SINN-CLARK: County animal control needs more help and better oversight

What this means is we are getting less service, both animals and people are getting less protection, and the people at Animal Control are increasingly stuck between a rock and a hard place due to cuts in payroll funds and overtime allowances. (Salary expenditures for Animal Control have been cut by 24 percent since 2008 and overtime has been slashed to almost nothing.) Shelter visits were up by 500 in 2011, yet only 32 cats and 183 dogs were adopted during the whole year. Some 617 dogs and 985 cats were euthanized; that is a kill rate of 48 percent for dogs and 82 percent for cats.

Of course, no one at Animal Control wants to kill pets. A major responsibility to spay/neuter pets, keep them confined and identifiable (collar, rabies tag, microchip), reclaiming lost pets and adopting shelter pets falls squarely on the community’s back.

Yet there are some things at Animal Control that could be changed to help maximize adoptions and reclaims, such as offering evening or weekend hours. Barrow’s shelter is the only one in the area that is only open during working hours, Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For most people, even visiting the Barrow shelter means taking off work. Realistically, how many people are going to do that?

The Barrow shelter does work with other agencies to arrange rescues. In 2011, 247 shelter dogs went to rescue organizations. Sadly, that was down from 459 dogs rescued in 2010, a 47 percent drop. Cat rescues also fell in 2011, 37 percent, from 459 to 247.

Recently, I’ve heard that rescue organizations are having an increasingly hard time transferring animals out of the Barrow shelter. In several incidences, this was because there was no one available to open cages or assist with the transfer paperwork. This is not acceptable, especially given Barrow’s high kill rates.

Reports of people from the community being treated rudely by shelter staff are also on the rise. I do the “Pets of the Week” feature for this paper, which means visiting the shelter every other week and “talking pets,” while out in the community. Sadly, I am hearing more stories that do not shine a positive light on the Barrow shelter visit experience. A look at donations to the shelter also indicates some changes in personnel or policy may need to be made. In 2010, the shelter received $1,275 in donations; that fell to $195 in 2011.

I am not criticizing the Animal Control officers or desk personnel. The buck stops higher than that. It stops with the current management and ultimately with the chairman and the board of commissioners. The animals obviously can’t speak for themselves, nor can the officers who value their jobs and their benefits. It’s up to those of us in the community who care about animals and value public safety, to make it clear to our commissioners that we expect better service from Animal Control.

Barrow County Roads & Bridges does not have to make a public plea for asphalt donations; nor, do other county departments ask for paper, pens or ink cartridges in order to do their work. Yet, Animal Control makes ongoing requests for basics, such as cat litter and pet food, to stretch their tight budget a little further. Even in a still-troubled local economy, there is much wrong with this picture, especially if you’re the dog or cat hoping someone donates food or litter so you can be a little more comfortable until you, in most cases, are euthanized.

There is only one long-term solution to decreasing the local unwanted pet population. It is spay/neuter. Leftover Pets is a local, low cost, non-profit organization providing those services. They also rescue cats and kittens from the Barrow shelter. (www. leftoverpets.org) Pup & Cat Co. is another local, non-profit rescue that saves animals from the Barrow shelter. (www.pupandcatco.com) Both could use support. Please, do it for the animals.

Lorin Sinn-Clark is a writer for the Barrow Journal. She can be reached at lorin@barrowjournal.com.