PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST
 
Alliance Members, Affiliates & Friends:
 
Many of you are aware of the Participant Shelter Task Force which has been working with LAAS for the past 9 months to reform and improve the LAAS Adoption Partner Program.  Many of the reforms which have either already taken effect or will soon take effect were introduced, hard fought and won by the Alliance, which has a number of members on the Task Force.
 
We are pleased to announce a new pilot program for unweaned puppies and kittens, which was proposed, developed and presented to the Task Force by a subcommittee of Alliance Members, including Christi Metropole, Sue Freeman, Scott Sorrentino, Ben Lehrer and Sandra Harrison.   Please read the message below from Christi Metropole, and if you are interested in becoming part of this pilot program, contact Christi at cmetropole@aol.com.
 
Los Angeles Animal Services Begins Exciting 'Unweaned' Pilot Program
 
Dear Rescue & Humane Community:
 
This program begins March 1, 2005 at the West Los Angeles and West Valley shelters.
 
This program will save the lives of many kittens and puppies AND will create a link between the breeding adults who create these babies. This is a monumental step that LAAS is taking to save lives!
 
LAAS kills more than 6,000 kittens and 1,000 puppies each year.  The new program will utilize LAAS volunteers who want to help bottle kittens and puppies dropped off at the shelters by the public.  Very importantly, the program will attempt to educate the public who brings in unweaned baby(ies) to the shelter.  The public will be told the TRUTH---that Animal Services will most likely kill the baby(ies) because of lack of resources.
 
3 Components To The Program
 
1.  IF the public is willing, they will have the option to take the baby(ies) home, and the shelter will provide them with a starter kit (bottle, formula, instructions and a list of rescue/humane groups willing to 'coach' them through the arduous task of bottle feeding, spay/neuter and placement).  Participating rescue groups will not be responsible to taking these unweaned, but are agreeing to 'partner' with the public to provide information, support and advice.
 
2.  If the public still chooses to leave the baby(ies) at the shelter, shelter volunteers trained in bottle feeding will assist the shelter in keeping the animals alive and healthy for as long as possible.  The Department will immediately contact participating rescue groups who are willing to save these unweaned babies who are not so lucky to go home with the person who found them.  These kittens and puppies will be adopted to rescue groups who are already part of the Adoption Partner Program and those who are not.  The fees for these unweaned will be only the legally-required $15 microchip deposit.  If you are not already an Adoption Partner, LAAS will have a stream-lined process to sign you up for "this program only" which you can do at the shelter.
 
3.  If the baby(ies) are kittens (and statistically most of them are), the public will ALSO be provided with information about TNR, with the hope that they might be willing to find/trap the unaltered mother, get her fixed, return her back to her colony and prevent future litters.
 
This is an incredible opportunity for rescue/humane groups to partner with LAAS.  By partnering with the shelter AND the public, we can not only save the lives of the unweaned babies, but we can get to the breeding adults as well and thus stop this vicious cycle.  This is the beginning of implementing TNR and other much needed spay/neuter projects.
 
PLEASE contact me if you or your group is interested in participating and I can answer your questions, of which I am sure you will have many.   I look forward to hearing from you.
 
Christi Metropole
Feral Cat Alliance