City of Rochester
News Release
(Friday, April 8, 2022) – Rochester Animal Services will host a community forum on providing services to pet owners and people who find lost animals to minimize placements in the Animal Services Center using the Human Animal Support Services model.
“We are no longer simply an animal control shelter,” said Rochester Animal Services Director Chris Fitzgerald. “The transition to the Human Animal Support Services model is a big shift from the old dog catcher approach. Community-based solutions are revolutionizing animal welfare without separating pets from their owners or removing them from their neighborhoods.”
The Human Animal Support Services shelter-management model puts an emphasis on services that address the systemic causes of animal overpopulation, homelessness and neglect. Under the model, the Animal Shelter becomes a pet resource center that helps current pet owners and finders of pets obtain services that can help them avoid the decision to surrender a pet in the shelter or the call for an Animal Services Officer to recover a found animal. When pet owners need help, Rochester Animal Services can connect them with resources like food, veterinary care, boarding, supplies, and more. Animal Services also provides resources to help those who recover stray pets keep them in the neighborhood where they were found, which increases the chance of reuniting lost pets and owners.
The forum will take place at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 14 via Zoom. Registration for the Zoom webinar is required. Sign up at www.cityofrochester.gov/RochesterAnimalServices.
This web page will also have a form to provide additional feedback after the webinar for those who were unable to attend or did not have their question answered during the webinar.
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