Loading...
DASAB Minutes 11/19/2025November 19, 2025 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF COLLIER COUNTY DOMESTIC ANIMAL SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE Naples, Florida November 19, 2025 LET IT BE REMEMBERED that the Collier County Domestic Animal Services Advisory Committee, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 6 p.m. for a meeting at Growth Management Community Development Department Room 609/610 2800 N. Horseshoe DR. Naples, Florida, with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Allen Schantzen Michele Antonia Kelly Hyland Susan Mehas Meredith McLean Alexandra Casanova County Staff in Attendance: James French, Department Head, GMCD Alexandra Casanova, Manager, Domestic Animal Services Any person in need of the verbatim record of the meeting may request a copy of the audio recording from Domestic Animal Services. I. Call to order II. Roll Call- Establish a Quorum A quorum of 4 was confirmed. III. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. November 19, 2025 IV. Approval of agenda Motion to approve- Michelle Antonia Motion seconded- Susan Mehas Motion passed unanimously V. Agenda and Minutes A. September 9, 2025, Workshop minutes Motion to approve- Kelly Hyland Motion seconded- Michelle Antonia Motion passed unanimously B. October 15, 2025, Meeting minutes Motion to approve- Michelle Antonia Motion seconded- Kelly Hyland Motion passed unanimously VI. Public comment- Items not addressed on this agenda Tom Kepp- Brought up at the last meeting about animals leaving the shelter with heartworm or hookworm, with no phone calls to Code Enforcement or Sheriff. I asked what are we doing to do going forward to stop this from happening. Who makes the final decision that they go out that door in that shape? Alan Shantzen- What we can do is make this an agenda item for the next meeting, so it can be formulated with a response, what the corrective action is, and how we interact with code enforcement. Kelly Hyland- I was told at the last meeting we had to make this an agenda item for the next meeting, which would be this meeting. I sent in my agenda items and this specific item. I asked for it to be placed on the agenda. Meredith McLean- Kelly’s item is under 10D. VII. Public comment- Agenda Items in Sequence VIII. Staff Updates A. Leadership report Meredith Mclean- Animal intakes for 10/2025: 674 total. 496 Cats, 154 Dogs, 24 other Animal Adoptions- 199 total. 122 Cats, 76 Dogs, 1 other. Transferred out to rescue partners- 159 total. 123 cats, 26 dogs, 5 other. Current on site- 275 total. 204 cats, 69 dogs, 1 Donkey. Live release rate- 96.2%, Save rate- 95.1% Animal Care and Enrichment- Play groups for dogs have increased to 7 days per week. We are working on moving to two times per day. Volunteer hours for October were 2300 hours from 100 individuals. We are working on electronic sign up for volunteers. November 19, 2025 25,000 total followers on our Social Media pages. We are in the process of hiring the marketing coordinator. Staffing- We currently have 28 full-time staff and 18 key staff. We have 6 positions open: Admin Support Specialist, 3 Customer Service Reps, Program Coordinator, and 2 Animal Care Specialists. Upcoming Events. • Kitten College will be on 12/3, 2-fold event. North Collier Regional Park. Geared towards the public and organizations that have or are interested in having foster programs. The first half will be for shelters, fosters, and rescue-based organizations. The second half will be for the public. • Vaccination Clinic- 12/9 North Collier Regional Park. We secured a donation of microchips. Anyone who attends the clinic will be required to leave with a microchip. We have applied for different grants to provide the vaccines to the public for free going forward. Susan Mehas- Do you have this so you can send it to me so I can put this on my social media. Meredith McLean- Yes, I will have this sent to you. This is also posted on our Social Media pages. We are asking people to pre-register for this event. IX. Old Business A. Stray Hold Period for Dogs and Cats • We are currently running a 5-day stray hold for dogs, 5 days for cats with identification, and 5 cats without identification, or animals under a certain age do not have a stray hold. • The new ordinance is written- Any animal that has identification has to be held for at least 3 days; any other animal does not require a stray hold. Susan Mehas- The dogs and the cats in the new proposal either way have 3 days? Meredith McLean- No, if they have identification, it’s a minimum 3-day hold; if they do not have identification, we legally do not have to stray hold. This board can make a recommendation on what we think makes sense for these animals. In your packet, I have included comparable shelters to ours and what their hold is. Alan Schantzen- Page 15, Item 4, when you are talking about microchips and identified cats, is that chipped? Meredith- It could be chipped or have a collar with a tag on it. Alan Schantzen- Why are cats identified but not dogs? Meredith- My understanding is that they are both identified. I can review it with the county attorney for clarification. Alan Schantzen- Page 18 Item G- County Manager has the final authority to approve the adoption of any animal. The County Manager or Designee may refuse the adoption if it determines the adoption is not in the best interest of the animal or detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Must be stressed. Can we get that