Tuesday, March 20, 2012

An Interesting Update

1. Did you know that 80 - 100 dogs & cats are taken every month from the city of Monroe to the county shelter?  That's a staggering number.  In fact, it looks like a vicious cycle: breed a litter, sell them or give them away in the community and finally the dog ends up at the county shelter.

2. While we're on the subject of the Union County shelter, the latest figures published by the state, for 2010, are very interesting. (A link to the full report is located in the sidebar)
Here are the numbers:
a.  Total number of cats & dogs taken in: 6208
                         Returned to owner       Adopted      Killed 
     Dogs: 2980        288                            610           1949 = 65%
     Cats:  3222          21                            241           2904 = > 90%


The combined kill rate at our county shelter is a staggering 78%.  I bet you wouldn't think it takes much money to kill so many pets, would you? Lets take a look at how much the county spent in 2010.  Again, this is per state records. 
Total operating expenses for the year: $1,060,747. 
That's a whopping $168.85 per pet.   
It doesn't cost that much to kill a pet.  Only about 10 counties in the entire state have a higher cost/pet.   What does this mean to the city of Monroe?  Considering that most of the dogs going from the city to the shelter are large dogs and many are Pits, it's safe to say that most are not being adopted.  They're being killed.  

What can Monroe do about this?  If the following were done the numbers of pets going from the city to the county shelter would decrease.  In the end, the city would save money.
1.  Revamp the city animal ordinances NOW.
2. Mandatory spay/neuter laws within the city.  When you have a local Humane Society willing to use grant money to do much of the spay/neutering for free, why is there no spay/neuter law?
3. If a household is going to have more then 15 puppies per year they must register as a breeder at a stiff cost paid to the city.
4. Pass a ban on tethering; other communities have done it. 
5. Enforce all animal ordinances.  When AC goes to any household for any reason, ask to see a current Rabies certificate.  Issue citations with fines for violations of any of the ordinances.
6. Work with local rescues on a TNR program for feral cats: trap them, spay/neuter and then release them back. 

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