Software to help shelter track dogs

By Elizabeth Gibson

Columbus Dispatch

COLUMBUS

Employees at the Franklin County Dog Shelter rely on drawers full of handwritten notes on index cards to keep track of dogs.

But the shelter finally will step into the digital age early next year with software to track dogs from the moment a warden brings them to the shelter. The system cost $21,595.

Having electronic records will allow staff members to search for “pink collar,” “white spot” or other descriptions when an owner calls about a lost pup. Right now, staff members can only flip through cards if they think, “I swear I saw a card for a beagle the other day.”

“It’s going to lead to dogs’ being adopted faster and dogs being redeemed faster, which will save taxpayers money,” said Joe Rock, the shelter’s assistant director.

More than 13,000 dogs visit the shelter, at 1731 Alum Creek Dr., each year. Shelter administrators said they estimate the new software will cut a day off the stay of 1 in 10 dogs.

But projections are hard to make when still relying on a system that involves color-coding index cards with highlighters. If a card goes missing, administrators call over the public- announcement system to ask whether anyone has seen it.

The shelter tried another software program in 2003 but quickly ditched it because it didn’t work well, said Deb Finelli, a shelter employee who has been researching software. The new program should let staff members spend more time on customer service and less time on paperwork, she said.

Dogs will be photographed upon arrival, and eventually pet owners will be able to browse those photos online if their dog goes missing, Finelli said.

Right now, only adoptable dogs can be viewed online, and there’s a lag because the information has to be entered by hand once the adoption paperwork is done.

That lag also means that sometimes a family calls with its hearts set on a dog that already has been adopted by someone else, said Susan Smith, spokeswoman for the shelter. The new system will update the website automatically.

Rock said it also will help shelter employees watch for problems involving a particular pet owner or address.

The shelter also has made a number of other reforms during the past year, and average daily occupancy is down to 222 dogs this year, said Don Winstel, director of the shelter. Two years ago, the occupancy rate was 294.

That means that even though adoption, euthanasia and intake levels are about the same, dogs aren’t staying as long.