMAL CRUELTY. SO, UM, I TRY TO EDUCATE THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE GOING DIRECTLY OUT THERE TO THE CITIZENS. AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY A TWO PERSON UNIT RIGHT NOW, UM, FOR THE DA'S OFFICE. SO IT, IT'S A LITTLE TOUGH GETTING TO ALL THE MUNICIPALITIES. BUT, UH, WE DO SPCA EVENTS A LOT. WE WORK WITH THE SPCA VERY CLOSELY. UM, SO THAT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE ORGANIZATIONS TO WORK WITH BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE SO MANY RESOURCES IN TERMS OF OUTREACH. UM, SO MY GOAL IS REALLY TO EDUCATE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT SINCE THEY USUALLY HAVE THE DAY-TO-DAY [00:30:01] CONTACT WITH CITIZENS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. ALL THE WORK YOU DO, . THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, COMMISSIONER SED, YOU READY? YES. APOLOGIES. I'M STRUGGLING WITH WEBEX, BUT, UH, VERY INSIGHTFUL PRESENTATION. I HAVE NO QUESTIONS, BUT I WOULD ALSO LOVE A COPY OF THE PRESENTATION JUST AS A RESOURCE. OF COURSE. THANK YOU SO MUCH OF MM-HMM . THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER HANSEN, WE SEE WE JUST NEED YOU TO POP OFF. UH, MUTE. OKAY. HELLO. THANK, THANK VERY MUCH. UM, WE'RE GONNA HOST YOUR DATE, YOUR HARD WORK. INCREDIBLY HARD WORK. UM, DO YOU GUYS WORK? SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY. COMMISSIONER HAN. I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, SORRY, SORRY. YEAH, I HAVE TWO SYSTEMS ON MUTE AND I THINK THAT YEAH, BECAUSE ONE WON'T WORK. SORRY, ONE WON'T WORK. OH, I CAN KIND OF HEAR YOU. IT'S A LITTLE LOW, BUT I COULD KIND OF HEAR YOU WITH WHATEVER YOU JUST DID. WANNA TRY AND TRY AND SEE IF IT WORKS ON MY PHONE. IS THAT BETTER? THAT'S, THERE YOU GO. SO GIMME JUST ONE SECOND AND I'M GONNA RESTART YOUR TIME. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. NO PROBLEM. GO AHEAD. OKAY. I JUST, I WANTED TO THANK, UH, OFFICER TRUO FOR HER PRESENTATION AND JUST HER HARD WORK. I KNOW THAT'S INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY HARD WORK, UM, BUT REWARDING WHEN, WHEN IT DOES WORK. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. BUT, UH, MY QUESTION WAS, DO YOU GUYS WORK WITH OPERATION KINDNESS? YES. THAT'S THE MAIN VET THAT WE USE FOR DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT CASES. SO THERE ARE OUR FORENSIC, UM, VETERINARY, UH, PEOPLE. SO WHENEVER I GET A CASE, I HAVE TO HAVE A VET REPORT. I REALLY CANNOT MAKE A CASE ON ANIMAL CRUELTY WHEN IT COMES TO TORTURE OR, UH, EMACIATION WITHOUT A VET REPORT. AND USUALLY I DON'T ACCEPT CASES AND NOW THEY KNOW, UH, 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN TELLING 'EM FOR YEARS THAT I NEED A VET REPORT TO ACCOMPANY THE CASE BECAUSE THAT PROVES UP MY CASE. SO IF AN ANIMAL IS DEHYDRATED, EMACIATED HAS BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA, THE VET REPORT WILL SHOW IT. AND I MEAN, THEY'RE USUALLY CLOSED CASES BECAUSE I CAN'T ASK A DOG LIKE, DID IT HURT? OR WHERE IT HURTS? OR WHAT DO YOU FEEL? SO THAT'S WHY THE VET REPORT IS SO CRUCIAL AND THE VETS THEY HAVE AT OPERATION KINDNESS ARE AMAZING. UM, THEY REALLY DO CARE, AND THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE GONNA BE TESTIFYING NEXT WEEK IN MY TRIAL, UH, DR. RED. UM, SO YEAH, WE WORK WITH OPERATION KINDNESS VERY CLOSELY, UM, AND WE STAFF CASES CONSTANTLY, SO I'M REALLY HAPPY TO BE WORKING WITH THAT AS WELL. EXCELLENT. OKAY. AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO ASSIST YOU? IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO PROVIDE, WHETHER IT'S START OUT, YOU KNOW, OUTREACH EDUCATION PROGRAMS OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT THAT WE CAN HELP? YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, EVERY QUARTER IT'D BE NICE TO GET OUT SOME SORT OF, YOU KNOW, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR CITIZENS WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH PETS. UM, THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO DUMP 'EM OR THEY DON'T HAVE TO JUST NOT FEED 'EM. THERE'S RESOURCES IN TERMS OF DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES, UM, JUST SO THEY'RE EDUCATED, ESPECIALLY THE LOWER INCOME COMMUNITIES OR THE NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS, UM, THAT THEIR CULTURE DOESN'T NECESSARILY SEE HOW ANIMAL CRUELTY PLAYS INTO THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS. SO JUST EDUCATION WOULD BE NICE. AND ALSO, LIKE IN THE HOT SUMMER DAYS, I LIKE TO KEEP IT OUT THERE, LIKE, DON'T WALK YOUR DOG IN THE SUMMER WITHOUT LITTLE PADS, BECAUSE THAT'S ACTUALLY SUPER HARMFUL AND SUPER PAINFUL FOR THEM. OKAY, THAT'S GREAT. THANK YOU. SO I THINK THAT WE CAN ALL WORK ON THAT. I, I'LL THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, UM, FOR JESSICA. JESSICA, FIRST OF ALL, WE CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH. UM, I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT IN 2023, A STATEWIDE ORGANIZATION WENT TO EVERY SINGLE COUNTY, WELL, EXCUSE ME, SORRY, SORRY. THERE ARE 254. THEY WENT TO THE TOP 20, UH, MOST POPULOUS COUNTIES AND ASKED FOR ALL THEIR ANIMAL CRUELTY CASES AND ALL THE CASES ASSIGNED, WHETHER THEY WENT TO TRIAL. AND DALLAS WAS SO IMPRESSIVE, AND THEY WERE SO FAR, UM, ADVANCED IN ANY OTHER COUNTIES, INCLUDING HARRIS AND BAYER. AND SO, UM, AS A RESULT, THEY GOT AN AWARD. SO JUST KEEP UP THE INCREDIBLE WORK. JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS. I THINK COMMISSIONER TOUCH, UH, BENNETT TOUCHED ON THIS, AND WE SO APPRECIATE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY OUR ADVOCATES, TO UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT IS TO PROVE ANIMAL CRUELTY. UH, JESSICA, I THINK YOU TOLD ME AT ONE POINT YOU WENT IN AND THE, UM, ATTORNEY THAT WAS REPRESENTING THE, UM, ACCUSED SAID, WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? IT'S JUST A DOG. MM-HMM . SO IF YOU CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND EXPAND ON THAT, HOW DIFFICULT THESE CASES ARE. YOUR VICTIM USUALLY CAN'T SPEAK OR IS DEAD RIGHT? UM, RIGHT. IF YOU CAN LET US KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE [00:35:01] ABOUT THAT. YEAH, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE A LOT WITH JURIES IN TERMS OF TALKING TO DEFENSE ATTORNEYS. THEY DON'T SEE THE POINT OF SPENDING TIME ON AN ANIMAL CRUELTY CASE. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I DO, AND ONE OF THE THINGS I DID LAST YEAR WAS PRESENT AT THE CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN CONFERENCE, WHERE, UM, WELL I DID TWO PRESENTATIONS. UM, I USED TO BE IN FAMILY VIOLENCE, SO THAT WAS MY KIND OF MY BREAD AND BUTTER AND MY PASSION. BUT NOW THAT I'M IN ANIMAL CRUELTY, UH, THERE'S A HUGE CORRELATION BETWEEN ANIMAL CRUELTY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE. SO ONE OF THE THINGS I TRY TO DO IN THESE CONFERENCES IS EDUCATE THE GENERAL COMMUNITY THAT THERE'S A CORRELATION. WE PROSECUTE AN ANIMAL ABUSER BECAUSE HE'S NOT JUST AN ANIMAL ABUSER. HE'S PROBABLY ALSO, UM, AN INTIMATE PARTNER, UH, ABUSER, A CHILD ABUSER, UM, MORE PRONE TO COMMIT ACTS OF VIOLENCE. UM, I DID A GIANT STUDY AND PRESENTED ON IT IN TERMS OF, UM, SCHOOL SHOOTERS, UM, AND MASS SHOOTINGS AND THE HISTORY OF ANIMAL CRUELTY. THEY HAVE, UM, ANIMAL CRUELTY IS A GIANT INDICATOR OF VIOLENCE IN AN INDIVIDUAL. SO IT'S, IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE PROSECUTING IT JUST BECAUSE IT'S A DOG, IT'S BECAUSE OF THE PROPENSITY OF VIOLENCE TO BE INFLICTED ON A HUMAN BEING AS WELL. UM, BUT ALSO BECAUSE THE DOG ALSO FEELS, ALSO SEES ALSO THINKS, YOU KNOW. UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GONNA CALL THE DOG MAN'S BEST FRIEND, WE SHOULD START ASKING TO RECIPROCATE THE RELATIONSHIP AND PROTECT THEM AS WELL. UM, IT'S REALLY HARD BECAUSE WHEN A DOG IS DEAD, THEY CAN'T TELL US WHAT HAPPENED. SO THAT'S WHY THE VET REPORT IS SO IMPORTANT, AND THAT'S WHY OPERATION KINDNESS AND SPCA PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN MY, IN MY PROSECUTIONS BECAUSE THEIR REPORTS TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED. IT TELLS THE STORY OF WHAT THE DOG WENT THROUGH OR WHAT THE CAT WENT THROUGH. UM, AND THAT'S HOW WE'RE ABLE TO ACTUALLY PROSECUTE THE CASES. UM, IN TERMS OF CASES WHERE THEY MAY BE MISDEMEANORS, UM, THOSE GET A LITTLE BIT TOUGHER. UM, BUT USUALLY, YOU KNOW, WE GO AHEAD AND PUSH THEM THROUGH. AND I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK, RARELY DO, DO WE EVER DISMISS A CASE. UM, I THINK BEFORE ME THERE WAS A LOT OF DISMISSALS ON ANIMAL CRUELTY CASES, AND THAT JUST KIND OF WAS THE UNDERSTANDING. BUT, UM, I DON'T DISMISS A CASE UNLESS I CANNOT PROVE IT. AND IF WE CAN GO FORWARD AND TRY THE CASE, WE'LL TRY THE CASE. I'VE TRIED THE, THE GRAND PRAIRIE SNAKE THAT GOT OUT, UM, HE DIDN'T WANNA TAKE ANYTHING AND WE TOOK IT TO TRIAL AND HE GOT CONVICTED BECAUSE HE DIDN'T PROPERLY HOUSE HIS VENOMOUS WEST AFRICAN SNAKE. UM, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY A ANIMAL CRUELTY CASE, IT'S A WILDLIFE CODE VIOLATION, BUT THAT'S A VERY DANGEROUS H ANIMAL THAT CAN BE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. UM, SO IN TERMS OF PROSECUTION, IT'S KIND OF LIKE, HOPEFULLY THE TIMES ARE CHANGING, BUT IT'S REALLY HARD TO GET, YOU KNOW, A, YOU KNOW, A MIDDLE, MID, MIDDLE AGED PERSON A LOT OF TIMES IN THE COMMUNITY WHO JUST WANTS TO WORK AND TAKE CARE OF THEIR FAMILY TO UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO SIT ON A JURY AND TAKE THESE CASES SERIOUSLY. BUT I THINK WE EVOLVE WITH TIME, WE'LL EVOLVE WITH TIME. OKAY. UM, AND I'VE JUST GOT A LIMITED TIME, SO I'LL BE QUICK. UH, I DID WANNA MENTION CITIZENS, A ADVOCATES THAT TAKE PICTURES, THEY PUT 'EM ONLINE, THEY TALK ABOUT CASES. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, DOG FIGHTING CASES, DOG FIGHTERS ARE NOT EASY, EASY TO CATCH. AND SO WHEN PEOPLE TAKE PICTURES, PUT 'EM OUT THERE, COULD THEY ACTUALLY BE HURTING A CASE? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT PEOPLE THAT TRESPASS TO TRY TO HELP ANIMALS THAT ACTUALLY HURTS YOUR CASE, IS THAT RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY. IT DOES. IT HURTS OUR CASE TREMENDOUSLY. UM, IT TAKES AWAY, OBVIOUSLY THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE, BUT IT TAKES AWAY THE INTEGRITY OF, YOU KNOW, LAW ENFORCEMENT GOING OUT THERE AND FIRST FINDING THE EVIDENCE AND IT BEING A, YOU KNOW, A NONPARTISAN CASE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PUT BEFORE A GRAND JURY OR EVEN A JURY. UM, I KNOW IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S HELPFUL WHEN CITIZENS CALLED OUT THE, THE CASES OR THE REPORTS OF ABUSE, BUT WE CAN TAKE IT FROM THERE. UM, WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GRATEFUL THAT CITIZENS WANNA HELP AND TAKE PICTURES, BUT THAT, THAT GETS IT A LITTLE BIT STICKIER AND IT CAUSES A GREAT PROBLEM WHEN PEOPLE ARE POSTING, UH, PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT SUSPECTS. UM, NOT NECESSARILY BECAUSE IT HURTS OUR CASE, BUT IT ALSO PUTS THEM IN DANGER. AND WHILE THEY'RE A, THEY ARE A SUSPECT, UM, I WOULD HATE FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN TO THEM BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING WAS POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I DO BELIEVE IN DUE PROCESS. I DO BELIEVE IN MAKING THE SYSTEM WORK THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE. SO IF I AM GOING TO ACCUSE SOMEONE OF ANIMAL CRUELTY, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE THEM THE BENEFIT OF DUE PROCESS AND, AND ME WORKING WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO INVESTIGATE THE CASE AND GET, YOU KNOW, LEGAL EVIDENCE AND GET EVERYTHING WE CAN TO, YOU KNOW, BRING FORTH TO A GRAND JURY OR IN A MISDEMEANOR COURT. UH, BUT YES, IT, IT DOES HURT THE CASE, JUST LIKE WHEN PEOPLE SUE EACH OTHER CIVILLY AND THEN WANT TO PROSECUTE CRIMINALLY, UM, IT, THE INTEGRITY OF THE CASE IS A LITTLE BIT HURT. SO I WOULD [00:40:01] ASK THAT IF CITIZENS WANNA CALL OUT A SUSPECT OR A SUSPECTED CASE OF ANIMAL CRUELTY CALL, CALL US, CALL DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT, CALL DAS, AND WE CAN TAKE IT FROM THERE. AND I PROMISE YOU, WE WILL INVESTIGATE IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, ESPECIALLY YOUR EXPLANATION OF KEEPING IT OFFLINE. JUST ONE, UM, ONE OTHER QUESTION. I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE OVER THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS, UM, DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THERE'S A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO HUNT FISH, RANCH, FARM IN THE STATE OF TEXAS MM-HMM. MM-HMM . AND SO YOU, YOU MENTIONED BRIEFLY ABOUT COCKFIGHTING, WHICH RIGHT NOW IS A STATE JAIL VERSUS FELONY. I, I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR YOUR WORK AT THE CAPITOL OF THIS SESSION COMING DOWN TO TESTIFY ALONG WITH OTHERS. SO IN, IN TRYING TO TALK TO THE CITIZENS ABOUT EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY, YOU SAID WE GOT STUCK IN CALENDARS. UM, WHAT CAN THEY DO? THEY CAN CALL THEIR STATE REPS AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO SUPPORT YOUR WORK, UM, TO, UH, STRENGTHEN THE PENALTIES FOR C**K FIGHTING AND DOG FIGHTING. DO YOU AGREE? EXACTLY. AND IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THAT THE LEGISLATOR DIDN'T CARE, IT'S JUST THAT WE BASIC TIME DO NOT WANT WEAR. HE, YEAH. COME ON, COMM, ONLINE, CAN YOU GO AHEAD AND MAKE NOT, AND NEXT WEEK WE'RE GETTING MEETING, SO I'M EXCITED. HOLD ON. I'M EXCITED GUYS. COMMISSIONERS, CAN YOU, OKAY. THANK YOU. GO AHEAD JESSICA. SORRY ABOUT THAT. THAT'S OKAY. NOW WE GOT SECOND CALENDARS. UH, LIKE I WAS SAYING EARLIER, IT WASN'T THAT THE LEGISLATOR DIDN'T CARE, IT'S JUST THAT AS WE SAW, UM, THE SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAM, THE RE REDISTRICTING, ALL THAT TOOK A LOT OF TIME. UM, AND IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE ARE IN SESSION FOR EIGHT YEARS, WE MIGHT'VE GOTTEN TO BE ABLE TO DO IT. BUT IT'S, IT'S JUST CALL YOUR STATE REP, CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR, UM, AND HAVE THEM GET IT ON THEIR RADAR, AND THAT WAY THEY CAN ACTUALLY PUSH FOR IT, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO TIME TO GET IT ON THE FLOOR. WELL, I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR COMING TODAY, SHARING ALL THIS WISDOM, UM, BETWEEN YOURSELF, UM, DPD, OPERATION KINDNESS, SPCA, AND OTHER COUNTIES AND AND BEYOND, ESPECIALLY COURTNEY BURNS. WE CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL YOUR WORK AND WE ARE SO APPRECIATIVE. AND AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU NEED BODY CAMS, IF YOU NEED ANYTHING FOR YOUR PARTICULAR UNIT, PLEASE LET US KNOW BECAUSE I KNOW THAT, UM, THE LATE GREAT SKIP TRUMBLE WAS VERY SERIOUS WHEN HE AND SOME OTHER CITIZENS GOT TOGETHER AND PUT THIS FORWARD, AND WE JUST WE'RE VERY PROUD OF YOUR UNIT. THANKS AGAIN. THANK YOU GUYS, I APPRECIATE IT. OKAY, NEXT WE ARE GONNA GO AHEAD AND, UM, MOVE FORWARD WITH THE AGENDA AND WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM, UM, IS IT ERICA OR PAUL? UH, ERICA. ERICA BENNETT COMING UP. