2024-006 Animal Shelter Operating Hours January 26,2024 Report No. 2024-006
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
Linda McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center operating hours
BACKGROUND:
The Linda McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center's current operating hours are:
Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday closed
As identified in the internal audit conducted in August of 2023,through assessments conducted by
current management, and in accordance with industry best practices, ongoing training in animal
care and operating procedures are essential to high-quality care and positive outcomes for animals
in the shelter. To allow for continued staff training and development, staff is proposing closing the
shelter to the public on Wednesdays and modifying operating hours to the following beginning
Wednesday, February 21, 2024:
Monday-Tuesday 10 a.m. —5 p.m.
Wednesday closed
Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m. — 5 p.m.
Sunday closed
DISCUSSION:
According to The Association of Shelter Veterinarians' "The Guidelines for Standard of Care in
Animal Shelters: Second Edition," effective training is necessary to ensure safe and humane
animal care, reduces risk for staff and volunteers, and should be conducted regularly for all
personnel. Ongoing training and development of staff has been identified not only by management
but by employees themselves, as a deficiency in our current operations. Since October of 2023,
Animal Services Management has implemented bi-monthly all-staff training days to address some
of the most critical training needs. While this has been helpful, 6 hours of training every 6 to 8
weeks is not sufficient to provide needed on-going training to staff.
Additionally, as the shelter operates every day of the year, several staff members are required to
work on their days off to attend the bi-monthly training. This results in them working multiple
consecutive days without a break. These staff members also incur overtime pay which creates an
additional expense for the department.
In a review of other municipal shelters in the metroplex, staff has found that a number of shelters,
including Garland, Mesquite, Lewisville, and Grand Prairie, are closed to the public two days a
week and use the additional closure day to conduct ongoing staff training and development, hold
January 26,2024 Report No. 2024-006
staff meetings, conduct behavior assessments of animals, and address other operational needs and
concerns.
Wednesday has been identified as the best day to close to the public as Thursday and Friday leading
into the weekend, and Monday coming out of the weekend, have historically been the busiest for
the shelter. During these closures, animal services officers will still be available to respond to
emergency calls.
Animal Services staff have communicated the proposed changes to the Animal Shelter Advisory
Committee and the Denton Animal Support Foundation.
Additionally, Animal Services will work with Marketing and Communications to communicate
the new operating hours to the public prior to the implementation.
CONCLUSION:
Ongoing staff training and development,which are essential to providing humane and appropriate
care for shelter animals, has historically been a challenge for Animal Services staff due to time
constraints of the current operating hours. To ensure prioritization of training and development,
staff is proposing to adopt the following operating hours to begin on Wednesday, February 21,
2024:
Monday-Tuesday 10 a.m. —5 p.m.
Wednesday closed
Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m. —5 p.m.
Sunday closed
STAFF CONTACT:
Nikki Sassenus
Director of Animal Services
Nikki.Sassenus(a cityofdenton.com
940.349.7469
REOUESTOR: N/A
STAFF TIME TO COMPLETE REPORT: 1 hour
PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS: Animal Services