Crowding puts county shelter in crisis mode

The Flathead City-County Board of Health heard Thursday that the crowding crisis continues at the Flathead County Animal Shelter.

“A week and a half ago, we closed the door to accepting cats – we took strays but no owner turn-ins,”  County Health Officer Joe Russell told the board. “We may have to do it again.”

 At the November health board meeting, Russell said the County Attorney’s Office had advised that the shelter is only required by ordinance to accept strays, not pets from owner who want to relinquish them.

Following the meeting, Russell said the ban lasted only a day and half. He added that he got a call from the shelter on Wednesday informing him that the population of dogs and cats has climbed so high that the staff may have to refuse owner turn-ins of both.

“We don’t put them in kennels and leave them in the hall anymore,” he said. “If you don’t have room for them, you are asking for a lot of animal health problems.”

Russell said the short closure on cats was positive because the people who brought in animals had to look for other alternatives for a home for their cat. He said the ordinance specifies that the shelter must accept only dogs found running at large.

He said part of the cat overcrowding comes from people trapping a pet cat that comes on their property. Some come in with collars with names like “Fluffy.”

“We have a lot of people trapping their neighbor’s cat instead of going to talk to them about the problem,” he said.

According to Russell, the recession of the last two years has increased the number of owner turn-ins of animals. People move to an apartment that won’t accept pets or move and can’t take the animal with them.

He doesn’t anticipate the county expanding the shelter anytime soon. To ease the problem, Russell said the facility has made renovations such as changing the former euthanasia space into a small dog area. Outside kennels also were built.

Russell said the shelter won’t turn to euthanasia as a way of addressing overcrowding. He said the low-kill philosophy has inspired people to volunteer as well as adopt pets.

“We have more public support,” he said.

Under the low-kill policy, the animal shelter only euthanizes dogs and cats that show aggression or are too sick for the shelter to treat.

Russell finds the animal overcrowding problem frustrating.

“It’s sad – it’s not the animals’ fault,” he said. “It’s irresponsible owners who won’t spay and neuter their animals.”

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.