pe SAN BERNARDINO: Private group may take over troubled animal shelter The city has asked non-profit animal organizations to submit proposals for managing the facility, which is currently overseen by the Police Department. BY JANET ZIMMERMAN / STAFF WRITER Operations at San Bernardino’s beleaguered animal shelter – widely criticized for crowding, poor conditions and a high euthanasia rate – may be turned over to a nonprofit group. Animal organizations interested in managing the facility had until Thursday, June 12, to submit their proposals to the city. Rescuers for years have been calling for change at the aging compound, where small dogs subsist five to a kennel and disease is rampant. The 1950s-era complex near E Street and Orange Show Road was never intended to house the volume of stray and surrendered animals it sees today – more than 16,000 a year. The shelter also takes in animals for Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace and Loma Linda. After rescue groups launched a public campaign in 2008 to improve conditions there, donations increased and city officials ordered the addition of shade cloth over outdoor cages, radiant heat floors and air conditioning for the cat room. While those improvements have been made, the building is showing its age. Sprayed-on insulation hangs loose from the ceiling over kennels, and gaping holes remain overhead from a rat infestation. Worse, critics say, is that the shortage of space forces more euthanasia – in some cases on the same day the animal becomes eligible for adoption. “We don’t have money to keep an animal past the limits,” said Councilman Jim Mulvihill, part of a committee to address problems at the shelter. “We’ve got crime, fires, streets that need maintenance. You get to the animal shelter and that’s not a top priority.” The operation, now run by the police department, is so controversial that it has prompted death threats to city officials and hundreds of email complaints, said Michael McKinney, the mayor’s chief of staff. Mayor Carey Davis refused comment on the issue, McKinney said; other city officials involved with the shelter were on vacation or said they were too busy to respond. But Davis did address the public-private partnership in a May 6 post on his Facebook page. “This is not to say our police department has not done the best they could, but we collectively feel it is better to have stray or unwanted animals left to the care of a loving and caring nonprofit,” he wrote. The trend toward private animal services management has grown in recent years as local governments look for ways to save money. Nonprofits typically can obtain substantial donations and grants and have a long list of volunteers. They also can focus on increasing adoptions, which can boost revenue and ease crowding, animal welfare experts said. It may be just the answer for bankrupt San Bernardino, which channels $800,000 a year to the shelter. City contracts, licensing, fines and adoptions bring in more than $1 million annually. The city has debated whether to ditch its shelter and go in on a massive facility that would replace the San Bernardino County animal shelter in Devore and serve about nine cities, Mulvihill said. But that would require a contribution of several million dollars. As at the county shelter, a disproportionate number of San Bernardino’s dogs are pit bulls and Chihuahua mixes. It is typical of low-income areas, where spay and neuter rates tend to be low, backyard breeding is rampant and pets take a back seat when rent is due and groceries are needed, said Judy Race, who adopts out small dogs from San Bernardino through her Little Paws 4 Rescue in Olympia, Wash. Jason Catlin of Yucaipa stops by the shelter twice a week to photograph the animals for adoption web sites. He kneels before rows of pit bulls, rubbing faces and talking to each dog. “It’s a no-win situation,” he said. “I think it’s just the volume of what’s coming in.” The shelter’s euthanasia rate and conditions have put it in the national spotlight. Notice anything wrong? Send Silk feedback
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 03:03:46 +0000
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