City’s Animal Control department honored by Harvard

The Columbus Animal Care and Control Department has been recognized by Harvard University for its Save-a-Pet program, which has cut the department’s euthanasia rate considerably, the city announced Wednesday.

The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard named the Save-A-Pet Program as part of the 2017 Bright Ideas in Government initiative.

The staff at Columbus Animal Care and Control had struggled with high euthanasia rates for years. In 2010, the euthanasia rate was as high as 79 percent. In 2011, in order to combat the high euthanasia rate, the city developed and implemented the Save A Pet Program. This program encompasses a number of initiatives, including a comprehensive adoption program, involved local rescue groups and shelters, a bi-county pet coalition, offsite adoptions, a volunteer program, low cost spay neuter voucher program, and the Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR) program for feral cats.

These programs have reduced the euthanasia rate from 79 percent in 2010 to 20 percent in 2016. All of these relationships with the different groups have led to more than 7,000 animals being rescued from 2014-2016.

Another asset nurturing the reduction of the euthanasia rate was a Best Friends Animal Society Community Cat Grant for a comprehensive TNR program. Because of the success of these programs, the long term issue of overpopulation at the Animal Control Center is being reduced collectively through government, private and community organizations.

“These programs demonstrate that there are no prerequisites for doing the good work of governing,” said Stephen Goldsmith, director of the Innovations in American Government Program at the Ash Center. “Small towns and massive cities, huge federal agencies and local school districts, large budgets or no budgets at all — what makes government work best is the drive to do better, and this group proves that drive can be found anywhere.”

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 7:51 AM with the headline "City’s Animal Control department honored by Harvard."