Sue Freeman's Cat Related Resume

EXPERIENCE - ongoing

designer of site, supplier of information, do updates: site covers animal rescue groups and what their specialties are for cats in Los Angeles (and surrounding counties), low-cost spay/neuter and low-cost shot veterinarian clinics in Los Angeles and (surrounding counties), where to rent feral cat traps, list of financial aid groups, a list of LA's animal control shelter locations and hours, guidelines for doing animal rescue on your on, and guidelines on working within the humane community. Also, included are other web sites that are helpful for rescuers and cat owners including dog sites, pictures of dogs and cats at shelters around Southern California, and a full page of 'links' for specific subjects.

creator of list, keep list updated: hard copy of the information posted on my web site. Used by many of the large referral groups for resources, by many of the placement groups to help the public find help if that group can not, and by placement groups to help people find a specific type of cat to adopt (i.e. a declawed cat or a Siamese.) This list can be obtained by sending $5 to: Sue Freeman P.O. Box 1595 Studio City, CA 91614. It is now 12 pages long.

Collector and creator of spread sheet: took statistics previously collected from the fiscal year 1996, and collected statistics for 1997 through 2002. I am currently collecting the 2003 stats. The 19 shelters end their fiscal year between June and December in each year. Stats include total cats and dogs impounded, adoptions, redemptions, as well as numbers destroyed. Spread sheet tabulates the percentages of total impounds for each of these categories.

Started on my own, then worked with humane groups: Started bottle-feeding kittens, taming feral cats, and trapping when altering a local feral cat colony. Learned mostly by trial and error before finding that placement groups exist. I have learned the basics of self-vetting to lower the cost of fostering cats and kittens. I have learned how to administer vaccinations and have learned the difference between and the treatment of the common diseases: ringworm, mange, ear mites, coccidia, giardia, roundworms, and tapeworms. To date, I have fostered hundreds of homeless cats and kittens, and placed them into permanent homes. I have trapped and altered over 200 cats and have taught over 150 people how to trap and maintain their own colonies. I have also screened homes for placing cats into permanent homes with Humane Groups since April, 1990. I have also taught over 50 volunteers how to 'work' at our weekly humane placement locations, where we place our foster cats.

EXPERIENCE - limited time projects

Set up and implemented program with Glendale Humane Society & SPCA for a pilot program to lower the number of unaltered dogs and cats: set up accounts with vets, spoke with the public via phones and at community events to target 500 dogs and cats. Large dogs and feral cats were the targets since they are the main suppliers of puppies and kittens.  We surpassed our target of 500 animals altered, plus over 600 animals in referrals. Many of the dogs & tame cats were in an area which has other funding, so many referrals were done instead of issuance of Glendale's vouchers. 

This program stopped the production of more than 3,000 puppies and kittens from the Glendale vouchers in 2004, and the referrals we did have the potential of stopping the production of more than 3,600 puppies and kittens in 2004. Combined, this program may have stopped the production over 6,000 puppies and kittens in 2004.

co-founder and Board of Director: adoption group running placement ‘shows’ at local pet stores each weekend, placing over 600 cats and kittens annually into permanent homes. Involved with the L.A. Animal Services’ spay/neuter voucher distribution, issuing educational newsletters twice a year, and educating the public on feral cat colonies. The average weekend involved 2-6 ‘shows.’ My involvement also included manning the phone lines, behind the scenes involvement on keeping the ‘shows’ running smoothly with banking, accounting, copying, advertisements, errands, keeping supplies and medications in stock, scheduling the adoption days with the people fostering the cats, purchasing and doing trap rentals, etc. I created the original adoption forms and information packages. I developed an idea of the rescuer receiving a portion of the adoption donation as reimbursement for funds used for vetting and supplies for the fostered cat. The group is still in existence. When we set up the group, only (5) other placement groups existed in Los Angeles County, showing at 5 locations. Today, there are approximately 45 groups plus animal control shelters who now do adoptions at local pet stores for a total of 75 locations each weekend. I also set up the non-profit status for the organization with another member of the Board of Directors.

Participated with 25 other people from various groups: Participation in discussion, solution solving, and small group studies for feral cats within L.A. City. We categorized the problems and set guidelines for solutions and problem solving.

Participated with 25 other people from various groups and businesses: Participation in discussion, solution solving, and small group studies for overpopulation of dogs and cats within L.A. City. We categorized the problems into sections and then into short term, long term and legislation-needed columns.

Participated with 12 others people from other humane groups in L.A. City: We met twice a month for 3-4 hours, sorting out the problems of feral cats, how to deal with the cats without euthanizing, and we educated the city on what animal rescue is and what we do. Many of our proposed projects and ideas have become part of L.A. City’s methods.

EDUCATION

Attended the two day seminar & workshops on identifying cruelty and teaching compasion in schools: this course was presented by The California Teachers Association. Teachers were encouraged to identify violent traits in students, were given tools to implement compassion into everyday lessions, and to understand the link between violence to animals and violence to other humans.

Attended the one day seminar on feral cat behavior and temperament: this course was sponsored and presented by L.A. Animal Services and California Animal Control Director's Association. Topics covered were: new laws relating to cats and dogs, how to deal with feral cats and what options are open for the feral cat, care takers and TNR (trap-neuter-return)

Attended the one evening class teaching CPR for cats and dogs: this course was presented by the American Red Cross and HSUS.

Attended the one day seminar on the connection between Animal Cruelty and Human Violence: this course was sponsored and presented by L.A. Animal Services and H.S.U.S. Subjects included specific evidence and connections between domestic violence and abuse of children, prosecutors programs, strategies for violence prevention and intervention, and the definition of animal cruelty, with regards to both abuse and neglect.

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