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. UM, I'M ERICA BENNETT. I AM THE ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER OF, UH, SHELTER AT DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES. I'M PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON OUR DISCOMFORT THAT IS CURRENTLY IN THE BUILDING. SO I JUST WANNA PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUR INITIAL RESPONSE. SO ON JULY 31ST IN THE EVENING, WE RECEIVED RESULTS BACK FOR DISTEMPER IN OUR CONTAGIOUS ANIMAL WARD, OUR DOG WARD. WE HAD THREE TESTS COME BACK POSITIVE FOR DISTEMPER ON THAT EVENING. AND ONCE I RECEIVED THE, ONCE WE RECEIVED THOSE RESULTS, WE, UM, STARTED AN ACTION PLAN TO MITIGATE THE DISEASE SPREAD IN THE SHELTER AND TO ENSURE LIFE LIFESAVING OF THE DOGS THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY IN THE SHELTER. SO THAT INCLUDED REACHING OUT TO BEST FRIENDS, UM, ANIMAL SOCIETY WHERE WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH VETERINARY EXPERTS FROM ACROSS THE NATION THAT HAVE WORKED WITH OUTBREAKS, UM, IN RESPONSE TO DISTEMPER AND OTHER CONTAGIOUS DISEASES THAT OCCUR IN SHELTERS. UH, ADDITIONALLY, THESE VETS HAVE ALSO WORKED IN RESEARCH IN WISCONSIN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, AND WE PREVIOUSLY WORKED WITH THEM WHEN WE RESPONDED TO OUR CAV OUTBREAK IN 2022. UM, AND SO CURRENTLY THAT, THAT, UH, RESPONSE IS WE ARE REVIEWING, UM, PROTOCOLS AND, UM, REVIEWING JUST MOVEMENT IN THE SHELTER AND OPERATIONS IN THE SHELTER, AND WORKING WITH FRIENDS OF DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES TO PROVIDE PCR AND TITER TESTING FOR THE DOGS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN THE SHELTER, AND TO WRITE PROTOCOLS THAT ENSURE LIFESAVING OF THE DOGS THAT WE HAVE. UM, IN SHELTER, DR. ABBY AND DR. ERIN WERE ON SITE, UH, TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY OR MONDAY AND WE MONDAY AND TUESDAY OF THIS WEEK. SO WE ARE REVIEWING, UM, THE STATUSES OF THE DOGS THAT WE HAVE IN SHELTER, WHAT OUR CURRENT PLANS ARE, AND WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS ARE, WHICH INCLUDES, UM, SINCE WE'RE CURRENTLY [00:45:01] ON A LIMITED INTAKE RIGHT NOW, UM, WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO RESUME THAT AND WE'LL BE DISCUSSING THAT NEXT WEEK. UM, CURRENTLY I'M HOLDING TOWN HALLS FOR OUR FOSTERS AND VOLUNTEERS WEEKLY ON WEDNESDAYS FROM SIX TO SEVEN TO GIVE THEM UPDATES ON CURRENT DOGS THAT ARE TESTING POSITIVE DOGS THAT ARE IN FOSTER AND OUR CURRENT PROCEDURES WITH TREATING THOSE DOGS THAT ARE IN FOSTER. AND THEN JUST GENERAL, UM, OPERATIONS DAILY THAT ARE, THAT WE ARE INSTITUTING AND POLICIES THAT WE'RE INSTITUTING IN THE SHELTER TO MITIGATE, SPREAD AND ENSURE LIFESAVING WITH, UM, THE DOGS THAT WE HAVE. WE ALSO HOSTED A RESCUE TOWN HALL FOR OUR RESCUES THAT HAVE DOGS OR LOOKING TO TAKE DOGS FROM THE SHELTER. AND WE HAD BEST FRIENDS ON THOSE CALLS AS WELL, SO THEY COULD ANSWER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS INTO, IN REGARDS TO DIS DISEASE SPREAD FOR THOSE ANIMALS. I'M SORRY, IF I TALK TOO FAST, I GET NERVOUS. . OKAY. OPEN FOR QUESTIONS. OH YEAH, RECOGNIZE. UM, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND OPEN IT FOR QUESTIONS. LET'S, UM, I'M GONNA CALL ON COMMISSIONER GEHRING FIRST, AND IF THE OTHERS HAVE QUESTIONS, UM, POP ON AFTER HER OTHERWISE, THEN WE'LL START WITH THE HORSESHOE. YOUR, YOUR TURN. COMMISSIONER GARRIN. THANK YOU. UM, OBVIOUSLY, AND FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING REGARDING THIS OUTBREAK. I, I KNOW EVERY TIME THIS HAPPENS, YOU GUYS MUST JUST BE LIKE, JUST YOUR HEARTS DROP IN YOUR SEAT. I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THAT. WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING. UM, IS THIS NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR TO HAVE AN OUTBREAK LIKE THIS? IS THIS, IS THIS A SEASONAL THING? IS THERE, OBVIOUSLY, I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE TAKING ANIMALS IN FROM EVERYWHERE, SO I DON'T REALLY KNOW THAT THERE'S MUCH YOU CAN DO BEYOND ALL THE THINGS YOU'RE ALREADY DOING, UM, TO HELP PRE PREVENT A BREAKOUT, AN OUTBREAK LIKE THIS. BUT IS THERE, I GUESS I WOULD JUST SAY IS IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS, IS THIS FAIRLY NORMAL? ARE OTHER SHELTERS DEALING WITH THIS? AND, UM, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU ALL NEED, OBVIOUSLY BESIDES MORE MONEY IN A BIGGER SHELTER TO HELP FIGHT THIS IN THE FUTURE. WHAT ELSE, WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE OR WHAT ELSE CAN THE CITY DO TO HELP? SO USUALLY, UM, DISTEMPER IS SPREAD LIKE VIA WET SURFACES. SO USUALLY IT'S A DISEASE THAT WE SEE IN THE WINTER, BUT I'M ASSUMING POTENTIALLY BECAUSE OF THE WET SEASON THAT WE HAD, THERE WAS SOME SPREAD, BUT THEN JUST, UM, IT CAN, WHEN WE HAVE OVERPOPULATION IN THE SHELTER, IT SPREADS QUICKER. AND SO WE SAW A QUICKER SPREAD IN THE SHELTER RIGHT NOW. UM, RIGHT NOW FOR NEEDS, WE, WE ARE WORKING WITH, UH, FO WITH REGARDS TO TESTING AND THEY'RE SUPPORTING OUR TESTING EFFORTS TO, YOU KNOW, QUICKER BE ABLE TO QUICKER MOVE THROUGH THE LIMITED INTAKE SO THEN WE CAN RESUME NORMAL ACTIVITIES. AND, UM, WE HAVE STARTED A PROTOCOL AND WROTE A PROTOCOL WITH OUR VETS AND THE VETS FROM BEST FRIENDS TO, UM, BE ABLE TO TREAT DOGS THAT ARE LOW DISTEMPER POSITIVE OR DISTEMPER POSITIVE THAT ARE IN FOSTER. AND SO WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF SUCCESS WITH THAT. AND SO THAT'S VERY ENCOURAGING. UM, A LOT OF TIMES, UM, IF DISTEMPER IS NOT TREATED, IT IS FATAL. AND SO THAT IS WHY WE'RE TAKING THIS, THIS, UM, OUTBREAK SO SERIOUSLY, BECAUSE IF, IF DOGS CAN TRACK DISTEMPER AND DO NOT GET TREATED, THEY WILL DIE. IF WE ARE ABLE TO LIMIT THE, UM, EFFECTS OF DISTEMPER IF WE ARE TREATED, IF THEY, IF WE'RE TREATING DOGS AND, UM, CATCHING THOSE SIGNS EARLY SO WE CAN MITIGATE THE, THE END STAGE SYMPTOMS OF DISTEMPER. AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE BEING SO PROACTIVE IN THE RESPONSE AND THEN WANTING TO TREAT DOGS THAT ARE POSITIVE OR, OR APPEAR TO BE POSITIVE THAT ARE IM FOSTER. AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OH, YOU HAVE THE REST OF MY TIME. THANK YOU. UM, COMMISSIONER ROPP, ANY QUESTIONS? YOU'RE ON MUTE. I THINK I FIGURED THIS THING OUT BY NOW. UM, I WAS CURIOUS HOW IT SPREAD AND, AND SHE GAVE THAT ANSWER, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER HILL, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER HANSON, COMMISSIONER SIDE. OKAY. UM, IF YOU GUYS ALL CAN MUTE YOURSELF, I WOULD TRULY APPRECIATE IT. LET'S START WITH, UM, COMMISSIONER SACKER. OH, I HAVE THE MICROPHONE. OH, SORRY. THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. I CAN WALK IT ALSO. IS IT REALLY HOT IN HERE OR NO? OKAY, GO AHEAD. IT'S USUALLY FREEZING IN THESE, BUT THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. I'LL TAKE, I'LL TAKE WARM ACTUALLY, I'M USUALLY LIKE THIS. UM, OKAY. SO I GUESS [00:50:01] I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU ERICA AND TO THE DAS TEAM BECAUSE THEY REACTED REALLY QUICKLY TO THIS. I'VE BEEN ON A COUPLE OF THE VOLUNTEER, UM, MEETINGS ON WEDNESDAYS AND THEY'VE BEEN REALLY INFORMATIVE. UM, SO I WOULD JUST LIKE IT IF YOU COULD SHARE WITH EVERYBODY, UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DISTEMPER IN GENERAL AND THE VACCINE. I KNOW THAT YOU'VE SAID THAT, UM, IT'S VA DOGS THAT ARE VACCINATED HAVE 99% CHANCE OF NOT CONTRACTING THIS TEMPER. SO YOU GUYS HAVE REINSTITUTED THE BOOSTER MM-HMM . PRO PROTOCOLS. YES. WHICH I THINK HAS BEEN GREAT. YEAH. AND IS GONNA HELP MOVE IT THROUGH, RIGHT? YEP. AND THEN ALSO LIKE THIS IS, THESE ARE, I'M GUESSING DOGS FROM THE COMMUNITY THAT HAVE NOT BEEN VACCINATED THAT ARE COMING. SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO GET PEOPLE TO VACCINATE THEIR DOGS? DO WE NEED TO PROVIDE MORE LOW COST SPAY NEUTER? I MEAN, NOT SPAY NEUTER, UH, VACCINATION CLINICS. UM, YEAH, LIKE I KNOW THESE ARE GONNA COME THROUGH AND IT HAPPENS, BUT, UM, YEAH. WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP IT IN THE FUTURE? YEAH, I'LL START WITH, SO WHEN WE CONTRACT TRACE, WE TRACE BACK, UH, WHAT WE BELIEVE WAS A CLOSE TO PATIENT, ZERO TO A LITTER OF SEVEN PUPPIES. OH, WOW. AND SO THEY WERE CAME IN, SO THEY MOST LIKELY WERE UNVACCINATED OR THEY CAN'T, PUPPIES CAN BE VACCINATED AND STILL GET DISTEMPERED. SO ANY DOG THAT'S UNDER 16 WEEKS, EVEN IF THEY HAD VACCINES EVERY TWO WEEKS FROM THE DAY THEY WERE BORN CAN STILL GET DISTEMPER. AND SO, UM, IT'S VER THE, THE IMMUNE RESPONSE FOR DOGS UNDER 16 WEEKS IS VER VARIABLE. AND SO WE CAN'T SAY WITH ACCURACY, YES. IF A DOG UNDER 16 WEEKS RECEIVES THREE VACCINES, IT'S FINE. SO AFTER THAT 16 WEEKS TIME, IF THEY RECEIVE TWO VACCINES, SO IF I RECEIVE A VACCINE AT 18 WEEKS AND 20 WEEKS, WE CONSIDER THOSE DOGS FULLY VACCINATED AGAINST DISTEMPER. AND SO AT THAT TIME, THEY WILL NOT SPREAD, UM, OR CONTRACT THAT DISEASE. SO LIKE I HAVE A DOG AT HOME THAT WAS A LOW POSITIVE FOR DISTEMPER. MY DOG'S FULLY VACCINATED, HE'S SEVEN YEARS OLD, THEY'RE NOT MIGUEL, MY DOG IS NOT GONNA GET DISTEMPER BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH RYDER MY FOSTER DOG HAS DIS, POTENTIALLY HAS DISTEMPER, UM, PUPPIES JUST CAN BE VERY VARIABLE. SO MOST LIKELY THOSE DOGS CAME IN WITH IT, OR THEY CONTRACTED IT ON DAY ONE COMING INTO THE SHELTER, MAYBE FROM SOMEBODY ELSE THAT WASN'T SHOWING SYMPTOMS. AND THEN IT SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE THROUGH THE SHELTER. UM, WE HAVE GREAT RESPONSE TO OUR, UH, SPAY OR OUR, I'M SORRY. YEAH, I KNOW OUR VACCINE CLINICS, THEY'RE VERY POPULAR. AND SO LIKE THEY, YOU KNOW, ON SATURDAY MORNINGS THAT'S, I WORK ON SATURDAY MORNINGS AND I ALWAYS FORGET THAT I NEED TO GET THERE EARLIER AND I ROLL IN AT EIGHT 30, LIKE, OH NO, I FORGOT. AND THERE'S NO PARKING. SO WE HAVE GREAT, GREAT, UH, COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO OUR VACCINE CLINICS. AND SO, BUT IF YOU HAVE THAT UNDERAGE PUPPY, IF THEY'RE NOT GETTING VACCINATED AT THE CORRECT TIME, OR AFTER THERE'S 16 WEEKS OLD, THEN THEY CAN STILL SPREAD THAT DISEASE. THAT'S INTERESTING. IT JUST MAKES ME THINK ANOTHER REASON TO NOT HAVE PUPPIES IN THE SHELTER. . YEAH. I MEAN, THEY'RE HIGH RISK, RIGHT? MM-HMM. AND SO, LIKE EVEN WE, WE WERE, WE HAVE TWO PUPPIES IN FOSTER, OR HAD TWO PUPPIES IN FOSTER RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE TREATING. AND IT'S BEEN A ROLLERCOASTER WITH 'EM. UNFORTUNATELY, ONE DID HAVE TO BE EUTHANIZED YESTERDAY. AND SO I THINK THAT THAT SHOWS THE TRUE SEVERITY OF THE DISEASE IN THE, OR THE VIRUS. AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE TRYING THE BEST THAT WE CAN TO LIMIT INTAKE JUST BECAUSE IT IS DEADLY. AND SO IT CAN CAUSE OTHER, WE'RE CAUSING DOGS HARM AT THIS TIME COMING INTO THE SHELTER UNTIL WE HAVE A COMPLETE LOOK AT WHAT THE, THE DISEASE IS IN THE SHELTER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TRANSPARENCY AND YOUR WORK ON IT. SO THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. DO YOU HAVE ANY, UM, COMMENTS? COMMISSIONER BENNETT? CAN YOU HEAR ME? OH, THAT'S OUR TIME. I'LL, IF SO, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START THE TIME NOW. YES. OKAY. I HAVE A, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. SO I'M GONNA SAY I ONLY KNOW VERY LIMITED FROM WEBMD ABOUT DISTEMPER AND THEN WHAT YOU'VE TOLD US TODAY. SO, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT DAS IS CERTAINLY STRUGGLING TO MAINTAIN, BUT IF VACCINATED DOGS ARE ALMOST NOT GONNA GET IT, LIKE YOU SAID, YOUR OLDER DOG, IS THERE NOT A WAY TO POTENTIALLY LIKE SEPARATE OUT, LIKE WHEN I'VE FOUND A DOG ON THE STREET, I HAVE A VET THAT I COULD TAKE IT TO THAT KEEPS THAT DOG ISOLATED AND SEPARATED UNTIL HE CAN GET IT VACCINATED AND ALL CHECKED OUT. AND SO WHILE, WHILE THAT MIGHT NOT BE REALISTIC, COULDN'T THERE BE LIKE A, LIKE A WING WHERE LIKE PUPPIES ARE, AND LIKE DOGS NEW INTAKES THAT ARE SEPARATED FROM THE GENERAL POPULATION OF THE OTHER DOGS TO KEEP THE WI WILD WIDESPREAD FROM GOING? I THINK IT'S JUST THE WHOLE CONTACT IN THE SHELTER. SO WE ARE TRYING TO MITIGATE RISKS IN THE SHELTER. SO OFFICERS ARE VACCINATING WHEN THE TRUCKS COME IN, IN THEIR TRUCKS, SO THEN THEY'RE NOT TOUCHING OTHER PARTS OF THE SHELTER. BUT 'CAUSE IT'S CLOSED CORRIDORS, IT'S [00:55:01] INSIDE, THERE'S A LOT OF ABILITY FOR THE DISEASE TO BE TRANSMITTED. WE ARE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH, UH, I MEAN PETS, OUR PET SUPPORT TEAM IS WORKING DIRECTLY WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT BRING IN DOGS SAYING, OKAY, HEY, WE HAVE THIS, IT CAN BE, IT'S, IT'S CONTAGIOUS AND IT CAN BE DEADLY. ARE YOU ABLE TO HOLD ONTO THIS DOG FOR X AMOUNT OF DAYS? WE'RE VACCINATING THOSE DOGS, SO THEY'RE GETTING THEIR VACCINE AND THEN THEY'RE COMING BACK FOR ANOTHER ONE, AND THEN THEY'RE ABLE TO COME IN AFTER THAT, SO THEN WE CAN MITIGATE THAT RISK, RIGHT? IF I HAVE A FULLY VACCINATED ADULT DOG THAT'S COMING IN, THEN THEY'RE MUCH, THEY'RE GOING TO SHOW THAT DISEASE OR THE IMMUNE RESPONSE THAT WE WANT AND THEN BE LIKE AN END, A STOP GAP FOR SPREADING THE DISEASE IN THE SHELTER. SO WE ARE WORKING AND THERE'S BEEN A GREAT RESPONSE FROM THE COMMUNITY FOR OUR FO OUR FOSTER HERO PROGRAM. AND THEY'RE ABLE TO TAKE, AND THEN MOST OF THE TIME THOSE DOGS AREN'T EVEN COMING. THEY MIGHT BE COMING BACK FOR A BOOSTER, BUT THEY'RE NOT COMING INTO THE SHELTER. 