added into 2? Meredith McLean- For the return to the owner? I can ask the county attorney, but unless I can get that animal confiscated, I would not be able to hold custody of the animal. I can provide notice to comply which is being discussed at the next meeting. November 19, 2025 Meredith McLean- If you would like to make a recommendation, do we want to move to a 3-day hold for dogs without identification, 5 days with, or do we want to stay with our current hold requirements. Right now, it is 5 days for dogs and cats with identification, 5 days for dogs regardless, Cats with no identification, and certain animals underage have no hold. More than 14% of cats are returned in the field, less than 2% of cats are being returned within the shelter walls, that is nationwide. Alan Schantzen - So the feeling is to keep the retention periods the same. Susan Mehas- Can we have some time to look through this and bring it back to the next meeting. Meredith McLean- This has already been approved. We are just discussing if we want to increase to what was written. Alan Schantzen- Everybody can digest this, and it becomes an action item next time. B. Shelter Operations and Procedures Alan Schantzen- Management or supervision performs surveillance of the areas housing the animals no later than 5 pm to ensure the needs of the animals are met by 6 pm. Looking for a standard operating procedure. I would like to have an action item for the two items below to be reviewed by the county manager. All hands on deck to get the animals bedded down by 5-6 pm each night. Growth Management plan staff empty the trash and do laundry in the evening to free up staff to walk the dogs. Motion to approve- Susan Mehas Motion seconded- Kelly Hyland Motion Passed unanimously Kelly Hyland- I had someone reach out to me who said they had called in to the shelter on a Saturday, and the animal didn’t get any assistance until Monday. I think a PSA needs to go out so that people know who to call. Alan Schantzen - If it’s a medical emergency, they are concerned about the process and where to go. It should be on our website. Kelly Hyland- People don’t know about DAS, or our website, so what can the public do so they know the procedure of who to call when they need help. So anything animal related is supposed to go to Code Enforcement? Meredith McLean- On our website, under Lost or found pet, the after-hours numbers are there. Both when we are open and the after-hours number. It rings to the dispatch. We need to get to Kelly's point, which is how we get it out there more. Alexandra Casanova - During business hours, the number to call for Code Enforcement regarding animal-related matters is 239-252-2440. After 5 pm, the number to call is 239-252-6958. There is dispatch available until 10:00 pm. That is on the Code Enforcement webpage. Alan Schantzen- Can we have that tagged on the DAS page. X. New Business A. Return for Life Adoption Agreement November 19, 2025 Susan Mehas- Humane Society has a policy that when you adopt an animal, it is a return for life. That if, for any reason, you can’t keep the pet, you can bring it back. I would like to have our policy be a return for life. Alan Schantzen - We are having problems with just owner surrender right now. Meredith McLean- Correct. The 30-day policy is they come back and we take them right away. We just couldn’t do an open-door policy because we don’t have the space. The Humane Society of Naples' policy is a return for life, but it is based on space. Which is what we do with owner surrenders to begin with. B. Adoption Process Updates- Contracts, Staff Scripts, Intake Forms Susan Mehas- I would like to see an adoption contract and the scripts that the staff use over the phone. Alan Schantzen- Meredith can get those sent over to you. C. TNR Medical Package Intake Checklists for TNRs Susan Mehas- They need to put the blood test and flea treatment back in. Alan Schantzen- Do you want to make a recommendation. It will go to the County Manager. Meredith Mclean- You can make a recommendation, but this is a veterinary service. Alan Shantzen- In the processes, she is reading the draft, does that read differently than what was signed by the BCC? Meredith McLean- We can get the final and send it to you for review. Alan Schantzen- I would also ask the director to review what was passed by the clerk to what we actually do, so that we make sure this document is current with what was passed. D. Open Questions Format for Committee Members. No comments. XI. Advisory Board Member comments Susan Mehas- In the things that we do today, we do not ever let an animal leave the shelter, no matter what the situation is, without being sterilized, correct? Meredith McLean- If it is a return to owner animal, they are eligible to get a breeder’s license or provide a statement from their veterinarian that exempts them. If adopted from us, it is automatically spayed/neutered. Alan Schantzen- If you look at Ordinance 2025.43, Section 3, it states that the committee shall, by majority vote of the entire membership, adopt rules and procedures for the transaction of business and shall keep a written record of the resolutions, findings, and determinations. When you say entire membership, can you clarify if that is 7, 5 or 2. Has there been any more feedback on additional appointees by the BOCC. Meredith McLean- There have been some applications that have been put forth, but they would have to go to the BOCC before they are presented to this committee. 12/17/2025 X