FAIRFIELD — The Solano County Animal Shelter should not have rodents and should be kept cleaner.
That
was the essential message the 2019-20 grand jury delivered in its report to the
Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Tom Ferrara, in his response this week, said he
agreed.
The
sheriff noted, however, that increased construction in the vicinity has created
increased rodent activity so the first recommendation by the grand jury to “rid
(the shelter) from rodents” can only be implemented in part.
“The
county has successfully used a contracted pest control service for over 10
years, and with the construction, we have doubled the service calls,” the
response letter signed by Ferrara states. “This has reduced significantly the
rodent activity. We will continue to monitor and rid the area of rodents to the
extent feasible.”
The
area most affected by the rodent activity, the grand jury report stated, is
where the stray dogs are kept.
This
area also was targeted by the grand jury for being cold, for not being kept as
clean as other areas and for having standing water in some of the cages.
Ferrara
said a new heating and air conditioning unit has resolved the temperature
issue, and when installed, an automatic watering system will replace the bowls
that the dogs tip over to cause the puddling issue. Ferrara said the new system
is about 50% complete.
As
for the grand jury recommendation to keep the stray dog area as clean as the
area where adoptable dogs are kept, the sheriff said, “This recommendation will
be implemented within the next two months.”
“The
shelter cages are cleaned a minimum once a day,” the response further states.
“Our experience has shown that as soon as you complete a cleaning of the entire
shelter, several of the animals have soiled their (cages). With that said, I
will change the policy to include mandatory multiple cleanings per day.”
As
is typical of official responses to grand jury reports, the sheriff’s response
did not address any of the other issues raised in the report, such as adding
staff, the staff suggestion to stop accepting feral cats and finding a way to
improve the lives of dogs considered to vicious to handle – including getting
them more exercise.
A
call to the Sheriff’s Office seeking comment has not been returned.
Solano
County Republic
By Todd R. Hansen
June 18, 2020
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