'CAUSE THAT PERSON DECIDED TO ADOPT THAT PERSON DECIDED, FOUND THEIR NEIGHBOR WANTS TO ADOPT, ET CETERA, OR THEY'RE GONNA BE A GENERAL FOSTER AND KEEP THAT PUP IN THE HOME INSTEAD OF BRINGING IT INTO THE SHELTER WHERE IT'S AT HIGH RISK OF, IT COULD BE AT HIGH RISK OF, OF CATCHING DISTEMPER. AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION SLASH COMMENT, IT BRINGS IT BACK TO WHATEVER RESOURCES WE CAN DO FOR MORE, MORE CLINICS, FREE CLINICS. AND I DON'T KNOW IF, IF HOW MUCH OF, OF THE ABILITY, IF WE'VE HAD OF GOING INTO OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS WITH FREE OR LOW COST CLINICS. AND THEN OF COURSE I'M BIG, I MEAN, SPAY NEUTER, SPAY NEUTER ALL OVER AGAIN. BUT, UM, WHATEVER. I KNOW THAT WORKING AT THE COURTHOUSE, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY. AND ONE OF THE MAIN QUESTIONS I GET IS WHEN PEOPLE KNOW THAT I'M, I'M THE DOG LADY , UM, WHAT, WHERE CAN WE GET CARE FOR OUR DOG WHEN WE CAN'T AFFORD IT? AND IT'S SO THEY'RE ABLE TO GET THE FOOD RIGHT, BUT THEY'RE NOT ABLE, THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY'RE ABLE TO TAKE THE DOG TO A VET. AND SO MY QUESTION SLASH COMMENT IS LIKE, WHAT COULD WE DO ABOUT THAT? UM, WHAT RESOURCES DO WE HAVE AND WHAT, IF ANYTHING, CAN WE DO TO HELP WITH THAT? BUT THANK YOU. SO FOR, YEAH, FIRST BAY NEUTER, IT'S SNN AND TCAP WE WORK DIRECTLY WITH. AND THEN WE HAVE DEAR HEART THAT COMES THE THIRD FRIDAY EVERY MONTH. AND WE DO HAVE A PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE, UM, FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT THAT I THINK IN GENERAL, MEDICAL TREATMENT IS THE LARGEST GAP THAT WE SEE ACROSS THE NATION IN SHELTERING. SO IF I NEED TO GO IN FOR VACCINES, WE SEE A LARGE GAP IN BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE, NOT NECESSARILY VACCINES, BUT WHATEVER PREVENTATIVE CARE. UM, THERE'S A LARGE GAP ACROSS THE NATION IN THAT. AND SO DPA, WHICH IS DALLAS PETS ALIVE, DOES PROVIDE SERVICES FOR, UM, OWNERS WITH THEIR PAST PROGRAMS. SO THAT'S A POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE TO SHELTER SURRENDER. AND SO THEY WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT AND THEN BE ABLE TO GET SOME OF THAT MEDICAL CARE FOR THE, FOR PEOPLE THAT AREN'T ABLE TO DIRECTLY PROVIDE THAT. AND, AND THESE PEOPLE GENERALLY DON'T HAVE LIKE A CAR EITHER. MM-HMM . SO LIKE, THANK YOU SO MUCH. YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. AND DDPA DOES HAVE, UM, THEY HAVE LIKE ABILITY, THEY USE THEIR VOLUNTEERS TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ANIMALS BACK AND FORTH TO THE CLINIC IF NEEDED. AND GRANTED, LIKE, THEY MAY NOT HAVE SEVEN, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY IT WOULD NEED, NEED TO COVER ALL THE THINGS, BUT THEY ARE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE COMMUNITY AND THEY'RE, THEY TRY THEIR BEST TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT SUPPORT WITH THAT LARGE GAP IN MEDICAL THAT'S JUST SEEN ACROSS THE NATION. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER. MATTHIAS, IF YOU'RE READY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVING US THAT INFORMATION ABOUT THE OUTBREAK AND THANKS FOR WORKING SO HARD TO KEEP IT CONTAINED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. UH, DO WE HAVE AN ETA WHEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO OPEN INTAKE AGAIN? WE'RE GONNA MEET NEXT WEEK AND JUST REVIEW OUR, OUR TEST RESULTS AND THEN, UM, JUST CURRENT STATUS IN THE ROOMS WE'RE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH BEST FRIENDS AND THE TWO BETS, DR. AARON AND DR. ABBY, JUST TO REVIEW THE ROOMS AND THEN SEE WHAT OUR NEXT PROCESSES IS. OUR, OUR GOAL RIGHT NOW IS TO MOVE AS MANY EXPOSED DOGS OUT OF THE BUILDING. 'CAUSE THE LESS EXPOSED DOGS THAT WE HAVE, THE LESS DISEASE THAT WE MM-HMM . POTENTIALLY HAVE IN THE BUILDING. AND SO THEN WE CAN MOVE FASTER IN, UM, REOPENING INTAKE. BUT WE DON'T HAVE AN A DIRECT ETA YET. IT'LL BE NEXT WEEK WE'RE MEETING. OKAY. I SEE A LOT. I LIVE IN PLEASANT GROVE AND I SEE SIGNS ALL THE TIME. LOW COST, UH, VACCINES HERE, SUNDAY, NINE TO THREE. HOW DO WE HELP THESE PEOPLE GET THE WORD OUT? YEAH, JUST KEEP SHARING THE MESSAGE. I MEAN, IF THE WORD IS OUT, I MEAN, WE'RE, WE HAVE, LIKE, IF YOU SAW OUR PARKING LOT ON SATURDAY MORNINGS, LIKE, WE'RE SERVING SO MANY. I KNOW. I'M SURE. I THINK KAREN AND SHELBY SAW IT ON SATURDAY. IT'S LIKE WRAPPED AROUND. UM, AND THAT TCAP WAS LAST WEEKEND, SO THE WEEKEND BEFORE [01:00:01] WAS SNN AND SNN. THEY PROVIDE FREE VACCINES. TCAP IS LOW COST, AND SO SNN IS EVEN LONGER THAN WHAT OUR TCAP VACCINE CLINIC IS. AND THEY PROVIDE SERVICES ACROSS, LIKE, THEY'LL BE IN LIKE AN O'REILLY'S PARKING LOT AND OTHER PLACES. SO WE DO HAVE THOSE ON OUR WEBSITE. AND I GUESS JUST KEEP SHOWING PEOPLE LIKE, HEY, THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN GET VACCINES AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IF YOU'RE READY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME. COMMISSIONER, ARE THERE RE RESOURCES THAT CAN BE, UH, THAT YOU NEED, UH, CURRENTLY, LIKE PPE OR OTHER ITEMS? CAN YOU JUST QUICKLY SHARE WHAT SOME OF THAT IS? YES, WE DO. WE ARE RUNNING THROUGH OUR PPE BECAUSE WE HAVE STRICTER PPE PROTOCOLS DUE TO THE SEVERITY OF THE VIRUS. SO WE ARE RUNNING THROUGH PPE. WE DO HAVE A LINK ON OUR WEBSITE TO OUR AMAZON WISHLIST THAT HAS PPE ON THERE. UM, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY THE BIGGEST NEED AT THIS POINT IN TIME. YEAH. UM, PPE, WE DO HAVE LIKE, VOLUNTEERS THAT ARE BRINGING FOOD, WHICH HAS BEEN LOVELY, AND LIKE OTHERS, LIKE SNACKS AND STUFF FOR THE STAFF, SINCE WE'RE KIND OF LIKE, THEY'RE KIND OF COURT, NOT COURT, THEY'RE ISOLATED TO THEIR INDIVIDUAL ROOMS, SO THEY'RE NOT SPREADING BETWEEN ROOMS. AND IT'S BEEN LIKE EVERY DAY IS NEW UPDATES FOR THE STAFF AND THEY'RE TRYING TO STAY WITH IT AND PRACTICE ALL THE PROTOCOLS. BUT PPE IS OUR LARGEST NEED RIGHT NOW. OKAY. YEAH. AND I, I THINK THIS JUST ENOUGH PEANUT BUTTER I HEARD. OKAY. YEAH, I GOT THAT MESSAGE. I THINK THIS HIGHLIGHTS JUST THE CHALLENGES THAT THE CURRENT SHELTER IS FACING WITH THE UNDER-RESOURCED. YEAH. UM, THE STATE OF BEING UNDER-RESOURCED, YOU KNOW, BEING THERE. I THINK LAST YEAR, WHAT ALMOST JUST UNDER 20% OF 3 1 1 CALLS WERE RELATED TO DAS. SO, UM, BUT YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THAT. I'LL CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE, BUT YOU HAVE THE REST OF MY TIME. THANK YOU, SIR. OKAY. YOU SEE, IF YOU'RE READY, I'LL START YOUR TWO. UM, ARE YOU GUYS GONNA KEEP THE TWO SHOT, THE BOOSTER OKAY. AFTER THIS GOING FORWARD? YES. WE'LL BE KEEPING THE BOOSTER, UM, FOR, AND THEN FOLLOWING THE DIS THE, UM, VACCINE PROTOCOL FOR ANYTHING UNDER 16 WEEKS. SO IF, LET'S SAY A PUPPY IS BORN IN THE SHELTER, OR IT COMES IN AT ZERO DAYS, WE'LL BE GIVING VACCINES EVERY TWO WEEKS UNTIL 16 WEEKS. AND THEN THEY'LL RECEIVE TWO AFTER 16 WEEKS, AND THEN THEY'LL BE COMPLETED WITH FULLY BEING FULLY VACCINE AND THE, THE ADULT DOGS, YOU'LL GO BACK TO DOING THE BOOSTER PROTOCOL. YEAH. OKAY. COOL. YES. UM, AND THEN I WANTED TO ADDRESS TOO THE, UH, LAYOUT OF THE SHELTER. SO, UH, WHEN THE CURRENT BUILDING WAS BUILT, THE COLORED PODS OR THE ADOPTION PODS, AND THE REST OF IT WAS LFD, LOST AND FOUND DOGS. RIGHT? THAT WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO STORE DOGS THAT WOULD JUST BE PASSING THROUGH. AS WE WELL KNOW, THAT IS ALL ADOPTION PODS NOW. SO WHEN SOMEONE IN THE PUBLIC SEES AN EMPTY ROOM OF KENNELS, ESPECIALLY DURING THE DISEASE OUTBREAK, THAT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE MOVING THROUGH AND KEEPING THIS CLEAN BREAK, BREAK ISOLATION. SO THEY'RE CLEARING IT OUT, MOVING THE DOGS IN CERTAIN AREAS. I WANNA COMMEND MANAGER BENNETT AND HER TEAM. UM, I'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, UH, HELPING OUT DAS IN ALL THESE WAYS FOR YEARS AND YEARS THROUGH MANY, UH, ROUNDS OF MANAGEMENT AND THE CLEAN. I KNOW TODAY WE MIGHT FIND OUT, UH, IF THERE'S A BREAK IN THE CLEAN BREAK, BUT THIS HAS GONE BETTER THAN ANY OF THE PREVIOUS ONES AS FAR AS HOLDING CLEAN BREAK AND THE PROTOCOLS. SO YOU GUYS ARE DOING PHENOMENALLY. UM, I KNOW IT'S REALLY TOUGH. EVERYBODY'S WEARING THE STAFF AND THE VOLUNTEERS ARE WEARING PPE AND A HUNDRED DEGREE WEATHER. AS YOU KNOW, YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN ABLE TO OPEN UP SOME OF THE PODS FOR THEIR YARDS. THE DOGS ARE NOT STUCK IN THEIR KENNELS ALL THE TIME. THAT'S REALLY FANTASTIC TO SEE. UM, SUPER GREAT JOB. THANK YOU. . I THINK DISTEMPER DOES, LIKE OUR LAST, UH, OUTBREAK WAS CIV, AND SO DISTEMPER LOOKS DIFFERENT. YEAH. JUST, UH, CIV IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS, BUT NOT HIGHLY DEADLY. SO IT JUST, IT LIKED TO, CIV LIKED TO SPREAD AND IT WAS NOT FUN. SO I THINK SINCE WE PAUSED MOVEMENT AND DOING ALL THE THINGS WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING, HOPEFULLY, I'M HOPING TAKE, YES. OKAY. . UH, NOTHING FROM ME. THANK YOU. GREAT. UM, CHAIR BA BOSKY, IF YOU, NO, UM, DID WE WANNA GO BACK TO, I BELIEVE WE DIDN'T GET TO HEAR FROM COMMISSIONER SED AND COMMISSIONER HANSEN. THEIR VIDEO WASN'T ABLE TO BE DISPLAYED. DO WE WANNA TRY ONE MORE TIME? OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND NOW WE ARE CALLING UP, UM, DIRECTOR RAMON TO GIVE HIS REPORT. ALL RIGHT. GOOD MORNING. I HOPE THIS HAS BEEN VERY EDUCATIONAL FOR EVERYONE WHO'S IN ATTENDANCE AND WATCHING ONLINE. WE APPRECIATE THOSE WHO CAME AND SPOKE AND PROVIDED UPDATES. AND WHAT I'M HERE TODAY IS TO GIVE YOU A QUARTER THREE UPDATE FOR DAS IN RELATIONS TO OUR EFFORTS, OUR PERFORMANCE, AND [01:05:01] SOME OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT WE'VE HAD SO FAR. UH, AGAIN, MY NAME IS PAUL RAMON. I AM THE DIRECTOR FOR DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES. I'D LIKE TO THANK MY TEAM FOR BEING HERE. I HAVE WITH ME MY, UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, VICTORIA CHEATHAM BENNETT, UH, OF COURSE YOU'VE MET ERICA BENNETT, UH, WHO IS OUR, OUR A GM OVER, UH, SHELTER OPERATIONS. I HAVE LAUREN WILSON, OUR BUDGET BUSINESS MANAGER, AND THEN AJ, WHO'S OUR, UH, DATA GURU, UH, IN THE BUILDING. UH, WITH THAT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. JILLIAN, IT DOES APPEAR FROZEN COMMISSIONERS ONLINE IN THE ROOM. JUST BEAR WITH US ONE MOMENT. WE'RE GONNA HAVE OUR IT TAKE A LOOK AT THIS, UM, COMMISSIONERS ONLINE. CAN YOU SEE THIS, THE PRESENTATION? BECAUSE I'M ACTUALLY NOT SEEING THE RED SQUARE FOR SHARING. UH, COMMISSIONER HANSEN, I SEE YOU ONLINE. ARE YOU ABLE TO SEE THE PRESENTATION? I CANNOT. THERE'S NOT. OKAY, SO LET'S TRY AGAIN. HOW ABOUT NOW? YES, NOW IT'S WORKING. WE CAN TRY, BUT I DON'T, I CAN SEE IT. ALL RIGHT. APOLOGIES FOR THAT. THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME. OKAY. AGAIN, MY NAME IS PAUL RAMON, THE DIRECTOR FOR DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES. I'M HERE TO GIVE THE FISCAL YEAR 25, QUARTER THREE, UH, PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW FOR DAS. AGAIN, THIS IS, YEAH. IS YOUR MICROPHONE NOW? YES. IT'S ON CLOSER TO YOUR, I CAN'T HEAR YOU. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? OKAY. THIS, UH, IS A PRESENTATION IN REGARDS TO OUR QUARTER THREE UPDATE FOR APRIL THROUGH JUNE OF 2025. OKAY. UH, WHAT THIS SLIDE REPRESENTS IS OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT ARE RECORDED. AND WHAT WE HAVE IS TO THE, THE GOAL IS TO HOLD TWO FREE VACCINE CLINICS IN SOUTHERN DALLAS IN FISCAL YEAR 25. