The Improve OCAS Movement is dedicated to highlighting the issues surrounding the Animal Services Department from administrative to infrastructural issues concerning their existing shelter.
There are severe concerns with their intake process, the physical conditions to the shelter, the way they treat their staff or volunteers as well as outside threats that are impeding on the shelters ability to succeed.
Below is a brief overview of these concerns and the volunteers with Improve OCAS Movement would like to work directly with Orange County staff to address solutions to these problems.
Kennel Overcrowding
The primary concern is Kennel Overcrowding because the intensity of the level of dogs being crammed into small cells with very little food, water and care makes their behavioral incidents increase, leading to more dogs being labeled as dangerous and ultimately having many killed due to this label when if in better conditions, the incident would not have happened. When placing dogs into aggressive situations, if an incident happens, OCAS labels them aggressive even when they would have been friendly in other circumstances. Many healthy and happy dogs are then euthanized.
Heat and High Stress Conditions
The lack of air conditioning within the current building is causing many dogs to not only become more aggressive, it also causes them to occasional have health impacts from the tremendous heat they are exposed to. This can lead to more unnecessary euthanasia due to behavioral and heat impacts due to the inhumane conditions.
Cruel Treatment + Solitary Confinement
Despite the inhumane conditions of the shelter, an element the dogs cannot control and are subjected to, many dogs are labeled “behavioral” when an incident occurs and are left in solitary confinement for extended periods of time. This leads them to a rapid decline in emotional and physical health which leads to an increase in euthanasia cases label “health or behavioral” when if subjected to better conditions, they would still be alive today.
Once a Day Feedings
The shelter’s once a day feeding policy is causing weight loss, malnutrition and in some cases emaciation. It also contributes to increased stress levels in an already very stressful environment for many of the dogs.
Hungry dogs show an increased interest in food and are labelled for food resource guarding decreasing their chances of adoption. Some dogs have been euthanized as a result.
Lack of Community Collaboration & Transparency
OCAS displays many rescues on their lists of partners but in all actuality, many of them are not currently working or allowed to work with OCAS. Between a lack of collaboration with rescues, there are many individuals who would like to support the facilitation of meet and greets, off site fundraisers or adoption events but have been told they are not allowed due to liability when in fact, there are many shelters in Florida that do just that.
Unnecessary Bureaucracy: Meet & Greets
The best adoption rates occur when existing pet owners are allowed to have their dogs or cats meet with the animals being held at the shelter. This as well as overnight trials are essential steps that allows adopters to feel ready to adopt a new dog or cat. However, this program ended with COVID’s quarantine restrictions and never came back intro fruition. This is an easy way to see a decrease in euthanasia and would lead to lessening the overburden of animals currently in the shelter.
Botched and Mis-Managed Medical Cases
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Heart Stick Euthanasia
Heartsick is an inhumane method of euthanasia and can be easily replaced with IV injections (A much less painful and traumatic process) but must be administered by trained professionals.
Stretched Thin Staff + Volunteers
The staff at OCAS have brought many concerns to the Director and other staff throughout the department and are feeling unheard. The working conditions, the lack of pay, personal time and support is driving away talented individuals who are eager to see the needed changes to make OCAS the best it can be. Volunteers are discouraged from speaking out against the conditions of the shelter and area often made to sign an non-disclosure of what they experience in the shelter which discourages feedback and is an intimidation method used to silence progress.
Outside Community Threats
Out of state and in-state puppy mills are a major threat to the current shelter’s burdens with overcrowding. The lack of regulation and investigations are causing many problems with increased dog/cat confiscation cases. Another threat are unlicensed, uninsured and unincorporated individuals adopting out dogs beyond their capacity, leading to a pipeline of dogs being taken from the Orange County Shelter and ending up in even more inhumane conditions.
Improve OCAS Movement 