i L i n d . n e t

It wasn’t just the clouds and rain that cast a pall over everything yesterday. It was the fourth-hand rumor received mid-day, confirmed late in the afternoon, that the victim in a fatal motorcycle accident in Waipahu the day before was part of a small group of men who, up until recently, fished together regularly on my dad’s boat. The guys in the crew made it possible for my dad to keep fishing until just a few months before his 95th birthday, which we celebrated earlier this month. I had recently met with him several times while he was working in his spare time refinishing the woodwork in the cabin of the boat. His death in what was essentially a hit-and-run accident was quite an unexpected blow. I don’t think we’re going to tell my dad, at least for now.

Frank De Giacomo, vice-president of the Animal CARE Foundation, responded with further information about the city spay-neuter contract awarded to his organization.

De Giacomo, in the past a frequent public critic of the Hawaiian Humane Society, writes that “statute allows for either a certificate program with statutorily set prices *or* for a single provider that can charge the cost to the City and County or less than that cost.”

The way the the contact had been put out before was who could charge the least to do the paperwork and accounting for the program – print the certificates, reimburse the vets, do the accounting, etc. HHS was like health insurance that way. This time the contract was, to over simplify a bit, “who could do the neuters for the lowest cost”. The City and County was finding that with the price increases in the program there were less surgeries being done (only around 5,000 last year)and the program was ran out of money every year before the end of the year, sometimes as early as April.

He says the Animal CARE Foundation expects to increase the number of surgeries performed, extend services to “exotic” animals such as rabbit and guinea pigs, and provide a mobile clinic.

In addition, he says their program will continue to offer spay-neuter services at the same price even if the city program runs out of funds.

You can read his full email here.

In addition, testimony presented by De Giacomo during the 2008 legislative session provides some additional background on the spay-neuter contract and the conflict between the Humane Society and the Animal CARE Foundation.