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE EXCEEDED THAT GOAL BY HOSTING EIGHT. UH, I KNOW THE QUESTION IS CON IS ABOUT RESOURCES AND AVAILABILITY. WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO ALL THAT WE CAN TO PUSH OUT VACCINES AS THEY ARE THE BEST PREVENTATIVE MEASURE, AND, AND LOOKING FOR SU UH, SUPPORT IN THESE AREAS AS WELL THROUGH OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS. UH, THE OTHER GOAL IS TO PERFORM 2000 SUBSIDIZED SPAY AND NEUTER IN THE COMMUNITY. UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY EXCEEDED THAT GOAL AS OF QUARTER THREE, AND WE CONTINUE TO EXCEED THAT GOAL AS WE WORK TO REDUCE THE POPULATION OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, AND HOPEFULLY DETERS SOME OF THESE ANIMALS THAT ARE COMING INTO THE SHELTER. UH, PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN DOGS AND CATS FOSTERED, OF COURSE, THAT GOAL APPEARS TO BE OFF, AND THAT'S BECAUSE LAST YEAR WE INCORPORATED OUR, UH, OUR FO OUR, OUR CATION PROGRAM, WHICH INCREASED OUR FOSTER VOL, UH, VOLUNTEERISM, UH, AND, AND ABILITIES. AND IT'S KIND OF SKEWING THAT NUMBER. SO EVENTUALLY WE'LL GET BACK TO THE POSITIVE SIDE OF, OF THIS GRAPH. UH, PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN DOGS AND CATS TRANSFERRED TO RESCUE PARTNERS. UH, WE'VE CONTINUED TO EXCEED THAT GOAL, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO OUR BEST TO SAVE AS MANY LIVES AND GET THESE ANIMALS TO A, A, A RESCUE OR A PARTNER WHO CAN PROVIDE [01:10:01] A, AN ALTERNATIVE SPACE OR A FOREVER HOME, A PERCENTAGE DECREASE IN YEAR OVER YEAR, LOOSE AND LOOSE ON DOG BITES. THE GOAL IS TO BE 2% LOWER. WE'RE ACTUALLY 12.3% LOWER, UH, AND THAT THAT'S THANKS TO OUR COMMITMENT TO RESPONDING TO THE CALLS THAT WOULD COME IN AND PROVIDING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES NECESSARY FOR EDUCATION. NEXT SLIDE. IT'S SKIPPING EVERY OTHER SLIDE. APOLOGIES. HAVE TO SCROLL. OKAY. APOLOGIES FOR THAT. THE NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT OUR TOTAL INTAKE BY SPECIES. IF YOU SEE IN FISCAL YEAR 25 FOR QUARTER THREE, WE WERE DOWN IN, IN, UH, INTAKES FOR DOGS BY 12%. AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE WERE DEALING WITH A, UH, CASE OF SURGE C THAT WAS NON-RESPONSIVE TO OUR NORMAL PROTOCOLS. WE HAD TO WORK WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AND MADISON TO FIGURE OUT WHAT PRO, UH, UH, UH, PROCESSES TO TAKE TO DEAL WITH THAT DISEASE. AND WE ACTUALLY WORKED THROUGH IT AND CAME OUT OF IT. UM, BUT IT DID IMPACT OUR INTAKE FOR DOGS. HOWEVER, IT DIDN'T AFFECT CATS. SO CAT INTAKE WAS UP BY 35% COMBINED DOGS AND CATS WAS UP BY 1%. BUT YOU SEE, THE LARGEST INCREASE WAS FOR CATS. AND THEN THE OTHERS, WHICH IS NORMALLY OUR LIVESTOCK AND, AND OTHER ANIMALS THAT COME IN, WAS ACTUALLY DOWN BY 37%. DURING THIS QUARTER, OUR LIVE RELEASE RATE BY SPECIES FOR DOGS WAS UP BY 5%. WE CURRENTLY ARE MAINTAINING 87%, BUT WE WERE AT 88 IN QUARTER THREE. UH, AS OUR TEAM DOES EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO SAVE AS MANY LIVES AS POSSIBLE, OUR CATS, UH, LIVE RELEASE RATE WAS UP BY 4%. OUR NEONATES WAS, UH, UH, UH, FLATLINED FROM LAST YEAR. UH, WE ARE DEALING WITH OUR CURRENT KITTEN SEASON, SO, UH, WE ARE TAKING IN THE MOST VULNERABLE AND, AND, UH, BRINGING THOSE NEONATES IN THE BUILDING AND DOING ALL THAT WE CAN TO ENSURE THEY HAVE A TO CHANCE AT SURVIVAL. OUR OTHERS WAS UP BY 53%. AGAIN, THAT'S PARTLY IN PART TO OUR ANIMAL CRUELTY UNIT AS WELL. UH, IN DEALING WITH SOME OF THE LIVESTOCK ISSUES AS WAS SPOKEN OF TODAY, SCROLL OUR LIVE OUTCOME BY SPECIES FOR DOGS. UH, IT WAS ACTUALLY DOWN BY 6%, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR, OUR NUMBERS FOR ADOPTIONS AND, AND, UH, UH, FIELD RTOS, ALL THE NUMBERS ACROSS THE BOARD EXCEPT FOR RESCUES WERE DOWN. AND, AND IT HAD TO DO WITH CER C WHEN, UH, WHEN YOU HAVE A DISEASE IN THE BUILDING, SOME FOLKS KIND OF, UH, TAKE PAUSE ON PROVIDING ASSISTANCE, AND WE ASK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY JUST WORK WITH US AS WE DEAL WITH SOME OF THESE SITUATIONS. BUT WE WERE DEALING WITH CY AT THAT TIME, SO THAT WAS A RESULT OF THAT. OUR NY LIVE OUTCOMES, HOWEVER, WERE DOWN BY 31%, AND THAT'S A DECREASE ACROSS THE BOARD. AND, AND, UH, OUR NON-LIVE OUTCOMES FOR DOGS. OUR LIVE OUTCOME BY SPECIES FOR CATS WAS UP BY 40%. HOWEVER, OUR NON-LIVE OUTCOMES AS WELL, WERE UP BY 24%. AGAIN, AS WE WERE TAKING IN THE MOST VULNERABLE DURING KITTEN SEASON, WHICH I BELIEVE IS GONNA RUN THROUGH OCTOBER AS IT DID LAST YEAR, SORRY. OUR RESCUE GROUPS, UH, HAVE DONE AN AMAZING JOB WORKING WITH US AND CONTINUING TO SUPPORT US, UH, IN PROVIDING A RESOURCE AVENUE FOR AN OUTLET FOR OUR DOGS AND CATS. UH, FOR QUARTER THREE, OUR DOGS WERE UP BY 2%, AND OUR CATS WERE UP BY 27% AS THEY WERE ASSISTING US GETTING THROUGH THIS KITTEN SEASON. AND THEN WE HAVE OUR TOP 10 RESCUE PARTNERS. OUR FIELD ACTIVITIES WERE UP BY 3% AS OUR TEAM WORKS TO RESPOND TO THE CALLS FOR SERVICE THAT COME IN. OUR SERVICE REQUEST TYPES WERE DOWN, HOWEVER, BY 3%, UH, AS WE WERE DEALING WITH SURGE C. AND THEN OUR LOOSE AND LOOSE ON DOG BITES WERE INCREASED BY 13%. HOWEVER, IDENTIFYING THOSE POCKETS AND AREAS WHERE LOOSE DOGS ARE HOUSED PROVIDES US AN AREA OF OPPORTUNITY FOR EDUCATION. AND I BELIEVE IT'S ASSISTED US IN THIS 12% DECREASE IN LOOSE AND LOOSE ON DOG BITES. OUR MEDICAL TREATMENT UPDATE, UH, FOR SPAY AND NEUTER SURGERIES FOR THE QUARTER THREE FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 ARE UP BY 4%. THOSE ARE IN-HOUSE SPAY NEUTER THAT ARE DONE BY OUR TEAM. UH, OUR HEARTWORM TREATMENTS ARE UP BY 8%. OUR SPECIALTY SURGERIES WE'RE UP BY 9% AS WE WORK TO GET, PROVIDE THOSE ADDITIONAL SURGERIES TO HELP GET AN ANIMAL TO A POINT WHERE A RESCUE CAN TAKE IT FROM THERE AND GIVE THESE ANIMALS A CHANCE. OUR SUBSIDIZED SURGERIES WERE UP BY 103%. AND A LARGE, UH, [01:15:01] PART OF THOSE ARE ACTUALLY OUR, OUR EFFORTS TOWARDS REDUCING THE COMMUNITY CAT POPULATION. OUR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM, WE HAD 912 ACTIVE VOLUNTEERS, WHICH IS AN 18% INCREASE. AND WE, WE THANK THOSE VOLUNTEERS FOR EVERYTHING THAT THEY DO, THE HARD WORK AND THE RESOURCES THEY PROVIDE TO OUR DEPARTMENT. UH, THEY PROVIDED, UH, OVER 6,000 TOTAL HOURS OF SERVICE, WHICH IS A 7% INCREASE. AN AVERAGE, UH, VOLUNTEER HOURS WAS 7.6. AND IF WE EQUATED A COST OF LIVING RATES, THAT'S A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS THAT THE CITY WAS, UH, SAVED IN VOLUNTEER MANPOWER. OUR VACATION PROGRAM, WHICH I SPOKE OF EARLIER, THAT LAUNCHED LAST YEAR, UH, WE HAD 273 DOGS PARTICIPATE IN THAT PROGRAM WITH 360 DUE VACATIONS. I'M ASSUMING SOME OF 'EM WERE REPEAT, UH, VACATIONERS, 95% POSITIVE OUTCOMES FOR THOSE DOGS. 143 DOGS ADOPTED, 21 WERE ADOPTED BY THE FOSTER. 12 WERE ADOPTED IN IN FOSTER, 41, CURRENTLY IN FOSTER HOMES IN 27, WE'RE TAGGED BY A RESCUE. AND THEN WE HAVE SOME PHOTOS OF SOME OF OUR, UH, OUR, OUR PUPS , OUR, OUR OUR FOSTER PROGRAM. AND I, I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THOSE WHO PARTICIPATE IN OUR FOSTER PROGRAM WITH OUR MEDICAL FOSTERS AND OUR FOSTERS IN THE SHELTER, UH, FOR ALLOWING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE LIVES BY GIVING THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE OUTSIDE OF THE SHELTER. SO, OUR FOSTER PROGRAM, WE HAD A TOTAL OF 1,923 ANIMALS FOSTERED IN QUARTER THREE, 302 WERE REPEAT FOSTERS. THESE ARE FOSTERS THAT HAVE HAD SOMEONE THAT WAS ADOPTED, AND THEY CAME BACK AND, UH, FOSTERED AGAIN, 151 FOSTER HEROES, WHICH YOU HEARD, UH, UH, ERICA SPEAK OF EARLIER. UH, 66 NEW FOSTERS, 54 MEDICAL FOSTERS 307 FOSTERS TO ADOPT 48 TICKET TO RIDE FOSTERS AND A OVER A THOUSAND PUPPIES AND KITTENS IN FOSTER. 31 SHORT TERM FOSTERS AND 705 ADOPTED BY FOSTERS. THAT'S A FAILURE THAT WE LOVE TO SEE 155 ADOPTED WHILE IN FOSTER. THESE ARE, WHILE THEY'RE IN FOSTER, THEY'RE COMING OUT TO OUR, OUR, UH, ADOPTION EVENTS, OR THEY'RE PARTICIPATING IN OTHER THINGS AND MAKING THESE ANIMALS AVAILABLE THROUGH, UH, THAT PROCESS. OUR PET FOOD PANTRY, WHICH YOU HEARD OF EARLIER, WHAT WE TRY TO DO AT EAS IS PROVIDE, UH, UH, A REMOVAL OF BARRIERS FOR FOLKS TO KEEP THAT ANIMAL HUMAN BOND. AND SO THEY DON'T BRING THOSE ANIMALS INTO THE SHELTER AND, AND, AND, UH, UH, SURRENDER. SO WITH THAT, WE USE DONATED RESOURCES TO PROVIDE TO THESE FOLKS THAT WE SERVED. OVER 234 FAMILIES, OVER SIX EVENTS, OVER A THOUSAND PETS WERE SERVED, AND OVER 6,000 POUNDS OF FOOD WAS PROVIDED. ONLY 10 FAMILIES WERE UNABLE TO BE SERVED DUE TO WE LACK OF, UH, OUR RESOURCES. HOWEVER, WE DID DIVERT THOSE FOLKS TO OTHER PROGRAMS AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. UH, AND THEN WHAT YOU HAVE HERE IS A BREAKDOWN OF THOSE EVENTS AND, AND WHO WAS SERVED WITH WHAT OUR COMMUNITY CAT PROGRAM, UH, WHICH IS CONTINUING TO GROW. UH, WE RESPONDED TO SERVICE REQUESTS, AND WE PROVIDED, UH, SERVICES THROUGH SPAY NEUTER NETWORK OF ABOUT 370, UH, COMMUNITY CATS. UH, 56 OF THOSE WERE ACTUALLY TAKEN THERE BY OUR STAFF. UH, IN RESPONSE TO SERVICE REQUESTS, UH, TCAP PROVIDED 456 SURGERIES IN SPAY NEUTER SOCIETY PROVIDED 64. I CAN ANNOUNCE TODAY THAT WE ARE BRINGING BACK SPAY NEUTER SOCIETY FOR THOSE WHO REQUESTED THE LAST MEETING. UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING TO GET THAT RELATIONSHIP BACK ONLINE, AND WE'LL POST IT IN OUR WEBSITE AND ON OUR FACEBOOK AS SOON AS, UH, THAT HAPPENS, HOPEFULLY WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. UH, NOAH'S ARK WHILE BEFORE THEY CLOSE, PROVIDED 98, UH, UH, SERVICE, UH, SURGERIES. AND IN YEAR TO DATE, WE'VE DONE OVER 3000 COMMUNITY CATS HAVE BEEN SPAYED NEUTERED BY OUR PARTNERS THROUGH OUR SUBSIDIZED SURGERY INITIATIVE. SO WE ARE COMMITTED TO REDUCING OUR COMMUNITY CAT POPULATION AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE PROVIDED THE RESOURCES THEY NEED. OUR TEAM, TABBY, WHICH IS OUR TEAM THAT RESPONDS TO THESE CALLS, UH, AND, AND DOES THE TRAPPING AND BRINGING IN THE ANIMALS, UH, THEY DID 97 SITE VISITS DURING QUARTER THREE. THEY'VE TRAPPED 259, AND THEN, UH, WHICH THEY PREVIOUSLY TRAPPED FIVE, UH, CAT SPAYED AND NEUTERED THROUGH DAS. THAT'S [01:20:01] OUR VETS DOING THE SURGERIES. WITH 203 YEAR TO DATE DS INTERNAL SERVICES PROVIDED OVER 800 TNR SURGERIES FOR COMMUNITY CATS. UH, YEAR TO DATE, A TOTAL OF OVER ALMOST 4,000 SURGERIES HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BY DS FOR COMMUNITY CATS, EITHER IN-HOUSE OR THROUGH SUBSIDIZED SERVICES. THAT'S A NUMBER THAT HAS, I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS HIGH SINCE MY TENURE WITH DAS. AGAIN, OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND, UH, COMMUNITY EVENTS, UH, WE ARE WORKING AND COMMUNICATING WITH OUR COUNTERPARTS IN ANIMAL CRUELTY, UH, WITH DPD ON SOME COORDINATED EVENTS, AS WELL AS, UH, UH, ATTENDING SOME OF THEIR EVENTS THAT THEY MAY HAVE OR WORKING ON SOME JOINT PUBLICATIONS THAT WE CAN PUT TOGETHER. OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES EVENTS. WE HAVE THE REOCCURRING PET FOOD PANTRIES, OUR MICROCHIP AND VACCINE CLINICS. WE ARE CURRENTLY LOOKING AT RESOURCES TO HAVE THE ABILITY FOR OUR OFFICERS TO DO VACCINES IN THE FIELD. HOWEVER, THOSE VACCINES REQUIRED TO BE MAINTAINED AT A CERTAIN TEMPERATURE. AND WE'RE LOOKING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN CONTIN CONTINUE TO DO THAT, MAINTAIN THAT TEMPERATURE, AND HAVE THOSE RESOURCES AVAILABLE. OUR, UH, COMMUNITY CAT FIX EVENTS, WE HAD THREE, OUR SPAY AND NEUTER EVENTS. WE HAD THREE OUR EDUCATIONAL TOWN HALLS. WE ATTENDED SIX, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS. WE ATTENDED FIVE DURING QUARTER THREE, AND IN NEIGHBORHOOD WALKS AND TALKS, WHAT THAT IS, IS WE HAVE A CONTINGENT OF FOLKS IN OUR, UH, FIELD OPERATIONS TEAM THAT ACTUALLY DOES OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, UH, AS WELL AS ACCOUNTABILITY AND PET OWNERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY. UH, WE ARE ACTUALLY FOLDING IN OUR COMMUNITY CAT TEAM TABBY TEAM INTO THAT ENGAGEMENT TEAM TO EXPAND THOSE RESOURCES AND TO BASICALLY REALIZE AND REIMAGINE THOSE RESOURCES TOGETHER TO INCREASE OUR CAPABILITIES. ADOPTION EVENTS. WE HAD 36 TOTAL EVENTS WITH 397 ANIMALS THAT ATTENDED. 209 WERE SHELTER DOGS. 19 WERE ADOPTED. THREE WERE FOSTERED TO ADOPT, AND TWO WERE FOSTERED. 16 SHELTER CATS ATTENDED WITH NINE THAT WERE ADOPTED, AND ONE WAS FOSTERED. 158 FOSTER DOGS THAT ATTENDED. 15 WERE ADOPTED, AND FIVE FOSTERED TO ADOPT. 14 FOSTER CATS ATTENDED WITH EIGHT OF THOSE BEING ADOPTED. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, SOME OF THE HAPPY FACES THERE ON THE RIGHT. OUR MARKETING TEAM, I CAN GIVE YOU A MARKETING UPDATE. WE HAVE NOW FILLED THE POSITION THAT WAS VACATED BY MARLOW. OUR INTERNAL MARKETING TEAM NOW CONSISTS OF THREE INDIVIDUALS, AND WE'RE STILL LOOKING TO HIRE THE MARKETING MANAGER. UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT, UH, OUTREACH AND, AND, AND POSTING OF THAT POSITION. I BELIEVE WE'RE LOOKING AT APPLICATIONS NOW, UH, SO THAT WE CAN CONDUCT INTERVIEWS. SOME OF OUR PRESS RELEASES, UH, INVOLVED OUR UPDATE ON THIRD C DURING THAT QUARTER. OUR COYOTE RESPONSE IN THE WHITE ROCK LAKE AREA. AND THEN OUR HISTORIC INCREASE IN PET ADOPTIONS AS DAS LED THE NATION IN ADOPTIONS AND ROSE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE BY 4%. I BELIEVE WE WERE NUMBER ONE IN TEXAS, BUT NUMBER FOUR IN THE NATION. BUT WE ACTUALLY ROSE THE, THE PERCENTAGE BY 4%. UH, AND THEN YOU SEE SOME OF THE ANALYTICS WITH OUR MARKETING AS WELL. SOME OF OUR MARKETING HIGHLIGHTS ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM. UH, YOU SEE OUR LONG STAY DOGS THAT WERE FEATURED. OUR, UH, FACEBOOK REEL FEATURING NOAH, THE PRETZEL, UH, THE DOG PRETZEL. AND THEN OUR, OUR, UH, SHELTER UPDATE RECORDING BRE RECORD BREAKING ADOPTION NUMBERS. UH, AND IN OUR INSTAGRAM, OUR HAPPY TALES, WHICH WE, WE, WE LIKE TO, TO, TO REVISIT THESE ANIMALS THAT LEAVE THE SHELTER AND THAT HAVE A POSITIVE OUTCOME SO THAT WE CAN HIGHLIGHT SOME OF OUR SUCCESSES AS WELL. AND SOME OF THEIR FINAL, FINAL DESTINATIONS TO A FOREVER HOME. AND THEN WE HAVE OUR, UH, AGAIN, UH, UH, NOAH. THE PRETZEL WAS, UH, A HIT ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM, AND THEN OUR OFFICER WHO, OUR OFFICER WANGER, WHO ACTUALLY WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND TO RESCUE A CAT ON THE FREEWAY. UH, THAT WAS A, A HUGE, UH, A HUGE THING ON, ON, ON OUR INSTAGRAM FEED. AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING JUST PARTICULAR TO THIS ONE CASE. OUR OFFICERS DO A LOT OF THAT TO TRY AND RESCUE ANIMALS. OUR TRANSPORT AND RESCUE HIGHLIGHTS AS WE WORK TO TRY AND GET AS MANY ANIMALS OUT OF THE SHELTER AND GET THEM TO A POSSIBLE FOREVER HOME. UH, OUR TRANSPORT ACTIVE OUT-OF-STATE TRANSPORT PARTNERS ASSISTED US IN QUARTER THREE. WE'RE 33 15 NEW PARTNER APPLICANTS ARE BEING, UH, PROCESSED WITH A TOTAL OF RESCUE TRANSPORTS. IN FISCAL YEAR 25 OF 301 TOTAL ANIMALS TAGGED FOR TRANSPORT OUT OF TEXAS IN QUARTER THREE, [01:25:01] 200 DAS. PETS HAD A POSITIVE OUTCOME UTILIZING DAS TRANSPORT, UH, AND OUR BOARDING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, UH, OUT-OF-STATE ADOPTIONS AND TRANSPORT ASSISTANCE ADOPTION TRANSPORT PROGRAM ASSISTED IN 38 ADOPTIONS ACROSS 18 STATES. AND WE'RE PROUD OF THAT TEAM FOR ALL OF THEIR HARD WORK. THEY DO HAVE SOME GOALS FOR FISCAL YEAR 25. THEY'VE PROVIDED A QUARTER THREE CHECK-IN ON SOME OF THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND SOME THINGS THAT THEY'RE CONTINUING TO WORK ON. AND, UH, I PERSONALLY ATTENDED A COUPLE OF OUR, OUR, UH, TICKET TO RIDE AND, AND, UH, OUR, OUR TRANSPORT THROUGH, THROUGH TO OTHER CITIES, THROUGH, UH, HUMANE SOCIETY OF NORTH TEXAS. AND I FORGET THE NAME OF THE GROUP. BUT ANYWAY, UH, IT, IT'S AN AMAZING THING TO SEE AN THESE ANIMALS GET, GETTING A SECOND CHANCE, SUSPECTED ANIMAL CRUELTY. IF I COULD GIVE, GIVE