Published: August 26, 2008 03:52 pm            

A step forward — 08/27/08

Program will reduce number of unwanted dogs and cats

Here’s hoping a 90-day pilot program, aimed at having all pets adopted from the Boyd County Animal Control Center spayed or neutered, becomes permanent. As long as dogs, cats and other pets capable of reproducing leave the facility, the animal control center cannot effectively reduce the number of unwanted pets in the county — which should be the county-run center’s primary mission.

This newspaper has long joined many others in advocating that the animal control center require that all animals adopted from it are either neutered or spayed. While individuals adopting pets from the center still can choose not to have them spayed or neutered, the pilot program certainly encourages the new pet owners to do so by paying for the procedure. Short of absolutely requiring that the adopted animals are rendered incapable of producing offspring, that’s the next best step to reducing the number of unwanted dogs and cats in Boyd County.

Three steps had to be taken to launch the pilot program:

-- The Boyd County Fiscal Court had to agree to raise the adoption fee at the animal control center from $30 to $50 and to give up its portion of the fee, which it had been using to offset the cost of operating the center.

-- Approximately 20 area veterinarian clinics had to agree to spay or neuter pets adopted at the animal control center for $75, which is at least 25 percent less than what veterinarians normally charge. We commend those veterinarians who are willing to sacrifice some income in order to help control the number of unwanted and often neglected pets in the county.

-- The Pet Betterment Fund and the Boyd County Control Center Endowment Fund had to raise the necessary funds to pay the $25 difference between the adoption fee and what the veterinarians charge to spay or neuter dogs and cats. Each individual, family or business that has contributed to either or both funds can be assured that they are helping to reduce the number of pets euthanized by the center by reducing the number of dogs and cats that no one wants.

Paul Helton, director of the animal control center, thinks the higher adoption fees may result in a decline in the number of adoptions, but in our view, if individuals are not willing to pay $50 to adopt a pet, then they probably would be unwilling to spend the money needed to properly care for that animal.

In supporting the pilot program, Boyd County Commissioner David Salisbury said, “I’d rather see a decline in the pet population by spay and neuter than by euthanasia. It may cost us some money in the short term, but I think in the long run the amount of cats and dogs coming into the shelter will go down ...”

Salisbury is right. Instead of euthanizing unwanted pets, the county is taking a new approach to reducing its pet population: Birth control. That’s the right approach.

        

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