Sioux Falls has a new way to track stray animals. Here’s what pet owners should know
Officials with the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society say only 5% of stray cats turned in to them go back to their owners compared with 30% of stray dogs.
Officers with the society and Sioux Falls Police Department's Animal Control division called attention to the staggering statistic when they announced their newest initiative, a partnership with Pawboost, during a police briefing with media Tuesday focused on raising awareness about the challenges of safeguarding the welfare of animals and the importance of being a responsible pet owner.
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The society’s Community Outreach Director Dana Konzem talked about their new partnership with the software program, stating when a stray animal comes to them, its information is automatically integrated into PawBoost's animal tracking software. This way, if anyone is missing their pet, they can directly go online and check if their information is on it, making the process of getting pets back to their owners easier and faster.
The two organizations were joined by two rescue dogs, Gordo and Pippin, who were both removed by animal control from a neglectful situation and sent to the society, where they were nursed back to health. Now, both the dogs have been adopted into homes and are thriving, Sioux Falls Police Chief Thum said.
Thum said the idea for Tuesday's announcement was to bring people’s attention to the importance of the animal control division’s work and debunk certain negative connotations and misconceptions that exist about them.
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“What they really do is make sure their animals are safeguarded,” Thum said.
Animal Control Supervisor Patty Beckman said according to city ordinances, every dog and cat 6 months and older is required to have a rabies vaccine and a city license. City licenses will be issued only if the animal is up to date with vaccinations, which can be procured from any vet in the city or at the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society. She also stressed the importance of getting pets microchipped, so it’s easy to get them back to the owners if they are missing.
“We enforce city ordinances pertaining to domesticated animals and wildlife within the city of Sioux Falls and promote responsible pet ownership,” Beckman said.
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What does responsible pet ownership look like?
Beckman encouraged pet owners to take their pets outside for exercise, after checking weather forecasts, but to remember to keep them on a leash to abide by city leash law. And if there is a concern for pets in neighboring homes or otherwise, Beckman said it’s always good to call animal control, so they can check it out.
The partnership with the Humane Society, which began in 2011, has led to about 30,000 animals being taken in during the past 13 years.
The society, running on a $3.3 million yearly expense, takes in about 8,000 animals each year, out of which 4,200 are strays. A vast majority of these strays come from Sioux Falls and the animal control division. The society’s focus is to make the number of animals that go back to their owners a little higher and the intake a little lower.
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“We really like to focus on making sure that animals that are coming in to us are going back home,” Konzem said.
What happens if the animals can't go home?
The process starts with animal control responding to calls about any missing animals. If the animal is found and has a microchip, animal control takes them over to the society's Sioux Falls Annex building to hold them till the owner comes. But, if there is no chip, after a 72-hour hold on the animal, they are registered over to the society for shelter and adoption.
“Our mission is to be a safe haven and human voice for all animals in need,” said James Oppenheimer, the Humane Society's Executive Director.
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The society has five core values: compassion, inclusivity, innovation, transparency and community responsibility, said Oppenheimer. The community responsibility is where their partnership with animal control comes in, he added.
When the animals have been nursed back to health and are being approached for adoption, the society follows an important process to make sure the family is a suitable and capable match to take care of them.
The process involves checking their background for any current or past pets and making sure their current pets have been vaccinated for rabies. The other important part is matchmaking the animals’ personalities with the owners.
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“If someone lives in an apartment and we have a very high-energy Huskie, we’re probably going to say it’s not the best match,” Konzem said.
In the event of a missing animal, Konzem stressed the importance of filling out a lost report right away, either on the society’s website or local Facebook pages that assist in finding local pets before they end up in animal shelters or are found by animal control.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Lost dog? Have you checked Sioux Falls' new stray animal tracker?
