Q. How does an animal shelter falsely inflate its “Live Release Rate” reporting?
A. It orchestrates a plan to manipulate the outcome.
Q. How is that done?
A. Manipulate numbers and categories.
Look no further than the SPCA Tampa Bay
Key categories
“Owner Request Euthanasia”
“Total Live Intakes”
“Total Live Outcomes”
“Live Release Rate”
Manipulation plan
The objective of the “Owner Request Euthanasia” category is to mislead, justify the killing of adoptable animals and falsely inflate the “Live Release Rate.”
Animals surrendered LIVE to the SPCATB deemed “unadoptable” are destroyed and recorded into the category “Owner Requested Euthanasia.” This category is liberally translated from the signed release from the owner/guardian of the animal.
(v) In the event OWNER fails to physically reclaim the animal within the forty-eight (48) hour reclamation period, and the animal has been determined to be unadoptable, then SPCA Tampa Bay shall then be authorized to humanly euthanize the animal.
https://spcatampabay.org/wp-content/uploads/form-2019-Statement-of-Owner-Guardian-Surrender.pdf
Note: The surrender fee is $60 (in county residents) $70 (out of county residents). If the owner wants an opportunity to reclaim their pet when deemed “unadoptable” by the SPCATB, an additional $100 fee is charged for a single phone call back https://spcatampabay.org/pet-surrender/ (Services -> Our Call Back Program).
Many of the animals categorized as “unadoptable” are adoptable and/or treatable (if in need of medical care) but they will not generate the revenue as will selectively imported purebred dogs and puppies from the puppy millers or elsewhere from out of the local area. Mislabel. Destroy. Dispose
A Word About “Owner Request Euthanasia”
As a matter of clarification, “euthanasia” is the term referring to humanely ending the life of an animal suffering from an irremediable medical condition and/or behavior issue. This term has become abused and misused to soften the curse imposed on shelter workers who perform this procedure. Ending the life of a treatable/adoptable animal is not euthanasia; it is killing.
Does anyone really believe that in December 2023, 108 people came to the facility with their animal to ask that their animal be destroyed / “euthanized”? https://spcatampabay.org/wp-content/uploads/2023-Stats_December.pdf
How about for the year 2023? Who can believe that 1,216 people came to the SPCATB to request their animal be destroyed? https://spcatampabay.org/wp-content/uploads/2023-Stats_December-YTD.pdf
The significance of using the “Owner Request Euthanasia” category explained
If you look at the “Animal Statistics” Reports from 2012-2018 you will notice at the bottom under “Live Release Rate” the qualifier “Excludes Owner Requested Euthanasia.” These animals are conveniently omitted in the calculation the SPCATB uses to report its “Live Release Rate.” https://spcatampabay.org/organization-reports/
The formula the SPCATB uses to report its “Live Release Rate” is:
“TOTAL LIVE OUTCOMES” DIVIDED BY (‘LIVE INTAKES MINUS OWNER REQUEST EUTHANASIA”)
This formula inflates the “Live Release Rate” because it omits an entire population of animals who are destroyed because of how they are deceitfully categorized. In other words, they have been betrayed in life and ignored in death.
From 2019 to 2023 at the bottom of each report the qualifier “Excludes Owner Requested Euthanasia” is replaced with “Live Release Rate (ASPCA Formula)”
The deception by SPCATB is twofold:
- The SPCATB is NOT disclosing that it is omitting the “Owner Request Euthanasia” animal numbers from their formula and
- The SPCATB is falsely claiming to be using the ASPCA formula. It is not.
The actual “ASPCA Formula” is
“LIVE OUTCOMES DIVIDED BY LIVE INTAKE”
This formula is a more honest representation of how a “shelter” (I use this term loosely) performs. This formula is published in the National Federation of Humane Societies: March 2011 by the Metrics and Measurement Committee, page 5:
file:///C:/Users/WPATI/Downloads/What-is-your-Rate-10_2013.pdf
The differences in the “Live Release” between the true (ASPCA Formula) and the misleading (SPCATB Formula) are across all animal categories in the reports and are as high as 40% in the calculation for canines in the month of December 2023.
If you want to follow below, the link is https://spcatampabay.org/organization-reports/
Here are the December numbers for canines
TOTAL LIVE OUTCOMES 116
TOTAL LIVE INTAKES 196
OWNER REQUEST EUTHANASIA 79
The SPCATB reports a 99% “Live Release Rate” with their cleverly designed formula.
“LIVE RELEASE RATE” = “TOTAL LIVE OUTCOMES” divided by (“TOTAL LIVE INTAKES” – “OWNER REQUEST EUTHANASIA”) Note: a whole population of animals who entered the facility disappears
99% = 116 / (196 – 79)
99% = 116/117
Actual ASPCA formula (that SPCATB claims to be using but is not):
“LIVE RELEASE RATE” = “LIVE OUTCOMES” divided by “TOTAL LIVE INTAKE”
59% = 116/196
The difference between the misleading/manipulated calculation and the honest calculation is 40%
Here are the % differences between the true ASPCA formula and the misleading SPCATB formula the agency is advertising it uses for canines:
Month of Dec 2023 40%
Yearly Difference SPCATB ASPCA
2023 YTD 24% 75% 51%
2022 YTD 23% 77% 54%
2021 YTD 21% 82% 61%
2020 YTD 21% 80% 59%
2019 YTD 20% 80% 60%
2018 YTD 20% 81% 61%
2017 YTD 15% 81% 66%
2016 YTD 14% 84% 70%
2015 YTD 11% 75% 64%
2014 YTD 16% 73% 57%
2013 YTD 12% 72% 60%
2012 YTD 10% 65% 55%
Here are the % differences between the true ASPCA Formula that the misleading SPCATB Formula it is using for felines
Month of Dec 2023 12%
Yearly Difference SPCATB ASPCA
2023 YTD 12% 76% 64%
2022 YTD 11% 76% 65%
2021 YTD 09% 72% 63%
2020 YTD 10% 87% 77%
2019 YTD 08% 83% 75%
2018 YTD 07% 76% 69%
2017 YTD 07% 76% 69%
2016 YTD 06% 78% 72%
2015 YTD 05% 67% 62%
2014 YTD 05% 59% 54%
2013 YTD 06% 60% 54%
2012 YTD 04% 53% 49%
This number jumbo has been going on for 12+ years at the SPCATB. It is not accidental. It is by design for the purpose of falsely inflating the reported “Live Release Rate.”
Observations regarding the SPCATB transfer statistics
https://spcatampabay.org/organization-reports/
From 2012 – 2018 there is no category distinction for animals Transferred into the facility from outside/inside Florida. Only “Transfers.”
Those “from within” and “from without” Florida categories were added to the statistics report beginning in 2019.
From 2019 – 2023
854 canines were transferred into SPCATB from out of state. That is an average 171 dogs/year = 14 dogs/month
2051 canines were transferred into the SPCATB from within Fl. That is an average 410 dogs/year = 34/dogs/month
Total transferred from both inside and outside FL: 2905 canines / 60 (months) = 48 total dogs per month transferred into the SPCATB displacing the space of that many Pinellas County dogs at risk.
Ms. Boden was transferring dogs in from out of county and out of state when she was at IndyHumane.
Breakdown per year
Year From outside FL From within FL
’23 172 411
’22 212 452
’21 146 513
’20 35 430
’19 289 245