Saga HS has been continuing the round ups of stray dogs on the streets of San Pedro and surrounding areas that were began in July 2012. As of April 2013 Saga HS had picked up 231 stray or roaming dogs, 130 of those dogs were euthanized and 47 returned to their owners. A more troubling trend is the increasing rate of owner surrenders at our clinic, 441 for the same time period, of which a lucky 202 animals were adopted. The large number of surrenders illustrates that animals breeding in private homes are a significant part of the problem of animal over population on the island.

Maintaining a shelter will not on its own solve pet overpopulation problems in the long term. In fact it may make it worse, as it provides an easy route for pet owners to dispose of their animals rather than thinking about providing for them. 60% of the animals we take in are surrendered by owners who throw them away like yesterday's boring toy. Abandoned without a second thought. A shelter attempts to deal with the effects of animal overpopulation but does nothing to address the cause.

Saga HS is trying to solve problems not of our creation, with sometimes very little support from the very community we are helping. It has come to be that people associate any barking, biting or any dog incident as a responsibility of Saga, when actually it's the fault the dog owners. They automatically think it is our responsibility to fix the problem. We are not a government agency and government does not fund us at all. We're a registered NGO, non-profit animal welfare organization, not a dog pound, not the pooper scooper patrol. But we end up doing what is technically the government and law enforcement's responsibility. Last year we spent $10,000 on dog round ups and euthanasia of those animals, which will have no long term impact on overpopulation. All the money used was donated funds with no re-imbursements from government.

The fact is that simply rounding up more dogs and cats and killing them would cost more in the long run, than spaying or neutering them now, and preventing the unwanted births in the first place. That is why we have introduced Operation SNIP (Spay/Neuter Initiative Program) with the goal of sterilizing 75% of the Island's pet population in 3-5 years. Saga HS is working towards a goal of having low/no cost spay neuter available AT ALL TIMES. This year we are committed to raising $50,000 for Operation SNIP to fund 1,000 free spay/neuters. We have already sterilized 205 animals this year toward our goal. The good news is, we are an island - if we also monitor and control the number of animals being born in back yards or brought in from external sources (like people selling puppies on the island from the mainland), we can make an impact and achieve the desired goals!

Going forward the owned intact dogs we do round up, we will sterilize and vaccinate them if they are at large in a public place. They will be then returned to their owners, with a free Operation SNIP collar and warning about having their dogs at large in a public place. Owners will not always happy with our efforts to sterilize and vaccinate their dogs or cats. Until owners follow the law and contain their animals within their yards, we will continue to find them and SNIP them.

I hope this has been informative. Saga Humane Society is committed to serving the needs of our community in the most humane and effective way. We are bringing world class solutions to the table and working hard to effect change. We welcome calls, emails, and visitors and will answer all questions. Call or stop by the clinic Tuesday through Saturday 226-3266 or saga@btl.net. Operation SNIP

Coleen Creeden
President
Saga Humane Society
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Coleen

Beach bum, butterfly stalker, native plant enthusiast.