GOING TO THE DOGS IN AMHERSTBURG
Local humane society to run town canine control program
Amherstburg has reached a groundbreaking agreement to have the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society operate its dog control program for the next year.
It’s the first time the humane society has offered the service outside of Windsor. The town will pay the humane society $40,000 to run the program after Amherstburg council approved the deal this week.
“The agreement with the humane society gives us a year to explore all our options,” said John Miceli, Amherstburg’s chief administrative officer.
“Our current provider, 21st Century Canine Inc., notified the town (in September) they were getting out of the business. We don’t have a pound. We’ve had no time to do a complete analysis, but we had to have something in place to provide the service to our residents.”
Miceli said 21st Century Canine was looking at significant investments in facilities to continue the service and opted not to do so.
The Windsor-Essex County Humane Society will take over Dec. 8. It was the only organization to put in a proposal to provide the service when the town put out its request for proposals.
The new service will cost about $13,000 more than what the town paid 21st Century Canine this year. The company will redirect residents’ calls to the humane society into early January.
“We were interested in exploring this because it was a call for both animal control and pound services,” said Melanie Coulter, executive director of the humane society. “We wouldn’t have been as interested if it was animal control and drop off at a different shelter. This was just a good fit for us.”
Coulter doesn’t anticipate adding Amherstburg to the humane society’s responsibilities will stretch resources. The service will be responding to calls as they come in, rather than patrolling the area.
The humane society currently has two full-time animal control officers, two part-timers and a few on call.
“They have had a response-tocall service, so it’ll be a continuation of what they’re used to,” Coulter said. “However, we have our officers out in the county already dealing with other issues, such as animal cruelty calls. We’re used to dealing with fluctuating demand for services.”
The humane society would be open to exploring partnerships with other county municipalities in the right situation, she said. It’s location on the edge of the city makes for easy access to the county.
“We have the capacity and a unique ability to provide service,” Coulter said. “If we see things go well with Amherstburg, it could lead to other municipalities exploring it.”
Nicole Rubli, Amherstburg’s manager of licensing and enforcement, said the humane society’s animal control officers will make several attempts to contact a dog ’s owner before transporting the animal into Windsor.
“The dog owner will be charged a $50 impounding fee and there’s a boarding fee of $25 per day,” Rubli said. “If the dog is unlicensed, the owner must buy a dog tag from the town.”
Dog tags are $15 for spayed and neutered animals, and $25 for those that aren’t.
Rubli said dog control isn’t a major issue in the town, just a necessary service.
“Over the last five years we’ve averaged about 40 stray dog pick ups a year,” Rubli said.