A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE SUSPECTED ANIMAL CRUELTY, I, I'D LIKE TO REITERATE WHAT WAS SAID TODAY. IT, I AM AMAZED AT THE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH D UH, DPD AND THE DA'S OFFICE AND OPERATION KINDNESS. UH, WE HAVE A GRAPH HERE THAT BASICALLY OUTLINES THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF EACH DEPARTMENT. I WANNA REITERATE, DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES DOES NOT MAKE CRUELTY DETERMINATIONS. WE WORK CLOSELY WITH OUR DPD PARTNERS, ANIMALS THAT ARE COMING IN THROUGH THE SHELTER, OVER THE COUNTER, AND ANIMALS THAT ARE COMING INTO THE SHELTER THROUGH OUR FIELD OPERATIONS UNIT ARE OBSERVED, MEDICALLY EXAMINED. AND IF THERE IS ANY HINT OF SUSPECTED ANIMAL CRUELTY BASED ON THAT ANIMAL'S CONDITION, WE IMMEDIATELY CONTACT DPD AND OUR DETECTIVES. AND WE MAKE THE PROCESS ROLL FROM THERE, AND WE GATHER ALL THE EVIDENCE THAT THEY NEED. ONCE WE DO THAT, A PROCESS HAS STARTED. ONCE THAT CLOCK HAS STARTED, THEN WE REFER TO OPERATION KINDNESS THROUGH, THROUGH AN MOU HAS PROVIDED, UH, FREE OUT OF NO COST TO THE CITY, UH, FORENSICS AND TESTIMONY, AS YOU HAVE HEARD TODAY. AND THEN IT'S REFERRED TO OUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR, UH, PROSECUTION IN CONSIDERATION. SO I, I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF OUR PARTNERS FOR, FOR WHAT WE DO. AND, UH, THIS WAS A DAUNTING TASK WHEN WE TOOK IT OVER IN 22. I HAD A-S-P-C-A COME IN AND GIVE US A REGIONAL TRAINING, NOT ONLY TO DAS, BUT TO LOCAL PARTNERS, LOCAL DAS, ON WHAT TO BE LOOKING FOR. NOT THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE INVESTIGATORS, BUT WE NEEDED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR, BODY SCORE, HOW THEY WERE HOUSED, HOW THEY WERE TREATED, AND SO FORTH. UH, SO THAT OUR TEAM WAS FULLY AWARE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON. I BELIEVE IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR ANOTHER TRAINING SESSION. BUT, UH, WE ARE GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL TO OUR TEAM BECAUSE THEY'RE THE FIRST EYES ON SOME OF THESE ANIMALS AS RELATIVE TO ANIMAL CRUELTY. THE NEXT SLIDE, I'M GONNA HAVE OUR, UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER BUDGET TO GO OVER OUR QUARTER THREE BUDGET, UH, AS IT, UH, SO THAT YOU ALL ARE AWARE CURRENTLY WHERE WE, OUR BUDGET WAS AND WHERE WE'RE CURRENTLY AT. UH, I WILL SAY, THOUGH, UH, SUSPECTED ANIMAL CRUELTY WAS NEVER BUDGETED FOR DAS. IT'S NOW BEING PROPOSED IN THE 26 AND 27 BUDGET. AND I'M THANKFUL TO THE CITY FOR THAT. UH, WE HOPE THAT IT CONTINUES TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS. UH, BUT THIS YEAR, I WILL TELL YOU, DAS WILL BE OVER BUDGET BECAUSE OF OVER CAPACITY AND CRUELTY. SO, BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO ALL THAT WE CAN WITH THE RESOURCES WE HAVE TO DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO. GOOD MORNING, UH, VICTORIA CHADDA BENNETT, UM, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE, UH, INCLUDING BUDGET. UM, SO, UM, YOU CAN SEE OUR, OUR BUDGET THIS FISCAL YEAR WAS $19.6 MILLION AS OF JUNE 30TH. UM, WE WERE AT $15.7 MILLION EXPENDED, AND THEN ANOTHER, ANOTHER 142,000 THAT WAS ALREADY ENCUMBERED. UH, SO THAT MEANS WE'VE EARMARKED IT AND READY TO SPEND IT. UM, SO WE'RE WAITING FOR INVOICES OR WHATEVER TO, TO PROCESS THAT. SO THAT PUTS US ABOUT ALMOST 80% OF OUR BUDGET. SO AT END OF JUNE, WE SHOULD BE AT 75. SO THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A LOT, BUT THEN YOU HAVE, UH, WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE THINGS THAT WE ARE GOING THROUGH HERE IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST, UM, AND, AND AT THE END OF JULY, UM, SO WE ARE PROJECTING TO BE, UM, RIGHT ABOUT $2.2 MILLION OVER BUDGET FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR. AND WE, WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE, UM, UH, ON ALL OF THOSE PROJECTIONS AND MAKING SURE THAT, THAT THEY ARE AWARE AND, AND PREPARED FOR, FOR THOSE AMOUNTS. BUT, AND WE ARE DOING WHATEVER WE CAN [01:30:01] TO MITIGATE, UM, EXPENSES WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO, HOWEVER, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT AT THIS TIME OF THE, OF THE FISCAL YEAR. SO WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH ALL, ALL OF OUR PARTNERS ACROSS THE CITY TO, TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO, UM, LOWER OUR COSTS, BUT WITH, WITH, UM, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME EXPECTED INCREASES IN OUR OVERTIME RATE FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST. SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE AWARE OF AND, AND ARE PROJECTING. I DID NOT INCLUDE A PROJECTION IN THIS BECAUSE WE DID NOT, UM, THE CITY DID NOT HAVE US COMPLETE A FORECAST FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE. AND SO OUR, OUR LAST UPDATE WOULD'VE BEEN EVEN FURTHER BEHIND. 'CAUSE IT WOULD'VE BEEN BASED ON THE MAY NUMBERS. THANK YOU. WE'LL MOVE TO THE APPENDIX ITEMS. WHAT WE DO, UH, HAVE HERE IS THE LISTING OF THE MEETING DATES, WHICH WILL BE, I BELIEVE, DISCUSSED AND VOTED ON NEXT, NEXT, UH, MEETING IN OCTOBER. THEN WE HAVE OUR COMMUNITY CAT FERAL ACTION TA UH, ACTION TIMELINE. UH, I KNOW THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE NOTICED, AND I'M ABOUT TO GET INTO THAT CONVERSATION THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, NATHAN LEAVING, UH, DAS WHO WAS OUR FOSTER VOLUNTEER MANAGER. WELL, IF YOU'VE NOTICED SOMEBODY ELSE IS NOT IN THE AUDIENCE TODAY AS WELL. OUR A GM FOR MEDICAL HAS TAKEN ON A PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITY, ALEXI DUBERSTEIN AS THE DIRECTOR OF AN ANIMAL MUNICIPAL SHELTER IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. SO I CONGRATULATE ALEXI ON HER PROMOTION. I KNOW SHE WILL DO AN AMAZING JOB, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO ALL THAT WE CAN TO HIRE AND MANEUVER THROUGH THIS PROCESS. UH, WE HAVE POSTED THE POSITION. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF APPLICANTS, SO WE'RE ABOUT TO GO TO THOSE AS WELL. AS WELL AS NATHAN'S, UH, POSITION, I BELIEVE WE POSTED AND HAVE ALL THOSE APPLICANTS. WE'RE ABOUT TO DO INTERVIEWS FOR THAT. AND IN OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR POSITION OVER OPERATIONS HAS POSTED, AND WE'VE, UH, POSTED IT IN A COUPLE OF NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SO THAT WE CAN BROADEN OUR REACH AND, UH, AND LOOKING FOR THE NEXT, UH, REPLACEMENT FOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR MARTIN, WHO'S NOW THE DIRECTOR IN CALIFORNIA FOR ANOTHER ORGANIZATION AS WELL. SO, UH, A LOT OF LEADERSHIP HAS, UH, MANEUVERED THEIR WAY FROM DS, BUT IT'S ALL BEEN FOR PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AS I, I ASSUME THEY, THEY SEE THE SUCCESS OF THESE FOLKS AND, AND RECOGNIZED THAT POTENTIAL. UH, SO OUR TEAM HAS TAKEN OVER DANIEL, OUR A GM OVER, UH, FIELD OPERATIONS, UH, WHO, WHO WILL BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH, UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, UH, BENNETT, UH, TO WORK WITH, UH, PAUL, AND ORDER AND EXPANDING THAT, UH, COMMUNICATION IN DEVELOPING OUR COMMUNITY CAT, UH, ORDINANCE AND, UH, UH, POLICIES AND PROTOCOLS. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THAT PROCESS. WE JUST HAD A SMALL HICCUP WITH, UH, SOME LEADERSHIP CHANGES, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THAT. NANA. WE'VE ADDED OUR FIELD OPERATIONS, UH, SERVICE CALL PRIORITY LEVELS, JUST SO THAT EVERYONE'S AWARE OF WHAT WE, WE ARE RESPONDING TO, UH, AS, AS FAR AS PRIORITIES GO. AND I WANNA REITERATE, AND I, I TOOK THIS SLIDE OUT. I HAVE A TOTAL OF A LITTLE OVER 50 OFFICERS THAT WORK THIS ENTIRE CITY. WE HAVE A 24 7 OPERATION. WE AVERAGE ANYWHERE FROM FIVE TO SIX UNITS PER SHIFT RESPONDING TO CALLS. SO WE HAVE TO WORK OFF OUR PRIORITY BASED SYSTEM JUST AS DPD DOES WHEN RESPONDING TO CALLS. SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT WELL KNOWN THAT IF, IF, IF WE'RE LATE TO A RESPONSE, IT'S, IT'S BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING OTHER CALLS, AND THAT INCLUDES SUSPECTED ANIMAL CRUELTY, WHICH COULD TAKE, UH, A HUGE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE OFFICER TO BE ON SITE, AS WELL AS OUR, UH, SERIOUS BODILY INJURY INVESTIGATIONS, OUR RABIES BITES INVESTIGATIONS AND SO FORTH. SO I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE THAT INSIGHT THERE. AND THIS IS A, A RESOURCE TO SOME OF THE LINKS THAT WE'VE, UH, GATHERED THIS INFORMATION FROM. I WILL ASK JILLIAN IF YOU COULD PROVIDE, UH, A LINK TO THE PRESENTATION THAT I GAVE IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UH, DPD TO PUBLIC SAFETY. UH, IT WAS ON JUNE THE THIRD, IF YOU'D LIKE. IT SHOULD BE RECORDED, UH, IN THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE IN THE ARCHIVES, WHICH DISCUSS OUR ROLES, DPDS AND OUR ROLES INDIVIDUALLY AS IT RELATES TO SUSPECTED ANIMAL CRUELTY FOR SOME FURTHER INSIGHT. UH, AND THE NEXT IS OUR DPD, OUR DPD, OUR DEPARTMENTAL CONTACTS, UH, THAT ARE LISTED HERE. UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE, THE VACANT ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, THE VACANT MANAGER, [01:35:01] WHICH WAS, UM, NATHAN, AND THEN THE VACANT ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER, WHICH WAS ALEXI. UH, WE, WE, WE SORELY MISSED THEM, BUT WE WISHED THEM ALL THE, ALL THE BEST IN THEIR, IN THEIR ENDEAVORS. AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION FOR THE DIRECTOR'S UPDATE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DIRECTOR RAMON, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND START WITH COMMISSIONER SACKER AND JUST GO AROUND THE HORSESHOE AND THEN WE'LL GET TO EVERYBODY ONLINE. UM, JILLIAN, CAN I ASK HIM TO GO AHEAD? YES. OKAY. YOU MAY BEGIN. JILLIAN'S GOOD? YES. COOL. LET ME, ACTUALLY, I'M GONNA STOP SHARING THE SCREEN FIRST SO THAT WE CAN SEE YOU. OKAY. AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND RESTART YOUR TIME. CAN EVERYBODY SEE MM-HMM . OKAY. GO AHEAD. COMMISSIONER SACKER. THANKS. UH, DIRECTOR, UM, JUST ONE, LIKE, GROUPING OF DATA AND JUST, UH, YOUR FEEDBACK ON IT. UH, SO INTAKE OVERALL, DOGS, CATS, OTHER, LOOKS LIKE IT'S DOWN 5%, UH, YEAR TO DATE, LIKE FOR 2024 TO NOW, UM, LIVE RELEASE IS UP. UM, NON-LIVE IS GENERALLY DOWN. UM, HUMANE, UH, FOR CATS IS UP, WHICH, IF THERE ARE MANY CATS GETTING HIT BY CARS OR COMING IN WITH VARIOUS ISSUES, THAT MIGHT BE BECAUSE OF THE PROLIFERATION OF CATS IN AREAS. THAT MAKES SENSE. UH, AND THEN PARTNERSHIP TRANSFERS ARE UP AS WELL. UM, THIS SEEMS SUCCESSFUL. UM, THE BUDGET KIND OF SOUNDS SCARY. AND THEN THE TURNOVER FOR PERSONNEL AS WELL, UM, FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. UM, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS TO KIND OF KEEP UP THAT TRAJECTORY WHILE ALSO MAINTAINING SHELTER OPERATIONS AND HOLDING IT TO, UM, YOU KNOW, STATE AND, UH, DALLAS CODE? WELL, WHAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO IS LOOK FOR THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST IN WORKING OUR BEST TO ATTRACT THOSE TALENTS TO DAS. UH, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT FOLKS RECOGNIZE THE HARD WORK OF OUR DEPARTMENT. AND WHAT WE DO IS THEY CONTINUE TO, TO TAKE INDIVIDUALS FROM OUR DEPARTMENT TO DUPLICATE THESE SERVICES SOMEWHERE ELSE. UH, I WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE AND WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE ON OUR BUDGET. AND THEY HAVE BEEN VERY GREAT GRACIOUS, AND, AND, AND AS YOU CAN SEE AND WHAT'S BEEN PROPOSED, BUT ALSO WE'RE LOOKING AT EFFICIENCIES IN THE DEPARTMENT, THINGS THAT WE'RE DUPLICATING THAT WE COULD PROBABLY NARROW TO ONE SCOPE AND ONE INDIVIDUAL. UH, AND WE'VE DONE THAT, UH, TO DO OUR PART BECAUSE OF THE, WHAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH IN THE BUDGET. UH, BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO EVALUATE OUR POLICIES AND PROTOCOLS, UH, WORKING WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, WORKING WITH OTHER INDIVIDUALS ON ORDINANCE CHANGES AND UPDATES. UH, AS WE'VE BEEN DOING, WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE UPDATED THE, UH, AGGRESSIVE AND DANGEROUS DOG ORDINANCE. UH, UH, I BELIEVE WE, UH, WE, WHEN I GOT HERE, WE UPDATED THE COYOTE, UH, WILDLIFE, UH, MANAGEMENT PLAN. SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO AS A DEPARTMENT. WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THINGS THAT WE NEED TO EVALUATE TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN. ONE FOR ANIMAL SAFETY AND, AND WELFARE, PUBLIC SAFETY. UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WORKING WITHIN OUR CAPABILITIES IN THE DEPARTMENT. YEAH. AND JUST TO FOLLOW UP TO THAT, UM, I KNOW I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME LEFT. THE, UM, I, I DO WANT TO CALL OUT, SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THIS COMMISSION, I'VE SEEN DOGGY INFLUENZA. NOW WE HAVE THE DISTEMPER. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE EASY, SO IT'S GONNA REQUIRE ALL HANDS ON DECK, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE IT ALREADY IS. SO I JUST WANT THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO KNOW THAT THAT'S A LOT OF WORK, AND THAT IN THE NEXT TIME WE MEET, WE MIGHT SEE NEGATIVE DATA RELATING TO THAT. BUT ANY CITY WHO IS FACED WITH THESE KIND OF ISSUES, WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND. IT TAKES A LOT, A LOT OF WORK TO REALLY WORK THROUGH. SO WE HOPE THAT THERE AREN'T NEGATIVE, UM, OUTCOMES FOR THIS, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE EXPERIENCE THERE, BUT JUST A HEADS UP FOR THOSE WHO ARE WONDERING WHY THINGS MIGHT DIP POTENTIALLY, THAT THAT COULD BE A REASON. UM, AND THEN I JUST WANNA THANK YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE. THAT'S ALL FOR ME. