KARES is truly appreciative of the support we have received on behalf of Brigid who operates Friends of Menehune for her recent court summons from Animal Control. It is true that KARES was scheduled to meet with Mayor Roth, Matt Runnells and other county staff on Tuesday, October 8th. Unfortunately, events leading up to this meeting caused KARES to question the authenticity of the county’s desire to work together with no kill rescue organizations. Here is Patches story. Patches is not the dog involved with Brigid's case, but another dog that was found as a stray. The Facts: On Thursday, October 3rd at exactly 5:03PM, KARES received a call from AVID the microchip company. A dog owned by KARES was picked up. She was chipped in 2015 making her at least 9 years old. Breed: Whippet. We immediately reached out to animal control to retrieve her. NO ANSWER. (By this time animal control should have called KARES to inform us she was safe and where we could pick her up. Next day, Friday, October 4th, we made numerous calls to animal control to arrange pick up. NO ANSWER. (Why hadn't they called KARES to tell us they had her...very disturbing) Saturday, October 5th, we called animal control all day leaving messages. Finally, someone answered. Problem is we were not allowed to pick up the dog that day for some nonsensical reason. Sunday, October 6th animal control did not call us, so we called them all day leaving messages. NO ANSWER. Monday, October 7th, finally we received a call from an animal control officer. Now they are talking about fees and that someone said the dog was vicious. Things went downhill quickly. Debbie, Founder OF KARES, immediately reached out to Matt Runnells and Mayor Roth. NO ANSWER. Tuesday, October 8th, Matt Runnells, Animal Control Administrator, called Debbie. A twenty minute, confrontational, rather heated phone call occurred only escalated her fear of Patches' fate. They wanted to kill Patches, the nine-year-old whippet stuck in lock up now for six days, SIX DAYS!!!! How would any dog or human react in such a scary, dangerous environment? October 9th, Wednesday, Mitch Roth calls Debbie. He said he would look into her concerns and call her back. NO CALL BACK. Yesterday, October 9th Sweet Patches was finally released "on bail" almost one week after her capture. Now our county officials want you to believe what they say and not what you see with your very own eyes! Based on the photos, does Patches look vicious to you? She immediately was friendly and affectionate to Karen, the KARES volunteer who transported her. Last night she happily settled onto her new bed surrounded by her foster family who were delighted to have her. May we suggest that the county contract with a Professional Canine Behaviorist to provide the necessary education to AC staff on how to properly assess newly admitted frightened dogs in a shelter environment before they kill them? According to Animal Control’s own numbers, for last year (July 1, 2023, thru June 30, 2024) the total animal intake was 2905 animals. Out of the 2905 animals brought in, 407 were redeemed by owners and 1310 animals were transferred to other rescue organizations, leaving the number of animals in their care at 1,188. Per their own reporting, 1,167 animals were killed bringing AC’s disposal rate, in garbage bags, to 98%. For this year, AC has only reported for July. Out of 278 reported as intakes, 33 were redeemed by owners and 103 have been transferred to other rescue organizations. The remaining animals in AC’s care is 142. Eight animals died in their care and 134 were killed which means their mortality rate to date for this fiscal year is 94%. The animals who died in their care are not part of the kill count as they could have died while being transported or they were found deceased. This information is published under the Freedom of Information Act and can be found on the Hawaii County website. On a final note, until the County embraces the No-Kill Programs, that have been proven highly successful in communities around the world, there will be friction between us. KARES is, and will remain, 100% no-kill of healthy animals. Mahalo for your continued support for our Big Island animals.