Eastside Real Estate Buzz

The Seattle Times had an editorial in the newspaper yesterday summing up some of the latest news on the King County animal shelter welfare debate.

 Here is a summary of some of the immediate fixes planned and some of the issues discussed in the above link to The Seattle Times:

“New cat cages, dog runs, more staff and stronger efforts to decrease the number of animals euthanized relieve problems of overcrowding and lax animal care. This is only a down payment. Longer term, lawmakers ought to ponder what it would take to run a model animal-care facility and whether that is a task best left to vendors — for example, the Humane Society.Comparisons between the county’s animal-shelter program and the Humane Society set up a false dichotomy. The county takes in several times as many animals. The Humane Society largely gets animals from families who can no longer care for them. The county gets stray dogs and feral cats. Also, the county is responsible for humans and animals, creating a constant tension for funds.

 Strengthened partnerships with the Humane Society and advocacy organizations such as PAWS can help. A set of long-range proposals is expected to be presented to the council by late summer.

With the initial urgency abated, the Council ought to examine successful models around the country, including San Francisco and Charlottesville, Va. There is time to get this right.”

The Seattle PI’s latest article cited a study completed by The Veterinary School at University of California at Davis commissioned by the Council.  The study also deplored conditions at the shelter.

Ironically, the attempts to cut back on euthanasia rates, may have also contributed to the problems.

“In 2007, the council approved a directive to reduce the euthanasia rate to 20 percent in 2008 as part of a policy to avoid putting animals to death for reasons other than incurable illness or intractable behavior problems. But that comes with a down side, the report suggests.”

  This continues from the PI article:

“Eliminating euthanasia for space (lack of capacity) has caused a substitution of euthanasia or death for health and behavior reasons that are often shelter-acquired problems related to stress, crowding and increased exposure to infectious diseases,” the report says. “This systematic policy has led to significant animal welfare issues, individual animal suffering and has likely caused increased shelter death.”

 The UC Davis report had this to say about the previous allegations from Nathan Winograd  reported  in a previous post and on many media outlets:

“As for the Winograd report, the agency says it includes “many helpful suggestions” for improving care, but adds, “The most disturbing accusations … are simply not true.” The response defends Sims, saying he is “particularly known for his commitment to animal care.”

By the way, The King County Animal Fund referenced above has been building up for about 20 years.  The fund has about $570,000, raised from donations given when people license their pets.  Let’s hope the county uses the money judiciously and wisely for the welfare of these dogs and cats.  It’s about time!