When the City of Alameda began discussions in early 2011 about closing the city’s municipal shelter due to budget cuts and sending animals off the island to other animal facilities, Alameda citizens said “No way!” A campaign to save the shelter was launched, public forums were held, and public officials learned quickly how much Alameda residents love their pets. Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS) was at the forefront of all the action to keep services for animals here and keep the shelter open.
FAAS was formed in 2009 by a few volunteers to raise funds to provide medical care for animals at the shelter. When the “Save Our Shelter” campaign was launched in Summer 2011, more volunteers joined the group to rally community support. And when Alameda city officials asked us to put together a business plan to operate the shelter, we found additional volunteers with nonprofit shelter management experience to make this happen. It isn’t very often that a small nonprofit organization can work with a municipality to create a sustainable animal shelter, but with a lot of participation and support from the community we rose to the challenge and made it happen.
After nine months of conversation between city officials, the Alameda Police Department (which formerly ran the shelter), and FAAS, an agreement was reached to have our organization manage the shelter while the Police Department handled animal control, citizen complaints, and abuse cases. On January 1, 2012 Alameda’s Mayor and City Manager officially turned the keys to the shelter over to FAAS and a new partnership was formed.
So far, everything is going really well. Fifty-five dogs, cats, and rabbits were adopted out in January. Thirty-eight lost pets were reunited with their worried guardians, and FAAS extended the hours of the shelter to make it more convenient for the public. The Alameda veterinary community offered free vaccines and discounted services to help our shelter animals stay healthy. It seems that everyone in Alameda is enthusiastic and supportive of our efforts, and many locals are offering help to make sure we succeed.
The partnership with the Police Department has been extraordinary. The shelter was well run when the PD was in charge, and the island’s companion animals and wildlife are still one of its high priorities. The Animal Control Officer sits in the same office with us and shares the heartwarming and heartbreaking experiences that happen daily. The secret to our partnership success is having very clearly defined roles and responsibilities for both parties, as well as close communication with the police officers who manage the municipal side of animal services.
The Alameda City Manager, John Russo, is another key to our success. He was guest bartender at the February Mojito Monday at Angela’s in Alameda and helped us raise funds for the shelter. And the city is contributing half of our annual budget – that’s a real partnership!
We still have a long way to go. New policies and procedures have to be written, staff hired and trained, funds raised, a website created, and so many other task required to build a successful nonprofit. In the meantime, new animals arrive at the shelter every day. Adoption matches are made and animals leave us for their forever homes. We continue re-uniting lost pets with their people.
We are busy making life better for the animals of Alameda, and we’re confident we’ll succeed over time because we have great city partners and a community that loves animals.
Mim Carlson is Executive Director of FAAS. To learn more about FAAS and its unique partnership with the City of Alameda, visit the temporary website at faas.bbnow.org. Mim can be reached at mimcarlson.faas@gmail.com.
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