Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a recommendation by Animal Control Director John Vail to reduce adoption fees for shelter animals. Vail said the reduction will serve to increase the amount of new adoptions and reduce the time an animal is in the shelter, which ultimately costs the county money. Vail said the reduction is specifically designed to reduce the influx of cats and kittens the shelter receives during the spring and summer months. During the summer season, Animal Control has between 80 and 100 cats on any given day. “This is a big burden for our employees, and our adoptions rates are just not as high as we’d like to see,” said Vail. The discrepancy between the number of dog and cat adoptions in Amador County is significant. In the last two years, the adoption rate (also known as the live release rate) through Animal Control and the APAL program was approximately 85 percent for dogs, but closer to 75 percent for cats. Vail suggested reducing all cat and kitten adoption fees to $25 for at least 60 days and to extend that time if necessary until the shelter population is below 40 cats. He recommended reducing fees by 50 percent if adoptable cats are in the shelter longer than 40 days or adoptable dogs are there longer than 15 days. He also suggested reducing fees for adult animals. “Kittens and puppies are generally adopted much quicker than some of our older animals,” he said. In addition, he requested the authority to establish a $15 fee for less sociable adult cats (known as barn cats) which he said “are great for controlling populations of mice and rodents but don’t necessarily make the best pets.” Supervisor John Plasse asked Vail if the shelter recovers the cost of caring for these animals through adoption fees and if that will remain so after the fees are reduced. Vail said adoption fees and dog license fees make up about 10 percent of his shelter’s overall budget. Susan Manning, APAL and Humane Society President, said during public comment that she supports a temporary price decrease in order to instill a sense of urgency. But she warned that “if you do a lower fee all the time you might be giving away funds that you won’t necessarily have to give away.” After one supervisor suggested giving animals away for free, Vail said there is a common opinion that if something is free people won’t value it as much as if it requires an investment, even a small one, from the beginning. The Supervisors approved Vail’s request unanimously, tentatively set to begin in August. “This problem isn’t going to be over with this year,” said Vail. “It’s going to go on until more people in the community understand the problem and…provide homes.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.-
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Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a recommendation by Animal Control Director John Vail to reduce adoption fees for shelter animals. Vail said the reduction will serve to increase the amount of new adoptions and reduce the time an animal is in the shelter, which ultimately costs the county money. Vail said the reduction is specifically designed to reduce the influx of cats and kittens the shelter receives during the spring and summer months. During the summer season, Animal Control has between 80 and 100 cats on any given day. “This is a big burden for our employees, and our adoptions rates are just not as high as we’d like to see,” said Vail. The discrepancy between the number of dog and cat adoptions in Amador County is significant. In the last two years, the adoption rate (also known as the live release rate) through Animal Control and the APAL program was approximately 85 percent for dogs, but closer to 75 percent for cats. Vail suggested reducing all cat and kitten adoption fees to $25 for at least 60 days and to extend that time if necessary until the shelter population is below 40 cats. He recommended reducing fees by 50 percent if adoptable cats are in the shelter longer than 40 days or adoptable dogs are there longer than 15 days. He also suggested reducing fees for adult animals. “Kittens and puppies are generally adopted much quicker than some of our older animals,” he said. In addition, he requested the authority to establish a $15 fee for less sociable adult cats (known as barn cats) which he said “are great for controlling populations of mice and rodents but don’t necessarily make the best pets.” Supervisor John Plasse asked Vail if the shelter recovers the cost of caring for these animals through adoption fees and if that will remain so after the fees are reduced. Vail said adoption fees and dog license fees make up about 10 percent of his shelter’s overall budget. Susan Manning, APAL and Humane Society President, said during public comment that she supports a temporary price decrease in order to instill a sense of urgency. But she warned that “if you do a lower fee all the time you might be giving away funds that you won’t necessarily have to give away.” After one supervisor suggested giving animals away for free, Vail said there is a common opinion that if something is free people won’t value it as much as if it requires an investment, even a small one, from the beginning. The Supervisors approved Vail’s request unanimously, tentatively set to begin in August. “This problem isn’t going to be over with this year,” said Vail. “It’s going to go on until more people in the community understand the problem and…provide homes.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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