September 27, 2014
Daily Journal
By Adam Randall
A group of volunteers is advocating to keep the Mendocino
County Sheriff's Office from gaining operational control over the Mendocino
County Animal Shelter, a recommendation that was made by the grand jury in its
June report.
The Board of Supervisors has until Dec. 9, a six-month
time frame, to decide whether or not to enforce any of the grand jury's
recommendations.
The grand jury maintains the shelter operations and
services should be taken from the Mendocino County Health and Human Services
Agency and turned over to the MCSO because of "multiple issues of
dysfunction and failure in services delivered by Animal Control and the Animal
Care Shelter."
Essentially, the recommendation is being made because the
relationship between both departments has significantly declined, according to
the grand jury.
However, some of the shelter volunteers, like Mariah
Mountanos, Shanna Miller and Kathy Shearn, disagree with the findings and
recommendations made by the grand jury. The three volunteers combined have
close to 20 years experience at the shelter.
Likewise, the group believes the shelter has achieved many
accomplishments under the direction of the HHSA over the years, and the
volunteers have even begun collecting signatures in an online petition, which
had reached the 1,299 mark as of Saturday.
With the signatures, the group hopes to have support in
hand while facing the board sometime before the Dec. 9 deadline.
"We think they are both being run great like they
are," Mountanos said. "I don't see why they need to integrate them.
The shelter stays within budget and brings in revenue."
According to the 2014-15 county budget, the overall cost
of the shelter is 34 percent, with a 66 percent revenue stream coming in. An
appropriated amount of $928,000 was recommended, with an actual county cost of
$313,500.
Grand jury analysis
The grand jury's report claimed the shelter attempts to
"house 100 to 150 dogs and 70 to 80 cats per day, and there is
insufficient housing for this number of animals," with the overflow
animals being housed in crates. Some animals are being housed at the shelter
for a year or longer, and the grand jury said caging the animals for a year or
more is "cruel treatment."
Mountanos said it is rare for an animal to be kept at the
shelter for a year or longer. The shelter has a 46- kennel capacity for dogs.
Shearn said in accordance with state law, most animals are subject to a five-
day hold, which gives the shelter time to try and locate the owner.
The grand jury also said the shelter has a serious rat
infestation, and provided photos from an unnamed source in December 2013,
showing instances of rat feces and open food containers. The volunteers at the
shelter maintain the facility is cleaned regularly.
"The grand jury didn't talk to any of the volunteers
at the animal shelter or current employees, just the supervisor that we know
of, and that was about horses," Mountanos said.
Even though the animals are in cages, there is plenty of
room to let loose, the volunteers said. They spend time getting each dog
outside for a walk every day, or watching them play in a designated outdoor
area just off the kennel.
A cat room allows those animals to roam free for some
time, and rotates so all the cats get a turn.
"Every day, the dogs get walked and cats get pet by
volunteers," Mountanos said. "They are well cared for and loved by
the employees as well as volunteers."
According to numbers provided in the county budget, 11,491
dogs were licensed, 767 animals adopted, 573 animals returned to owners, which
was an increase of 4 percent over last year, and decreased owner surrenders by
4 percent.
The department also reached out to the community by
holding two low- cost rabies vaccination clinics and two dog license amnesty programs.
The volunteers said many of these accomplishments may not have happened if not
for HHSA.
"It's a really difficult job and a difficult
place," Shearn said. "Nothing's perfect, but we do our best with the
budget we have."
Sheriff responds
In his response to the findings in the grand jury's
report, Sheriff Tom Allman partially disagreed that having a separation of
Animal Control and Animal Care has led to problems.
"I cannot answer for Animal Care, but I believe the
Sheriff's Office provides a better service to the public and we have trained
with Animal Care for disaster training," Allman said. "The
communication between both departments could be improved by having regular
briefings."
As far as the relationship and communication between both
departments, Allman stated in his response that both departments aim to work
together.
"I believe that both management teams strive to have
a good working environment with Animal Care," Allman said. "Because
of having each department in charge of a very important function, there is a
need for closer infrastructure to prevent miscommunication."
The Board of Supervisors has requested that HHSA Director
Stacey Cryer and Allman evaluate the pros and cons of a possible merger before
Dec. 9.
Mountanos said other cities, like San Bernardino,
Berkeley, Oakland and Chico have had shelters turned over to law enforcement in
the past, which yielded negative results. She said Oakland has a history of
euthanizing animals before required to do so.
"It's not like we're trying to bad-mouth the
Sheriff's Office, but we don't think they will do as good a job with the care
part," Miller said.
Shelter improvements
Before the grand jury report was released in June, many
improvements within the facility were made, or were in the process of being
implemented, said Shearn.
Doors around the building were replaced, the area where
the majority of the dogs are being housed went through weatherization
improvements and in the process will keep the area warmer in the winter months.
Multiple heaters from above provide warmth to the animals
if necessary, and on hot days, a small sprinkler system provides some relief.
The Puppy Play Yard was also installed about six months
ago and provides a roaming area, or place to interact with animals if
contemplating adoption.
"We want people to support whatever they feel,"
Mountanos said.
More information on the "Save the Ukiah Animal
Shelter" initiative can be found at http://chn.ge/1voRIkk. A complete list
of HHSA related information can be obtained by visiting http://bit.ly/104KN53.
No comments:
Post a Comment