The first step in planning a new Porter County Animal Shelter has been
completed as the county commissioners received the needs assessment provided
by Shelter Planners of America last week.
The commissioners hired Shelter Planners to perform the study for $6,500.
As Shelter Planners’ Planning and Design Director Bill Meade stated in a
public meeting hosted by the county in February, the present 4,000
square-foot shelter on the corner of Ind. 2 and Heavilin Road is “extremely
undersized” for the community it serves.
“It is in urgent need of replacement and expansion,” Meade said in his
report.
Meade recommended the new shelter be built in a highly-visible location on a
four to six-acre site. Based on the approximate number of animals to be seen
per year at the shelter (3,800 to 5,100, or about 4 percent of the human
population), the appropriate size for a new shelter would be 13,758
square-feet.
The report said having good exposure to the public could see doubled rates
of adoption.
New Shelter
price tag
Taking in to consideration the floor space needed for public areas, office
areas, animal kennel areas and exterior space, the construction for the new
shelter is estimated at $2,341,490. But with permits, worker costs, and
contingency, the cost for the whole package is estimated at $2,926,862.50.
The report also states the new shelter’s operating budget should be $626,000
per year versus the present budget of $472,000. More employees are
recommended to operate a shelter of this size and the report suggests the
county beef up its personnel budget to include 15 staff positions (a shelter
director, an assistant director, a kennel supervisor, an office manager, a
director of education, a vet technician, five animal care staffers and four
animal control positions).
Right now, the shelter has four full time employees and nine part-time
kennel maintenance workers.
Recommendations
for new building
Meade called the conditions at the current shelter “substandard” and in
serious need of new heating, cooling and air ventilation systems. He said
the staff and volunteers should be congratulated for doing the best possible
job with the resources they have.
Meade said the replacement building should meet three qualifications: high
visibility, central location and sustainable utilities.
He recommended the new shelter should be one-story built with
“low-maintenance, heavy-duty materials” and have a brightly lit interior
with a “welcoming feel” for public appeal.
Inside should be an attractive front lobby, adoption rooms, animal kennel
areas with heated floors that can be easily disinfected, rooms for cleaning
and storage, quarantine rooms with cages, cat and dog kitchens, and an area
where cats and dogs can be received and treated.
The public should have access to view all stray kennels so visitors can have
the chance to recognize dogs or cats that are missing from their homes, the
report said, resulting in decreased euthanizations.
Understanding
“no-kill”
Meade addressed the decision by the county commissioners in July 2008 to
switch the shelter to a no-kill facility without an understanding of what
the implications would be.
“As a result, the shelter became grossly overcrowded resulting in sickness
and suffering far beyond the expectations of anyone,” the report said.
Meade said the term “no-kill” is often misunderstood by the public. He
states it as meaning that no healthy, adoptable animal can be euthanized.
However, seriously sick, injured or dangerous animals can be terminated at a
no-kill shelter, he said.
In order for operations to stay balanced, a no-kill shelter cannot function
effectively if it is taking more animals in than it is adopting out, causing
unsanitary conditions and illness. Therefore, Meade recommended the county
cease its “no-kill” policy until it is able to manage the influx of animals
or transport the animals to another shelter in the community.
“No kill is an admirable goal but it can only be accomplished through
effective programs to reduce animal overpopulation, not simply declaring a
shelter no-kill while far more animals are coming in than can hope to be
adopted,” the report said.
Importance of
spay/neuter
programs
Meade said it should be a goal of the shelter to ensure that every dog and
cat is neutered or spayed before it is adopted out, which will help reduce
the number of unwanted animals.
Meade advocated collaborating with local veterinarians on a low cost
spay/neuter program. A preventative program would pay for itself in a few
years time, Meade said, as the number of animals to be picked up will
gradually decrease.
The animal shelter currently has a certificate program where owners can take
a coupon to a local veterinarian, but evidence shows that approximately 40
percent of adopters do not follow through. Meade suggested the step be
mandatory and shelters should charge half of the spay/neuter fee at time of
the adoption and then transport the animal to the selected hospital. When
the animal gets picked up from the hospital, the new owner then would pay
the second half.
Increased
communication
and adoptions
Communication problems can be blamed for the current criticisms aimed at the
shelter, the report said.
Admitting there may be valid points to the complaints, Meade calls the
attitudes “self-defeating” and expressed concern those attitudes may
interfere with the success of the new shelter. Therefore, he advised there
to be “a respectful, cordial dialog and improved communications” with all
the public and stakeholders to promote cooperation.
The report calls for the shelter to communicate a positive image to the
public in effort to boost pet adoptions. For adoptions to increase, emphasis
should be placed on visible location, an attractive reception area,
convenient business hours, friendly staff, well-groomed animals, reasonable
adoption fees and holding special adoption events.
Education against irresponsible pet ownership should also be promoted, Meade
said, and should be allocated 10 percent of the budget. Obedience classes
for pet owners can inform them in how to properly house and care for their
animals.
Other recommendations include:
• Placing animal control staff under the supervision of the shelter director
to reduce conflicts. The report recalls the seizure of more than 100 dogs
from a residence in Westchester Twp. that occurred in January. Animal
control officers had the shelter house the dogs in a nearby building that
had no running water, floor drains or proper air ventilation which “bordered
on violation of anti-cruelty laws,” the report said. The situation could
have been prevented if animal control had advised the shelter staff ahead of
time so housing arrangements could have been made.
• Be open on weekends and evenings as those are the best opportunities for
the public to visit the shelter.
• Set up foster pet programs, satellite adoption centers, counseling for pet
owners who are seeing problems with their pets and free pet ID tag
promotions.
The next step
Meade said the county can proceed with his organization in starting to
design the new shelter with the next step being developing the building
floor plan.
The council and commissioners have not yet authorized any firm for the
construction but virtually all members have agreed upon building a larger
shelter. Council members have said the major issue would be to make sure the
recurring operations costs can be sustained.