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER CASEY, IF YOU'RE READY, I'LL START YOUR TIME. ALRIGHT. UM, I WANNA REITERATE WHAT I DID LAST TIME THAT I, WE, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS TO GET BACK TO OPEN INTAKE, UH, AS SOON AS WE CAN. SO I KNOW THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THIS DISTEMPER OUTBREAK AGAIN IN RECORD TIME. THE LAST ONE TOOK ABOUT A YEAR TO ERADICATE FROM THE SHELTER. AND IF THIS WORKS OUT, UM, TO PLAN, IT MIGHT JUST BE EIGHT WEEKS OR SO UNTIL WE CAN GET BACK THERE, WHICH IS, UM, INCREDIBLE. SO, UH, LET'S HOPE THAT THAT HAPPENS. UM, I DO WANNA ADDRESS THE GALLEY AND THE PUBLIC HERE. UM, YOU KNOW, ON THE CITY OF RECORD, UH, CITY OF DALLAS RECORD HERE ON VIDEO, [01:40:02] THE OBSESSION WITH ME REMOTELY. YOU MAKE, YOU GUYS MAKE ME FEEL LIKE TAYLOR SWIFT. UM, I, WE HAVE A LOT OF THE SAME GOALS. AND THE, THE, I HAVE HAD PLENTY OF PROBLEMS WITH DAS OVER THE YEARS. THE REASON I'M SUPPOSING THAT YOU THINK I WORK FOR THEM IS BECAUSE I KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT DAS. THAT'S BECAUSE I'VE BEEN HEAVILY INVESTED. AND WHEN I DO HAVE ISSUES, I GET IN THERE. I WORK WITH THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND EXECUTIVES GO BY. I UNDERSTAND THE SCOPE, THE VOLUME, NOT ONLY LOCALLY, BUT NATIONALLY AND WORLDWIDE, GET INTO THE LAWS, POLICY AND ORDINANCES. AND I WORK THROUGH THOSE ISSUES TO MAKE CHANGES WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS, NOT PUBLICLY IN SOCIAL MEDIA. SO ANYONE I ENCOURAGE THAT WANTS TO SEE CHANGE BEING COLLABORATIVE, EXCUSE ME, BEING SUPPORTIVE, ANIMAL SERVICES IS NOT GOING AWAY. THIS IS, SORRY, COMMISSIONER. I'M SO SORRY. EXCUSE ME. UM, PLEASE LIMIT YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS TO THE PRESENTATION THAT THE DIRECTOR GAVE. OKAY. I'M SORRY. THANK YOU. SORRY. UM, LET'S SEE. THEN ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS ABOUT THE OPEN INTAKE AS SOON AS WE CAN. YES. AND WE ARE WORKING RAPIDLY TO TRY AND GET THAT DONE. UH, I WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE PUTTING THE MESSAGE OUT. WE HAVE NOT CLOSED INTAKE, WE HAVE LIMITED INTAKE TO THOSE ANDREWS THAT ARE LOOSE, AGGRESSIVE, A DANGER TO THEMSELVES OR SOMEONE ELSE, OR SICK OR INJURED. SO THAT WE, ENSURING THAT WE'RE TAKING CARE OF THE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE DON'T WANT THIS TO LINGER FOR OVER A YEAR. WE WANT THIS IMMEDIATELY ERADICATED SO THAT WE CAN MOVE ON AND CONTINUE TO DO THE GOOD WORK. OH, SURE, SURE. IT'S JUST VERY, VERY LIMITED. I MEAN, I SAW TWO LOOSE DOGS ON MY DOG WALK THIS MORNING, SO . ALRIGHT. I YIELD THE REST. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND THANKS FOR ALL YOUR GREAT WORK. ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONER GOGI, IF YOU'RE READY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME. I HAVE NO COMMENTS AT THIS TIME. NO COMMENT. OKAY, GREAT. YEAH, MY TIME. COMMISSIONER MATHAS, IF YOU'RE READY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME. I HAVE, UH, HAS A COUNCIL PERSON EVER COME TO DAS AND SAID, WHAT'S YOUR WISHLIST? WHAT DO YOU WANT? I DON'T THINK THE, THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT A WISHLIST, BUT WE HAVE HAD VISITORS TO THE SHELTER. OKAY. AND I CONTINUE TO ASK IF YOU WOULD ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR, YOUR, UH, COUNCIL PARK, IF YOU'D LIKE TO COME DOWN AND, AND DO A VISUAL WALK AND TALK, WE WILL BE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU. I KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD QUITE A FEW PAST COUNCIL MEMBERS AND SOME CURRENT COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO'VE COME THROUGH. UH, BUT I KNOW EVERYBODY HAS A BUSY SCHEDULE. BUT YEAH, WE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE OPEN. WE'RE VERY TRANSPARENT. YOU COME IN AND, UH, YOU MAY SEEM SEE SOME THINGS THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT WERE GOING ON THAT, THAT OUR TEAM DOES. RIGHT. UM, I, YOU, YOU SAID YOU HAVE 50 OFFICERS TO COVER THIS WHOLE CITY. THAT IS NOT ENOUGH. UH, THAT'S SORELY UNDERFUNDED AS IS OUR SHELTER. UM, I DIDN'T HEAR THE HVAC SYSTEM MENTIONED THIS TIME AROUND, BUT I'M SURE IT'S STILL A PROBLEM 'CAUSE IT HAS BEEN SINCE THE SHELTER WAS BUILT. UM, I'M GOING TO BE ADVOCATING FOR MORE MONEY FOR DAS BECAUSE IT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE AT ALL THAT WE WANNA BE A WORLD CLASS CITY WHEN WE DO NOT HAVE A WORLD CLASS ANIMAL SERVICES, UH, DEPARTMENT. SO I PROMISE YOU I'LL BE THERE MONDAY AND FRIDAY, I THINK, NICK, NO, MONDAY AND THURSDAY, FIVE AND EIGHT. SINCE EIGHT HASN'T APPOINTED A, UH, COMMISSIONER YET. THANK YOU. SO I COULD TELL YOU THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR BUILDING DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND, UH, ENSURING THAT WE DO ALL THAT WE CAN. WE CURRENTLY HAVE TEMPORARY UNITS ON STANDBY IN THE SHELTER, JUST IN CASE, UH, THAT ARE ALREADY PRE-WIRED AND READY TO GO. THANKFULLY, WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO USE THEM BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT THESE PARTICULATES THAT ARE IN THE AIR YEAH. TO, TO BE CIRCULATED. SO IT, IT, IT WOULDN'T REALLY HELP OUR CAUSE. UH, BUT THEY'VE BEEN VERY RESPONSIVE. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF EQUIPMENT THAT'S BEEN REPLACED, UH, INTERNALLY AND WE ARE HAVING THOSE COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT A WANTS AND NEEDS LIST. YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. BUT THE, THEY'VE, THEY'VE PROVIDED OVER A MILLION DOLLARS OF SUPPORT IN OUR SHELTER AS WELL. WE'VE HAD OUR FLOORS ENTIRELY REPLACED. YEAH. WE'VE HAD NEW CAMERAS INSTALLED. WE'VE HAD, UH, A NEW FIRE PANEL INSTALLED. SO WE'VE, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF UPGRADES AT DAS THAT, THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN PROCESS OR HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. THANK YOU. IS THIS ON COMMISSIONER BENNETT? IF YOU'RE READY? YEAH. YEAH. OKAY. I'LL GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME NOW. I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A, A COUPLE MOMENTS, FIRST OF ALL, TO THANK ALL OF YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE. I FEEL LIKE YOU ARE, UM, IN A REALLY TOUGH PLACE EVERY SINGLE DAY. YOU'RE SHORT STAFFED. UM, YOU HAVE HUGE NUMBERS. YOU HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES. [01:45:01] IT'S OBVIOUS THAT YOU CARE AND THAT YOU'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN. UH, AND WHILE IT'S NOT PERFECT, UM, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT YOU'RE WORKING TOWARDS DOING THE BEST THAT YOU CAN. UM, OBVIOUSLY WE NEED MORE MONEY AND WE NEED A, A LOT OF THINGS TO HELP YOU ALL DO BETTER. AND THE FACT THAT THEY'RE POACHING YOUR EMPLOYEES JUST SHOWS THE FACT THAT YOU'RE HIRING GREAT QUALITY PEOPLE. SO, UM, FOR EVERYBODY OUT THERE, I MEAN, THIS IS DIFFICULT. AND, UH, I THINK WHAT WE CAN ALL DO IS TRY TO GET THE WORD OUT, TRY TO HELP RAISE AWARENESS, UM, FUNDRAISE WHEN POSSIBLE. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, FOR PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE THOSE RESOURCES TO COME VOLUNTEER AT THE, AT THE SHELTER. I DID THE DOGGIE DAYCARE AND WHILE IT WAS HEARTBREAKING, I FOLLOWED THAT DOG 'CAUSE I COULD NOT TAKE IT TO MY HOME TO MAKE SURE THAT HE GOT ADOPTED AND TOLD MY HUSBAND THAT IF, IF THAT DOG HIT THE EU LIST, WE WERE GONNA, WE WERE GONNA FIGURE IT OUT EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE A FULL HOUSE. SO, UM, BUT LUCKILY THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. AND I JUST, AGAIN, AM AMAZED AND WHAT HEART IT TAKES FOR YOU ALL TO GO IN THERE EVERY DAY AND FIGHT THAT FIGHT. SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GET ENOUGH PROPS AND KUDOS FOR WHAT YOU ARE DOING. WE APPRECIATE IT. OH, AND DID, UH, DID PRETZEL GET ADOPTED? THAT WOULD BE MY QUESTION. NOAH? THE PRETZEL. NOAH, NOAH THE PRETZEL. YES. I, I, I WOULD HOPE SO BECAUSE OF HIS ACROBATIC SKILLS. SO, WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE YOU AN UPDATE. OKAY. UH, COMMISSIONER SANDER, IF YOU'RE READY. YEAH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME. OKAY. I HAVE, UM, THREE QUESTIONS AND THREE COMMENTS. SO WE CAN GO BACK AND FORTH. SHOULD I, CAN I ASK THE QUESTIONS AND THEN DO THE COMMENTS? YES. I'D LIKE OKAY. FOR CLARIFICATION, I'M GONNA LET YOU KNOW IF WHEN YOU ASK A QUESTION, THE RESPONSE DOESN'T EAT INTO YOUR TIME. SO YOU CAN, YOU CAN GO BACK AND FORTH IF YOU WANT. OKAY, COOL. UM, I MEAN, THEY'RE PRETTY SHORT QUESTIONS. I THINK YOU'LL BE ABLE TO, OKAY. SO THE FIRST QUESTION IS, ACTUALLY, I'M GONNA SAVE THAT ONE TILL LATER. 'CAUSE IT MIGHT TAKE A LITTLE, UM, SO RIGHT NOW DURING THE, UH, EMPER PROTOCOLS, WE ARE DOING MORE FOSTER TO ADOPT WITHOUT SPAY NEUTER ON THE FRONT END. WHEN DO WE EXPECT THAT TO CURTAIL OR TO BE? WE'RE, WE'RE UNIMPLEMENTED . WE'RE ACTUALLY STARTING TO BRING THOSE INDIVIDUALS IN AND SCHEDULING THEM FOR NOW THAT THE VACCINE HAS TAKEN ITS EFFECT. AND WE GREAT WORKING THROUGH THE SECOND BOOSTER, WE'RE LOOKING TO RESCHEDULE THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO COME IN TO COMPLETE THEIR ADOPTION AND GET THEIR AWESOME SPAN. THERE'S, WHAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO DO WAS PUT ANIMALS IN DANGER BECAUSE WHEN THEY'RE UNDER ANESTHESIA, THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM WILL DROP AND WE, WE WILL JUST CREATE A ANO A WORSE SITUATION. YEAH. AND GET AS MANY OUTTA THE SHELTER AS POSSIBLE, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND, AND GET 'EM BACK THERE WHEN YOU CAN. AND THAT'S GREAT. UM, OKAY, SECOND ONE WAS ABOUT THE REFRIGERATION ON THE TRUCKS. UM, THIS, I'M SURE YOU CAN'T ANSWER THIS, BUT I'M JUST WONDERING, UM, IS THIS MAYBE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ASK FOTI TO HELP? ACTUALLY, YOU'VE ALREADY DONE THAT. ARE YOU, ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE, THE VACCINATION? WE ARE, WE ARE LOOKING AT PURCHASING OUR, OUR NEW VEHICLES ARE, ARE THE, UH, TRANSIT VEHICLES. WE'RE GETTING AWAY FROM THE BIG BULKY VANS. OKAY. UH, WE HAVE SOME THAT ARE COMING IN AND I BELIEVE THEY MAY BE OUTFITTED WITH A CDC POWER. OH, AWESOME. SO IF THAT'S CAPABLE, WE'VE ALREADY PURCHASED THROUGH FOSS OKAY. THE LITTLE COOLERS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE IN THE VAN. SO IT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS. WE'RE JUST, WE'RE SLOWLY WORKING TO IMPLEMENT THAT OUT. OKAY. ON A, YEAH. AND PART OF THAT OTHER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM IS THEY'RE WORKING TO DO AS WELL AS ACCOUNTABILITY. MM-HMM . EDUCATION OUTREACH AND MICROCHIPPING IN THE FIELD. 'CAUSE WE KNOW SOME FOLKS DON'T HAVE TRANSPORTATION OR THE ABILITY TO GET TO US AND POSSIBLE VACCINATIONS AS WELL. OKAY. THAT BRINGS ME UP TO A QUESTION THAT I WASN'T GONNA ASK, BUT, UH, SINCE YOU BROUGHT UP NEW VANS, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER MY ASSISTANCE AND I KNOW SOME OF THE OTHER MARKETING PEOPLE BEFORE WE PUT BIG SPLASHY SLOGANS ON THE SIDE. I I CAN HELP WITH GRAPHIC DESIGN. I KNOW THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE THAT CAN DO THAT. BEFORE WE PUT AN OLD LOGO AND OLD INFORMATION ON IT, CAN WE KIND OF GET TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT STRATEGY? YES. THAT, THAT'S JUST A, THAT, THAT'S, WE THROWING THAT OUT THERE. THAT'S PART AND PART WHY WE HAVEN'T PUT ANY GRAPHICS ON THE VEHICLES YET. YEAH, YEAH. NO, AND I KNOW SINCE THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT IS STILL SLIM AND WE HAVE NEWER PEOPLE STARTING ANYWAY, UM, I CAN HELP WITH GRAPHIC DESIGN. I KNOW SAUNA CAN HELP WITH SOME OF THAT KIND OF STUFF TOO. ANYWAY. AND STEPHANIE PROBABLY, SO COMMISSIONER CASEY. OKAY. SO THEN, UH, THE NEXT ONE IS RESCUES. UM, WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR VETTING RESCUE PARTNERS AND MONITORING THEIR PROGRESS AND PROTOCOLS? AND THEN FOR ALSO THEN REVIEWING, SUSPENDING, OR POSSIBLY CANCELING THOSE RESCUE PARTNERS. AND WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR REINSTATEMENT? I KNOW THAT'S A DIFFICULT QUESTION AND HAS A LOT OF STUFF MAYBE YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT, BUT JUST KIND OF GENERAL IDEAS ABOUT THAT. UM, THE PROCESS FOR VETTING RESCUE PARTNERS AND THEN ALSO [01:50:01] FOR MONITORING THEIR PROGRESS AND THEIR PROCEDURES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE FOLLOWING, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT FALLING INTO TRAPS, ESPECIALLY LIKE WHEN THEY'RE TRANSPORTING. AND THEN, UM, I'M NOT MAKING ANY ACCUSATIONS. I'M REALLY JUST WANNA KNOW PROTOCOLS, THAT'S ALL. SO WE, THEY SUBMIT AN APPLICATION ONLINE, THEN OUR RESCUE TEAM WILL FOLLOW UP. THEY HAVE, UM, WE NEED TO GET, UM, I'M SORRY, I'M BLANKING, BUT WE NEED TO TALK TO THEIR REFERENCES RIGHT. TO CLARIFY. SO WE GET A VET, REF AT LEAST ONE VET REFERENCE, AND THEN WE TRY TO GET TWO SHELTER REFERENCES IF THEY'RE NOT ABLE SOME, UM, WE'VE INSTITUTED A PROBATIONARY TERM FOR RESCUES THAT HAVEN'T WORKED WITH, UM, SHELTERS PREVIOUSLY. 