| Tompkins County, NY includes the city of Ithaca and its surrounding townships, and has about half the population and two-thirds the per-capita income of Arlington County, VA.
Tompkins County SPCA performs essentially the same services for Tompkins County that AWLA performs for Arlington County. Let’s compare animal outcomes for AWLA and Tompkins County SPCA. The AWLA numbers are for FY2009 (ending 6/30/09) and the TC SPCA numbers are for CY2008. | ||||
| Dogs | Cats | Total | ||
| Total Intake | ||||
| AWLA | 755 | 1,262 | 2,017 | |
| TC SPCA | 838 | 1,577 | 2,415 | |
| Adoptions | ||||
| AWLA | 315 | 765 | 1,080 | |
| TC SPCA | 395 | 1,347 | 1,742 | |
| Transfer to Rescue Orgs | ||||
| AWLA | 15 | 3 | 18 | |
| TC SPCA | 29 | 92 | 121 | |
| Euthanized | ||||
| AWLA | 141 | 356 | 497 | |
| TC SPCA | 71 | 70 | 41 | |
| Died or Lost in Shelter Care | ||||
| AWLA | 7 | 21 | 28 | |
| TC SPCA | 10 | 44 | 54 | |
| Live Release Rate | ||||
| AWLA | 80.3% | 68.8% | 73.2% | |
| TC SPCA | 87.0% | 87.4% | 87.2% | |
| Observations and Questions: | ||||
| 1. % of intake cats adopted: TC SPCA 85.4%, AWLA 60.6% => why doesn’t AWLA actively promote its cats for adoption throughout Arlington County, instead of passively relying on Petfinder listings? | ||||
| 2. % of intake cats transferred: TC SPCA 5.8%, AWLA 0.2% => why doesn’t AWLA transfer cats that aren’t readily adoptable to some of the many local rescue organizations? | ||||
| 3. % of intake cats euthanized: TC SPCA 4.4%, AWLA 28.2% => why does AWLA euthanize cats at nearly seven times the rate TC SPCA does? | ||||
| These comparative results provide perspective on AWLA’s animal-outcomes performance. Because comparative results are so informative, AWLA should publish its outcomes on its website using the standard Animal Statistics Table produced by Maddie’s Fund. Arlington residents and taxpayers should be able to easily compare animal-outcomes data for their county with relevant reference points. | ||||
| Given that AWLA euthanizes cats and dogs at a higher rate than TC SPCA, and adopts them out or transfers them to other rescue organizations at a lower rate, how is this reflected in their respective spending rates? (Data from AWLA and TC SPCA Forms 990 for 2008.) | ||||
| $ per Animal (Dogs plus Cats) | Total Revenue | Program Expenses | Surplus (Deficit) |
| AWLA | $1,284 | $881 | $404 |
| TC SPCA | $511 | $508 | $3 |
| Maybe it really is about the money. | |||
