AAPAW News and Announcements

Help Wanted: Adoption Committee Chair

If you or anyone you know has the time and the commitment to take on the challenge of the Adoption Committee Chair, AAPAW (Alamo Area Partners for Animal Welfare) is taking applications. The candidate must be very organized, able to follow-up and follow through, able to multi-task and juggle multiple events simultaneously, coordinate activities with other committees (Volunteers and Communications) and the board, ability to lead, motivate and delegate responsibilities, outgoing - people person, able to take direction and constructive criticism without taking it personally, know how to successfully conduct meetings, able to function under pressure and thrive, keep his/her wits in the face of disaster and laugh (then pick up the pieces and carry on), be professional when representing AAPAW and able to communicate well.

This is one of the most important positions within AAPAW and it needs a very strong leader for AAPAW to succeed in terms of finding homes for more animals. For the future success of AAPAW, please help us find the RIGHT PERSON FOR THIS KEY POSITION! We are actively seeking candidates from outside as well as from within the animal welfare community. The right person does NOT need to be currently involved in rescue, etc, but must have the skill set needed to lead this committee and have a passion for saving animals.

As with all positions within AAPAW - this is a volunteer position - its only remuneration is the sense of satisfaction in finding homes for animals in desperate need.

Please pass this along to your contacts and have the candidate(s) send their resumes with a cover letter to president@aapaw.org.

Intact dog permit to go into effect January 1, 2009

The following information was released by Lisa Norwood on Dec 10, 2008:

Given the community's ongoing animal overpopulation issue, it's important for residents to understand the importance of sterilizing their companion animals. While Animal Care Services strongly encourages pet owners to embrace spay/neuter, pet sterilization is not mandatory in the City of San Antonio. Pet owners who do choose to keep their pets intact can do so with the purchase of an intact dog permit. The new permit goes into effect January 1, 2009. Interim ACS Director Vincent Medley says the Intact Dog permit was one of the recent revisions to the City's Chapter 5 animal care ordinance. "ACS has the tragic job of euthanizing thousands of forsaken animals each year" says Medley. "Many of them are unwanted or abandoned litters of puppies. This new permit incentivizes pet sterilization as a means of controlling our community's animal overpopulation problem and ACS is prepared to help as well with regular low cost spay/neuter clinics."

The intact dog permit was approved by City Council in December 2007 but its implementation was delayed until January 2009 to allow for an increase in the community's spay/neuter resources. The new annual permit costs $50 and applies to any owner or keeper of a dog in the City of San Antonio that is not spayed or neutered. Dogs less than six months old are exempt from the permit as are animals that qualify for certified medical exceptions from a licensed veterinarian. The new law also does not apply to temporary or new residents.

Details about the Intact Dog permit are available at www.saacs.net and permit applications can be found on line as well. Non-compliance with City ordinance can result in citations, fines and mandatory court appearances. Animal Care Services will continue to offer weekly low cost spay/neuter clinics to assist pet owners who are interested in getting their pets sterilized. Residents can call Animal Care Services at 207-4PET or log onto www.saacs.net for more information on upcoming clinics.