'CAUSE THEY HAVE A NEW 5 0 1 C3. RIGHT. SO WE DO HAVE THEM ON PROBATION. SO THEN WE'RE CHECKING IN AND THEN THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE US UPDATES WITH THEIR ANIMALS. AND THEN WE HAVE A LIMIT ON THE AMOUNT THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO PULL OKAY. WHILE THEY'RE ON PROBATION. OKAY. AND SO THEN LET'S SAY THEIR LIMIT IS, I'M JUST PUTTING THE ARBITRARY NUMBER MM-HMM . UM, 10. AND SO IF THEY GET TO THAT 10 NUMBER AND THERE'S NOT ANYTHING THAT'S BEEN ADOPTED OR MOVED OUT OF THEIR RESCUE FROM THOSE 10, THEN THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO PULL UNTIL THEY'RE ABLE TO MOVE SOME OF THOSE ANIMALS OUT. OKAY. SO THAT THEY'RE NOT ACCUMULATING TOO MANY ERROR. RIGHT. OKAY. I, I NOTICED SOME CONVERSATION ON A FEW FACEBOOK POSTS, LIKE THE DII DON'T KNOW WHICH ONES THE GROUPS THAT TRY TO REHOME DOGS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. AND THIS JUST CAME UP BECAUSE SOMEBODY HAD MENTIONED THAT, UM, LIKE, OH, WE CAN'T POST ABOUT THESE RESCUES IF THEY'VE EVER BEEN SUSPENDED FROM A MUNICIPAL SHELTER. SO THAT JUST GOT ME THINKING, OKAY, WHAT'S THE PROCESS OF CANCELING OUR SUSPENDING A RESCUE? AND THEN LIKE, HOW DO I, IT IT GETS MORE COMPLICATED, BUT THEN HOW DO THESE PEOPLE ONLINE EVEN KNOW THAT THEY WERE CANCELED? HOW DO THEY KNOW THAT THEY'VE BEEN REINSTATED? LIKE IT GETS A REALLY GRAY AREA. BUT IT JUST MADE ME THINK LIKE WE SHOULD ALL PROBABLY KNOW WHAT THOSE PROTOCOLS ARE BEFORE WE START TALKING ABOUT THEM. WE DO. SO WHEN WE DO THE ARE CANCELED OR, UH, UNABLE TO TAG FROM US, THEN THEY DO, LIKE, WE DO NEED DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF ONE OF THE YEAH. NEGLECT TO BE, SO IT'S LIKE IF THERE'S ACCUSATIONS ONLINE, WE NEED TO HAVE THE SOLID PROOF RIGHT. THAT THERE WAS THERE, THERE LIKE NOT JUST ACCUSATIONS. YEAH. THAT WAS, THAT'S IT FOR THAT. OH, I, I DO HAVE A COUPLE. NO, THAT'S NOT IT FOR ME ACTUALLY. , SORRY. AM I READY? NO, ERICA'S DONE. YEAH. YEAH, I THINK SO. UM, THIS, THIS IS A COMMENT, UM, ABOUT PAGE 25, WHICH IS A FIELD SERVICE PRIORITY CALL LEVELS. UM, THIS IS LIKE FANTASTIC AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS DOESN'T STOP ANYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY FROM CALLING. YEAH. SO I JUST WANT EVERYBODY, WHOEVER'S LISTENING IN THE UNIVERSE OR MAKING COMMENTS ONLINE THAT CALLING 3 1 1, EVEN FOR WHAT THEY CALL CALL NON DISPATCH PRIORITIES ARE REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT GIVES OUR CITY, UH, HOTSPOTS WHERE THINGS ARE HAPPENING. SO PLEASE DON'T JUST NOT CALL BECAUSE YOU THINK IT'S GONNA TAKE SIX HOURS OR THREE DAYS FOR DAS TO COME OUT THERE. PLEASE CALL, DOCUMENT THAT. THE MORE WE DOCUMENT, THE MORE THE CITY KNOWS WHERE THE PROBLEMS ARE, THE MORE WE CAN ACTUALLY FUND AND, AND TELL THE CITY WHAT WE NEED. SO I JUST ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO KEEP CALLING 3 1 1, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE CAN DO. . AND THEN, UM, OH, THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE. OH, OKAY. AND THE OTHER THING IS, THANK YOU. UH, MY, MY CAT PEOPLE COULDN'T COME TODAY. I GOT A FEW MESSAGES THIS MORNING THAT THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THIS WAS ACTUALLY THE REAL MEETING AND THE LAST MEETING WAS THE MAKEUP MEETING. AND UM, OF COURSE THE NUMBER ONE QUESTION WAS, BUT CAN YOU ASK ABOUT SPAY NEUTER SOCIETY? AND PAUL, EVEN BEFORE THE MEETING STARTED, CAME UP TO ME AND SAID, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW WE'RE GONNA ANNOUNCE THIS. UM, SO IT'S ON THE TOP OF HIS MIND. HE CARES. UM, AND WE WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR REMEMBERING THAT. I MEAN, AS A CAT PERSON, AS NOT THE VOICE FOR ALL CAT PEOPLE, BUT , I DO APPRECIATE YOU LISTENING TO THAT. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS AT THE END, I JUST WANNA TAKE A MOMENT, UM, TO ACKNOWLEDGE SOMETHING THAT GETS LOST WITH ALL THIS URGENCY AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT THAT WE SEE ONLINE IS THAT, UM, OUR MUNICIPAL SHELTERS AND THE PEOPLE THAT WORK THERE ARE THE BACKBONE OF OUR CITY. AND, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, I HOPE WE REMEMBER THAT THE, IT'S NOT THE S FAILING OR THE PEOPLE THAT WORK THERE, IT'S, UM, PEOPLE, IT'S, IT'S UNDER RESOURCED AND IT'S THE SYSTEM. AND SO THEY DESERVE ALL FULL SUPPORT. YOU HAVE MINE. UM, DOESN'T MEAN IT'S PERFECT, BUT I THINK WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER TO TRY TO MAKE IT BETTER. SO THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE THAT GO EVERY DAY AND ARE SOMETIMES SCARED TO GO TO WORK. THANK YOU FOR SHOWING UP FOR THE DOGS AND FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS AND THE CATS AND THE, AND THE ROOSTERS AND THE RATS AND THE GUINEA PIGS AND THE SNAKES. YEAH. SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY. SO SNAKES SHELBY, THERE YOU GO. PERFECT. OKAY. OKAY. SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO OUR COMMISSIONERS ONLINE. UM, COMMISSIONER GEERING, I SEE YOU FIRST, SO IF YOU ARE [01:55:01] READY, GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME. HAPPY GO. JUST LEMME KNOW WHEN YOU'RE, GO AHEAD. AWESOME. THANK YOU JILLIAN. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH PAUL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND FOR, UM, SHARING THIS WITH US. I THINK MY TWO BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS ARE, ARE FIRST, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT, I JUST WITH THIS OUTBREAK, I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE ALREADY STRUGGLING SO HARD TO, TO KEEP THINGS MOVING AND KEEP YOUR NUMBERS UP, BUT I KNOW THAT'S REALLY FRUSTRATING, BUT WE SEE IT, WE APPRECIATE IT. UM, I APPRECIATE YOU ACKNOWLEDGING THAT Y'ALL HAD TO TAKE ON THE CRUELTY CASES AND YOU DIDN'T GET AN INCREASED BUDGET FOR THAT. AND I, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. AND I KNOW IT'S, UH, FRUSTRATING FOR ME AS A COMMISSIONER AND I THINK THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS SHARE THIS. IT'S FRUSTRATING THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE POWER TO GET MORE FUNDS. ALL WE CAN DO IS KIND OF LOBBY OUR, UM, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. AND SO I, I THINK WE NEED TO DO THAT. WE NEED TO BE VERY CLEAR THAT THE DAS BUDGET HAS NOT INCREASED, EVEN THOUGH IN PROPORTION TO THE AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITY THAT IT'S HAD TO TAKE ON. OBVIOUSLY, UM, WITH THE CRUELTY CASES, LIKE I THINK ONE OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, YEARS AGO WHEN THE SHELTER WAS INITIALLY BUILT, IT WAS BUILT JUST TO, TO BE A TEMPORARY HOUSE FOR FOUND ANIMALS AS THEY'RE BEING RETURNED. AND CLEARLY IT'S OPERATIONS ARE SO MUCH LARGER, UM, NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE GROWTH OF THE CITY OF DALLAS, BUT BECAUSE OF ALL THE ADDITIONAL THINGS AND, AND THE, JUST THE SURPLUS OF DOGS AND THE FACT THAT WE CAN'T SEEM TO STOP DOGS FROM COMING IN FROM PUPPY MILLS FROM OTHER STATES THAT I, WELL THAT'S A DISCUSSION FOR ANOTHER TIME. BUT, UM, I, I DO THINK IT'S CLEAR THAT WE REALLY JUST NEED TO GET ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO HELP, UM, THE SHELTER ACCOMMODATE. AND I KNOW I SAID THIS AT THE LAST MEETING, I LOVE TO HEAR THAT WE HAVE THIS MANY VOLUNTEERS THAT SAVED THE CITY OVER A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS, BUT THAT ALSO TELLS ME THAT THE CITY NEEDS AN ADDITIONAL QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS TO PAY INDIVIDUALS AND HAVE MORE TO, TO FURTHER SUPPORT THE ANIMALS. SO I DO WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO, UM, DISTRICT TWO, UM, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER MAYO PROTON JESSE, UH, NOW FOR JOINING THE MEETING TODAY. I KNOW HE DIDN'T, UH, WASN'T ABLE TO STAY FOR THE WHOLE THING, BUT I APPRECIATE HIM COMING AND LISTENING AND, AND TRYING TO HEAR WHAT, WHAT DAS HAS TO SAY AND WHAT GET, GET UPDATES STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE HIM TAKING THE TIME TO DO THAT. UM, AND I THINK THE REST OF US, WE REALLY JUST NEED TO CONTINUE TO TRY AND LOBBY FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE CITY BECAUSE IT, PAUL, YOUR, YOUR PRESENTATION SHOWS YOU'RE DOING A LOT OF THINGS AND YOU GUYS ARE WORKING REALLY HARD, BUT I THINK THAT CLEARLY IS ONE OF THE LAST THINGS WE REALLY JUST NEED. SO WE THANK YOU AND WE APPRECIATE YOU. UM, AND I WILL YOU HAVE THE REST OF YOUR TIME IF, IF, IF I COULD ADD A LITTLE COMMENTARY TO THAT. UH, OF COURSE, WHEN WE INITIALLY TOOK OVER SUSPECTED ANIMAL CRUELTY, THE BUDGET PROCESS HAD ALREADY COMPLETED FOR THAT YEAR, FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. SO THAT'S WHY WE, THERE WAS NO FUNDING THE NEXT YEAR WE WERE PROVIDED ADDITIONAL FUNDING, HOWEVER, WE DIDN'T KNOW THE MAGNITUDE OF HOW THIS WAS GONNA GO. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE, YOU'RE SEEING INCREASES NOW. SO THE CITY DID PROVIDE FUNDING, IT'S JUST, IT WASN'T TO THE LEVEL THAT WE THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA NEED BASED ON THE NUMBERS. SO, UH, NOW THAT WE SEE A STEADY INCREASE IN THE NUMBERS, WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES. AWESOME. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. I'LL GIVE THE REST OF MY TIME, JULIE. THANK YOU. UM, SO I WILL JUST GO, UM, IN ORDER OF DISTRICT, SO COMMISSIONER HANSEN, IF YOU ARE READY, LET ME KNOW AND I'LL START YOUR TIME. OKAY. YES, I'M READY. OKAY, GO AHEAD. FIRST, I JUST WANTED TO ASK, WHAT, WHAT IS NEEDED? LIKE WHAT IS AT THE TOP OF OUR CHART THAT IS DESPERATELY NEEDED THAT RIGHT NOW YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE? WELL, RIGHT NOW WHAT WE NEED IS AWARENESS. WE NEED MORE AWARENESS OF VACCINE PROTOCOLS. WE NEED AWARENESS IN THE PUBLIC OF, OF, OF WHAT, WHAT IT, HOW CRITICAL IT IS TO GET YOUR ANIMALS VACCINATED, AT LEAST DA TWO PPP. AND, AND THEN THE, UH, UM, UH, PARVO, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THAT SO THAT THEY'RE PROTECTED AND SAFE. UH, WE ADD AN ADDITIONAL, UH, ELLO WHEN THEY COME INTO THE SHELTER, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE COMMUNITIES UNDERSTANDS THAT WE HAVE A RESOURCE PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE. WE ALSO POST ON FACEBOOK ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE. AND THAT, UH, IF THEY DO SEE AN OPPORTUNITY THROUGH ANOTHER ORGANIZATION OR SOMEONE ELSE OUTSIDE OF DAS TO TAKE, TO GET THEIR DOGS VACCINATED, TO PLEASE DO SO, UH, THAT WOULD HELP SO MUCH IN THE PUBLIC. AND AS WELL, FOSTERS, FOSTERS ARE GREAT AND ALL THAT THEY DO, UH, ARE MEDICAL FOSTERS THAT TAKE ON THESE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THESE ANIMALS TO KEEP THEM OUT OF THE SHELTER AS THEY CONTINUE TO IMPROVE WITH WHATEVER ILLNESS THEY HAVE. AND IN OUR FOSTERS IN GENERAL, THEY'VE DONE AN AMAZING JOB, AS I STATED IN THE PRESENTATION. SO, UH, RIGHT NOW, ONE OF OUR BIGGEST NEEDS, AS YOU HEARD EARLIER, WAS PPE AS WE CONTINUE TO RUN THROUGH IT QUICKLY, UH, UH, ANY HELP THAT WE CAN GET FROM THE COMMUNITY. AND, AND I DON'T KNOW, ERICA, IF YOU [02:00:01] WANTED TO TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF PPE THAT WE NEED, BUT I KNOW WE'RE LOOKING AT BOOTIES, WE'RE LOOKING AT GOWNS, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, THE FULL COVER OVERALLS FOR OUR, OUR, OUR OUR, UH, CONTAGIOUS AND ISOLATED. UH, BUT I BELIEVE THOSE ARE THE MAIN THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE, LIKE WE SAID, WE HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH PEANUT BUTTER, UH, CALL OUT. BOY, IT WAS ANSWERED. . OKAY. THAT'S GREAT. OKAY, SO, AND THEN WHAT, IS THERE A WAY WE COULD GET A LIST OF ALL THE COMPANIES THAT WE CAN TRACK THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTS WITH, THAT WE WORK WITH? UH, I'D HAVE TO ASK, GO THROUGH LEGAL ABOUT THAT QUESTION. OKAY. OKAY. AND THEN I DO WANNA THANK ALL OF YOU. I THINK YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB. I THINK IT'S HARD WORK. IT'S HARD WORK UNLESS SOMEONE'S LIKE ACTUALLY TAKING CARE OF A LOT OF DOGS THAT IT'S, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY GET SICK AND DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN. IT'S INCREDIBLY CHALLENGING. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT OPINIONS OF HOW THINGS GO. UM, AND NOT EVERYONE AGREES CLEARLY. I MEAN, AND THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, I HOPE WE CAN SUPPORT RESCUES OUT THERE INSTEAD OF BELITTLING THEM. I THINK THAT'S SUPER, SUPER IMPORTANT. AND I KNOW THE SHELTERS A HUGE SUPPORT OF RESCUES. UM, AND THEN LASTLY, I JUST WANNA SAY, I KNOW SOMEONE WAS CONFUSED ABOUT, UH, DISTRICT EIGHT HAVING A COMMISSIONER. I AM THE DISTRICT EIGHT COMMISSIONER, AND I HAVE BEEN ON FOR MULTIPLE YEARS. I'VE ACTUALLY HOSTED MYSELF, UH, FREE VACCINATION ALONG WITH STANDARD NETWORK. THEY'RE AMAZING. UM, FREE VACCINATION AND FREE MICROCHIP CLINICS IN MULTIPLE COMMISSIONER AREAS. UHHUH , I'M SO SORRY. UM, THIS IS MARISSA HEIN CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. PLEASE LIMIT YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS TO THE DIRECTOR'S PRESENTATION. OKAY. OKAY. SORRY, I WAS KIND OF GOING ON ABOUT THE PRESENTATION ABOUT THE PREVA OR THE VACCINATION CLINICS AND SO FORTH. UM, THE PARKS AND REC ARE REALLY GREAT TO WORK WITH, AND WE COULD HOST THESE IN DIFFERENT, IN ALL THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS. UM, IF EVERYONE WOULD KIND OF LIKE GET TOGETHER THE COMMISSIONERS AND KIND OF PLAN, WE COULD, WE COULD HOST THESE IN DIFFERENT PARTS AND KIND OF HELP ADD EDUCATION AWARENESS AND OFFER, UH, UP SOME ALONG WITH D DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES, SOME VACCINATION CLINICS. I MEAN, THAT'S JUST KIND OF A THOUGHT. I KNOW THAT THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL WHEN WE DID 'EM, AND, UM, IT'S PRETTY REWARDING. SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU GUYS ARE INTERESTED IN OR NOT, BUT JUST KINDA WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE. THAT'S IT. OKAY. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER HANSEN. I WILL GO TO COMMISSIONER HILL NEXT AND OKAY. I SEE YOU. IF YOU ARE READY, LET ME KNOW AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME. I'M READY. OKAY. UM, UH, I JUST WANTED TO SAY IT WAS AN AMAZING REPORT AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU GUYS HAVE PRETTY GOOD CONTROL OVER, UM, SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE HAPPENING THERE. AND, UM, THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAD TO SAY. IT'S A GOOD REPORT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER, IF YOU'RE READY, LET ME KNOW AND I'LL START YOUR DAY. HEY, PAUL, I THINK YOU'VE DONE A GREAT, GREAT JOB. I MEAN, EVERYTHING LOOKS WONDERFUL. I JUST, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. UM, WHAT IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD WALKTHROUGH AND THAT YOU SEE ALL THESE HOMES? UM, I, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS. WELL, WHAT, WE HAVE A CONTINGENT OF OFFICERS THAT GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND THEY'LL DO A NEIGHBORHOOD WALKTHROUGH. AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS OBSERVING THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR POTENTIAL ISSUES, TRYING TO, UH, RTO WHILE THEY'RE OUT THE FIELD, AS WELL AS PROVIDING YOUR PET YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. EDUCATION. ACTUALLY DONE SOME WALKTHROUGHS WITH SPAY NEUTER NETWORK IN PROVIDING, UH, ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR THEIR SERVICES. UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING TO BUILD AND UPDATE AND ADD TO THAT TEAM BY ADDING THE COMMUNITY CAT GROUP INTO THAT CONVERSATION. SO IT'S WHAT, WHAT IT, WHAT IT IS, IS THEY LOOK AT HEAT MAPS BASED ON CALL VOLUMES FOR LOOSE DOGS, AND THEY, THEY USE THOSE HEAT MAPS TO DETERMINE WHAT AREAS AS MUCH AS WE CAN, TO NARROW IT DOWN TO SOME BLOCKS TO GO OUT AND TO EDUCATE AND TO, UH, PROVIDE, UH, ADDITIONAL AVENUES FOR RESOURCES TO REMOVE BARRIERS. THAT'S GREAT. THAT'S REALLY COOL. UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS, UH, THE FOOD FOR YOUR FOOD PANTRY DONATED? OR DO YOU GUYS BUY IT? WE DO NOT BUY IT. IT'S DONATED. OH, THAT'S AWESOME. THAT'S AWESOME. AND, UM, HOW CAN WE GET OPERATION KINDNESS TO HELP US WITH MORE SURGERIES? IT LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE THE LOWEST ON THE TOTEM POLE, AND I KNOW THEY HAVE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY UTILIZING OUR OPERATION KINDNESS PHOTOS, UH, INITIATIVE TO SUPPLEMENT OUR SUBSIDIZED SURGERY. SO RIGHT NOW, FOTIS IS PAYING FOR A HUNDRED [02:05:01] THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF SUBSIDIZED SURGERY, SO WE COULD CONTINUE THOSE SURGERIES IN THE COMMUNITY AS WE DEPLETED THE CITY'S RESOURCES. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, I DON'T NEED ANY MORE TIME. EVERYBODY HAVE A GREAT DAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND COMMISSIONER SYED, IF YOU ARE READY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME. JUST LET ME KNOW. YES, I'M READY. YOU CAN SEE ME OKAY, JILLIAN? YES. I'LL GO AHEAD AND START YOUR TIME NOW. GREAT, THANK YOU. UH, I DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, PAUL. UM, JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS REGARDING BUDGET AND THEN EMPLOYEE RETENTION. UM, ONE IS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAD, UM, ALL THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR PRIORITIES? WHERE WOULD YOU WANT TO ALLOCATE THAT FUNDING AS FAR AS, UM, KIND OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY THAT YOU'RE UNABLE TO DO SO RIGHT NOW BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING FOR THAT UNDER EMPLOYEE RETENTION. UM, ANYTHING YOU CAN SHARE ABOUT WHAT'S BEING DONE, IF YOU'VE STARTED ANYTHING NEW IN ADDRESSING EMPLOYEE RETENTION, UM, AND ARE YOU SEEING AN ADVERSE EFFECT IN DAS SERVICES IN THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH OF TURNOVER? UM, ESPECIALLY FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND ANIMAL SERVICE OFFICERS. UM, AND THEN FOR THE CHAIR, IF WE CAN LOOK AT DOING SOME KIND OF APPRECIATION EVENT OR BREAKFAST FOR DAS EMPLOYEES AS A COMMISSION. UH, I'LL ANSWER THE LAST ONE FIRST. UH, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF, UH, FOLKS, VOLUNTEERS THAT STARTED A FOOD CHAIN FOR THE STAFF, A FOOD TRAIN FOR THE STAFF. SO THERE'S REPEATED THINGS COMING IN. I KNOW OVER THE WEEKEND WE HAD OUR CHAIR COME DOWN AND, AND ANOTHER, UH, COMMISSIONER TO BRING, UH, FOOD AND RESOURCES TO THE TEAM. UH, WE WILL NEVER DISSUADE ANYBODY FROM BRINGING THAT , UH, TO THE SHELTER, UH, BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND IT'S HARD WORK AND A LOT OF THESE FOLKS ARE, ARE, ARE CONTINUOUSLY WORKING. UM, AS FAR AS FUNDING GOES, UH, THAT I'D HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT WE REALLY NEED, UH, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE LOTS OF NEEDS, BUT PUTTING THEM ON A SCALE WOULD BE KIND OF TOUGH 'CAUSE THEY WOULD ALL BE AT THE NUMBER ONE SLOT. UH, OF COURSE THIS IS A HUMAN HEAVY OPERATION, SO, YOU KNOW, STAFFING, BE ABLE TO HAVE THE STAFFING TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE DO. AND WE ARE GRACIOUS FOR THE CITY'S, UH, PROPOSAL TO INCREASE OUR, OUR, UH, BUDGET THAT WILL HELP, UH, ADDRESS THAT NEED. UM, BUT I KNOW WE'RE WORKING ON OUR FACILITIES AS WELL, MAKING IMPROVEMENTS THERE. UH, BUT AS, AS FAR AS A A TOP TIER PRIORITY, I'D HAVE TO TALK TO THE TEAM TO SEE WHAT THEY FEEL IS A PRIORITY AND THEN LOOK AT IT FROM A STANDPOINT OF WHAT WE CAN BUDGET APPROPRIATELY TO MEET THOSE NEEDS. AS FAR AS RETENTION GOES, UH, WE ARE MAINTAINING, I BELIEVE, A CLOSE TO SINGLE DIGIT VACANCY RATE. UH, WE'RE DOING A GREAT JOB OF TRYING TO MARKET AND GET OUT THERE AND OUTREACH. UH, I KNOW WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED, OUR VACANCY RATE FOR OUR FIELD OPERATIONS TEAM WAS ALMOST WAS 40%. UH, AND I BELIEVE NOW WE ONLY LIKE HAVE A HANDFUL OF VACANCIES IN THAT UNIT. SO WE'RE CONTINUOUSLY WORKING TO INCENTIVIZE THE FOLKS. AND WHAT I'VE TALKED TO MY TEAM ABOUT WAS I WANNA INCENTIVIZE HARD WORK THROUGH THE MERIT PROCESS. WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THESE FOLKS THAT ARE WORKING ABOVE AND BEYOND AND PROVE THAT UP THROUGH THE MERIT PROCESS AND WITH THIS BUDGET CITY MANAGER MADE SURE THAT THE MERITS ARE STILL AVAILABLE. SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO USE THAT AS AN INCENTIVE FOR OUR FOLKS TO KEEP THEM ON BOARD. UM, AND THEN FOR THE SERVICE EFFECTS, UH, WE, WE CONTINUE TO OPERATE NO MATTER WHAT. WE'LL, WE'LL, AS YOU'VE HEARD, OUR, OUR OVERTIME BUDGET'S KIND OF, UH, A LITTLE UP THERE, BUT WE'VE, WE'VE WORKED TO MAINTAIN OUR PERSONNEL COSTS THROUGH VACANCIES AND VACANCY SAVINGS. BUT, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO, TO, TO PULL IN THE RESOURCES WE NEED TO DO EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO DO. THANK YOU. I'LL YIELD THE REST OF MY TIME. OKAY. AM I THE LAST ONE? THANK YOU. AND THEN WE HAVE NOT HEARD FROM CHAIR BOSKY YET, SO CAN YOU HEAR ME? I, YES. OKAY. AWESOME. SO, UM, AND I JUST PLEASE STOP THE TIMER REAL QUICK. JUST A QUESTION. I AM ALLOWED TO ASK QUESTIONS AND THEN YOU STOP IT WHEN PAUL OR SOMEONE A ELSE IS ASKING. CORRECT. OKAY. AND I JUST WANNA CONFIRMATION FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY. SO WE NEED TO LIMIT OUR COMMENTS TO THE DIRECTOR'S PRESENTATION. IS THAT CORRECT? YES, THAT IS CORRECT. OKAY. AND IF I'M GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT, I WILL STOP IF YOU GIVE ME THIS OR SOMETHING. 'CAUSE I, I GOT A OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. SO FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANNA THANK HANG AND I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND NOW START YOUR TIME. , THANK, THANK YOU. [02:10:01] I JUST WANNA THANK EVERY ONE OF OUR COMMISSIONERS, UM, FOR ALL OF YOUR VOLUNTEERISM FOR OUR CITY SHELTER. MY NUMBER ONE, BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME NEW PEOPLE. THIS BROUGHT, THIS WAS BROUGHT UP EARLIER. HAVE YOU ASKED YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER TO TOUR THE SHELTER? HAVE YOU BEEN DOWN THERE? WE HAVE FOUR NEW CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR A VETERINARIAN TO SIT ON THIS BOARD. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND ONE. AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT THEY FACE ON A DAILY BASIS WHEN YOU WALK THE SHELTER. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. OKAY. I'M NOT GONNA GET IN TROUBLE FOR THIS. I'M GONNA TRY, UH, OKAY. SO YOU CANNOT LOBBY, PAUL, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CANNOT ADVOCATE, BUT IF YOU, IF I CAME TO YOU AND SAID, I'M GOING TO A BUDGET MEETING NEXT WEEK, I WANNA HELP THE SHELTER. WHAT, IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN ASK FOR? OR WHAT, WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO? IS THAT ALLOWED? OKAY. SHE SAID IT'S ALLOWED. I'M, I'M A CITIZEN. WHAT DO WE DO? I, I WOULD ASK THAT YOU ADVOCATE FOR THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SHELTER AND THE NEED FOR ITS SERVICES AND FOR THE CITY TO UTILIZE EVERY RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO LOOK AT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BUDGET. OKAY. BECAUSE YOU SAID LIKE THERE'S NOT A NUMBER ONE SLOT FOR ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS. SO JUST CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE SHELTER. CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE SHELTER. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, I JUST WANNA SAY, I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT AGAIN, IN, UH, IN CORRELATION WITH THE DIRECTOR'S PRESENTATION, WE ALL CAN SAY THAT ANIMAL CRUELTY IS ABHORRENT AND WE DO NOT SUPPORT ANIMAL CRUELTY. AND WE CAN SAY WE SUPPORT DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES AT THE SAME TIME. AND I THINK THAT'S KEY. AND AGAIN, IN KEEPING WITH THE COMMENTS WITH THE PRESENTATION, DAS DOES NOT INVESTIGATE ANIMAL CRUELTY. DAS DOES NOT INVESTIGATE ANIMAL CRUELTY. OKAY. SO IN SAYING THAT, WHEN YOU HAVE TO ADHERE TO FACEBOOK POSTS OR THINGS THAT ARE PUT OUT THERE THAT ARE INCORRECT, THAT TAKES AWAY FROM YOUR TIME ALONG WITH OTHER SHELTER EMPLOYEES, TIME AND PUTTING YOUR HANDS ON THE ANIMALS IN TRYING TO WORK THROUGH DISTEMPER OUTBREAKS AND EVERY OTHER CHALLENGE, CHALLENGE YOU FACE. SO AGAIN, I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT. WHEN THINGS ARE PUT OUT THERE THAT ARE INACCURATE OR THINGS THAT ARE BEYOND YOUR CONTROL, BEYOND YOUR PAY GRADE, THEN THAT TAKES AWAY FROM WHAT WE ALL CARE ABOUT, WHICH IS THE ANIMALS. WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT? YES. OKAY. NOR TEXAS GIVING DAY FOTIS, I JUST GOT AN EMAIL FROM THEM ASKING FOR MONEY FOR FRIENDS OF DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES. I'M JUST GONNA ASK ONE MORE TIME. WE'VE ASKED SEVERAL TIMES FOR WENDY TO COME. IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR HER TO PRESENT AND TELL US EXACTLY WHAT YOU GUYS NEED. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN TELL US TODAY? I KNOW YOU CAN'T ASK FOR MONEY. AGAIN, I, I DON'T WANNA GET IN TROUBLE, BUT LIKE, WHAT, WHAT IS THE PLAN THERE? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE SOME OF THESE ITEMS ARE BEING TAKEN CARE OF. FRIENDS OF DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES, IS THERE A LIST SOMEWHERE? SO IF I DONATE, I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING AND, AND PROVIDING TO THE SHELTER. I BELIEVE WHEN WENDY WAS HERE LAST, SHE PROVIDED AN EMAIL ADDRESS. AND IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT COULD BE DONATED FOR, 'CAUSE THERE ARE THREE TIERS OF DONATIONS. I THINK ONE IS REGARDING FOSTERS, ONE IS REGARDING MEDICAL, AND THE OTHER IS UN UN UN UNRESTRICTED. SO WHAT WE DO IS WHEN WE TALK TO THEM, WE TALKED ABOUT NEEDS AS FAR AS FOSTERING AND WHAT WE COULD DO WITH SUPPLIES AND SO FORTH. THE OTHER IS MEDICAL THINGS THAT WE NEED THAT THEY'VE PROVIDED. UH, AND THEY'VE BEEN VERY GRACIOUS, UH, WITH COMMUNICATIONS WITH US ON, IF WE HAD TO REALLOCATE MONIES, LIKE WE NEEDED THE MONEY TO CONTINUE WITH THE SPAY AND NEUTER, WE HAD A CONVERSATION. WE MOVED SOME MONIES AROUND AND WE WERE ABLE TO FIND, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO FIND A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE THE SPAY AND NEUTER, UH, UH, EFFORTS SO THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO DISCONTINUE THAT. OKAY. UH, THEY PROVIDED MEDICAL EQUIPMENT. THEY PROVIDED SUPPLIES. THEY PROVIDED RESOURCES. AND, AND WHERE IS THAT THOUGH? I MEAN, I JUST, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S AMAZING, BUT IS IT OUT THERE SOMEWHERE ON, ON A WEBSITE THAT WE CAN SEE? I DON'T, I DON'T BELIEVE SO. I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE COMMUNICATED. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, JUST A COUPLE MORE THINGS. UM, I, I, AGAIN, TELL ME, JUST CUT ME OFF, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THREATS THAT ARE MADE TOWARDS YOUR EMPLOYEES, TOWARDS VOLUNTEERS. NO. OKAY. JUST DON'T MAKE 'EM, BECAUSE THEN AGAIN, IT'S TAKING AWAY FROM YOUR TIME. OKAY. UH, UH, SHE'S, WON'T THERE BE NO, THIS IS IT. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, ALL I'M GONNA SAY IS THIS. LET'S SWIM UPSTREAM TOGETHER. I CANNOT THANK ALL OF YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK, AND I'M INCREDIBLY PROUD OF ALL THE GREAT THINGS YOU'RE DOING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY TO, TO BE ON ONE ACCORD. I I BELIEVE WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME MISSION. JILL, UM, ONE MORE ROUND. I JUST HAVE ONE FOLLOW UP TO SOMETHING. SO [02:15:01] YOU'D HAVE TO MAKE A MOTION. THE CHAIR WOULD ASK FOR THAT. AND THEN JUST ONE SECOND. YEAH, IT'S A GOOD ONE. OKAY. I, I MAKE A MOTION VERY QUICKLY TO, UM, CONTINUE THE ROUND. HOLD ON. NO. OH, NO, NO. ACTUALLY WE GO BACK. SHE HAS TIME LEFT. SOME TIME LEFT. SO YOU DON'T NEED THE MOTION? YEAH. OKAY. UH, REALLY QUICK, OTHER THAN COMMISSIONER CASEY, DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY? ANYTHING ELSE THEY WANNA UH, OKAY. EVERYONE ELSE YIELDS BACK THEIR TIME. WE'LL GIVE IT TO COMMISSIONER CASEY AND THEN WE'LL ADJOURN. THEN I'LL GO AHEAD. LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU'RE READY. I DON'T WANNA START IT BEFORE 'CAUSE I'M READY. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES AND SIX SECONDS. TROUBLE. I'M ALL RIGHT. I'LL GO AHEAD. START IT NOW. DATA WHILE WE'RE SITTING HERE. AND PUBLIC DATABASES. HE WAS ADOPTED ON THE 7TH OF JULY. YAY. I THE REST OF MY TIME. THANK YOU. OKAY. WITH THAT I ADJOURN. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU EVERYONE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.