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Houston PetSet is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to ending the homelessness and suffering of companion animals and elevating their status in society. Houston PetSet works to achieve its mission by focusing its efforts in six key impact areas including spay & neuter, transport & rescue, community service & education, cruelty prevention, research, and advocacy. In addition, Houston PetSet provides annual grants to animal welfare-related organizations in the Greater Houston area. By providing critical funds and collaborating with strategic partners, Houston PetSet seeks to end the crisis of animal homelessness in our community.
On behalf of Houston PetSet, our partners, and those in the animal welfare community, we thank you in advance for taking the time to provide your responses to this questionnaire. It is important to note that Houston PetSet will NOT be endorsing any candidate in any municipal race and will be using this completed document as a resource for groups and individuals that are interested in learning more about your candidacy. Your responses will be posted to our website and will be accessible for all.
The current animal homelessness population presents a public health and public safety issue that affects the quality of life of many Houstonians. The Houston PetSet questionnaire includes questions covering general animal welfare, city services, and partnerships. We ask that you complete this questionnaire (by filling in your answers via Microsoft Word) and return it to [email protected] no later than July 1st, 2019.
Sincerely,
Tena Lundquist Faust Tama Lundquist Co-President Co-President
Animal Welfare
1. To what extent have you been involved with any animal welfare issues, including rescue, spay & neuter, foster, transport programming, legislation, and anti-cruelty?
Answer:I have been the chief of staff for Council Member Brenda Stardig since 2014. Prior to that, I was the district director for a state senator. I have been involved with many legislative issues related to these issues both on the state and city levels.
2. Do you have a plan to address underserved areas that need low cost spay & neuter programming and other veterinary services?
Answer:Yes. The City needs to make this a priority. With Council Member Stardig, I worked on setting up several free spay/neuter and microchipping programs in District A using Council District Service Funds. Once elected, I plan on continuing these programs.
3. Do you have, or have you ever had in the past, a companion animal? If so, was it a rescue animal?
Answer:I had a rescue dog growing up and currently have two dogs that my husband and I were able to intervene and rescue before they were put in a shelter.
Quality of Life/Public Safety/Public Health
4. What impact, and how will reducing the stray animal population improve the quality of life of all Houstonians, if any?
Answer:Not only do I care about the quality of life of Houstonians, but I also care for the quality of life of the animals too. Reducing stray animals helps both Houstonians and the animals that need to be served. While we are lucky that groups like Houston PetSet have stepped up to take care of our animals, the City government needs to make it a priority too. Based on the calls that we receive in our office, I believe that Houstonians agree that part of their enhanced quality of life in our city involves taking care of our animals.
5. How do you plan to work with communities that have historically reported high rates of stray animals? Please describe below.
Yes___ No___
Additional Comment:I will contribute to services in District A to reduce the rates of stray animals however I can through Council District Service Funds.
6. How do you plan to address animal homelessness and the stray population citywide?
Answer:BARC needs more resources to properly do their job. One way we can achieve this is through instituting a Sunset Review Program similar to the state’s program. This program requires periodic audits of each department before the legislature decides whether to extend the program or dissolve it. Under a city sunset review program, each department and program within the city would have to go through an audit and justify its existence. I would require industry experts, like Houston PetSet, and citizens to be a part of the review so that we make sure that the programs are actually working for the very people that they are supposed to serve. I believe that these audits will find wasteful spending and whole departments that could be eliminated, and we could find not only extra funds for BARC but ways to streamline it to better serve our animal population.
City of Houston Services
7. Do you have a strategy to address overcrowding in the city animal shelter? If so, please describe below.
Yes___ No___
Additional Comment:See question #6. Instituting a Sunset Review Program will help find funds and ways to streamline BARC. This will help with overcrowding in the animal shelters. Also, we need to continue working with no-kill organizations that are able to take some of our animals to reduce overcrowding and enhance their quality of life.
8. Should BARC (City of Houston animal shelter) receive additional funding based on budget comparisons to national standards and peer cities? If so, how much and how would you increase the department’s overall budget?
Yes___ No___
Additional Comment:Rather than guessing or comparing to other cities (which doesn’t always work), we should do a thorough audit of BARC to see exactly how much more money is needed.
9. Will you commit to expanding intake hours for animal surrenders at the city shelter?
Yes___ No___
Additional Comment:If people can reliably take their pets in to BARC at convenient hours, it would be less likely that the animal will end up on the streets.
10.Will you commit to funding additional Animal Control Officers to respond to 311 and BARC calls?
Yes___ No___
Additional Comment:If there are more funds available to hire additional Animal Control Officers, we absolutely need to do so.
11.What is your plan to address animal abuse, including dog fighting (and cock fighting) in the City of Houston and how would you involve the community to assist in this effort?
Answer:Recently we were made aware of a terrible situation at a District A park where dog fighting was occurring. I spoke directly with the HPD captain, and we were able to stop this from happening further. It was happening for some time before anyone reached out to our office. I want to make sure that people feel comfortable reporting this abuse so that something can be done to help.
12.There are a number of duplicative services (ex. animal control services, investigative/enforcement, wellness services, etc.) that are offered between the City and County. Do you believe in the existing model, based on geography OR would you explore other options? If you would explore other options, what specific options do you have in mind?
Yes___No___
Additional Comment:I believe that leveraging dollars with other entities is almost always beneficial. To the extent that Harris County is willing to join efforts, I am very open to working with them to see if there is a good collaboration that can happen.
Partnerships
13.Would you support a partnership with local animal welfare organizations to address the growing issues relating to animal welfare? What specifically would you propose?
Yes___ No___
Additional Comment:Leveraging dollars and resources is something that should always be explored. I am certainly willing to listen to the local animal welfare organizations to see what proposals they have to partner.
14.Are you familiar with the six key impact areas of Houston PetSet? How would your administration support Houston PetSet’s impact areas?
Yes___ No___
Additional Comment:I believe that Houston PetSet does a fantastic job, and I am willing to work with them on their impact areas however I can. I would like to meet with them once elected to see how we can work together in these areas.
City of Houston Ordinance/Advocacy
15.Would you support a local ordinance that prohibits apartments or home owners’ associations from banning specific dog breeds?
Yes___No___
Additional Comment:It depends on the language of the ordinance. I would have to see exactly what is being proposed.
16.Will you support the creation of a local ordinance that better defines and creates a higher standard of shelter for animals?
Yes___No___
Additional Comment:It depends on the language of the ordinance. I would have to see exactly what is being proposed. In general, I support a higher standard.
17.Will you support a local ordinance that bans the sale of dogs from breeders and puppy mills in retail locations within the City of Houston?
Yes___No___
Additional Comment:It depends on the language of the ordinance. I would have to see exactly what is being proposed. While I do not support puppy mills, I would have to make sure that it doesn’t just push the problem into the county. There are unintended consequences that we would have to consider.
18.Would you support mandatory microchipping for dogs and cats in the City of Houston?
Yes___No___
Additional Comment:Yes if there is a way that we can reliably pay for this without shifting the burden on to the pet owner (such as working with non-profit organizations). If we make it so expensive to own a pet, people will stop doing so which could create more problems at our shelters. We would need a delicate balance between all of these factors.
In future, please contact Houston PetSet if you would like information or educational materials relating to the subjects above.
We ask that you complete this questionnaire (by filling in your answers via Microsoft Word) and return it to [email protected] no later than July 1st, 2019.
