Shelters' new rules on strays have towns scrambling

When the Delaware County SPCA recently served notice that starting in July, it will no longer accept stray cats and dogs from the county's 49 municipalities, it joined a growing list of shelters across the state - and country - that have made the same choice.

Six other animal shelters in Pennsylvania, including those in Berks and Lancaster Counties and one in Harrisburg, have made similar decisions as they try to cut back on euthanizing animals and focus on education, addressing overpopulation, animal abuse, and animal rights.

The change has created a dilemma for hundreds of townships that must find a new way to deal with stray animals, said Sue West, director of the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement.

"It is a very difficult juggling act for everyone right now," said West, who plans to convene a summit with private shelters in November to try to resolve some of their issues before more turn their backs on townships. Even now, she said, some humane officers must drive more than an hour to reach a shelter that will accept a township stray.

"It is something we are seeing happen in various locations around the country," said Inga Fricke, director of sheltering initiatives at the Humane Society of the United States.

Euthanizing animals "is a black eye against an organization," said Roseann Trezza, executive director of the Associated Humane Societies of New Jersey, a state where, she said, a lot of shelters are retrenching.

About 75 percent of all cats and 61 percent of all dogs entering shelters are euthanized, according to the New Jersey Office of Animal Welfare.

Trezza said municipalities don't want to pay the shelters the full cost of handling, housing, and - when they cannot be adopted - euthanizing stray animals. Plus, nonprofit shelters find it easier to get donations if they call themselves "no kill."

And then there is the toll that euthanasia takes on staffers.

Karel Minor remembers the days his employees at the Humane Society of Berks County would be sobbing in corners after they had to euthanize more than 100 healthy cats in one day just to make room for more strays.

"I can't ask the staff to go back to that. It is just not right," said Minor, executive director. The shelter dropped animal-control contracts from the state and municipalities in 2008.

The decision the Pennsylvania shelters have made highlights a wrinkle in the state's dog law.

Though municipalities are charged with rounding up stray animals, many of the facilities available to take them - the private shelters - are not obligated to accept them.

"This has never been a legal responsibility," said Justina Calgiano, spokeswoman for the Delaware County SPCA, which now gets $119 per animal from municipalities, up from $20 in 2009.

"We have taken it on as a moral responsibility for 99 years. We feel this is enough time."

Rick Matelsky, interim executive director of the shelter, calls it a "cheap solution for municipalities" that treated the SPCA like a "garbage dump" for strays.

Shelters in Bucks and Montgomery Counties do not have the same pressures because some larger towns have holding pens for stray dogs. The SPCA in Chester County, which is undergoing renovations, has not decided whether it will halt its contracts with municipalities.

"We could go either way," spokesman Rich Britton said.

In Delaware County, the SPCA, based in Media, has room for about 200 cats and 80 dogs and relies on 160 foster homes for overflow, but it takes in between 6,000 and 7,000 animals each year.

In 2009, the shelter euthanized 2,325 animals - 2,039 cats, 282 dogs, and 4 other small animals.

Among the strays brought in during October was a tiny pit bull dropped off by an animal-control service used by Chester City. Just 12 hours later, the stray surprised staffers by giving birth to seven puppies.

Next summer, under the shelter's new policy, Chester and the county's other townships will need an alternative for pregnant pups.

The shelter, with a staff of 38, including one full-time and two part-time veterinarians, will still take in pets brought in by owners, animal-cruelty cases, and overflows from other shelters. Its "no-kill" goal is to save 90 to 95 percent of the animals and euthanize only those that are extremely aggressive or beyond medical help.

Delaware County municipalities have begun meeting with county officials to find alternatives.

"To give the county one-year warning that it wouldn't have an animal-care facility is unconscionable," said Tom Hickey, founder of the political action committee DogPac. He said the shelter would be shifting the death of animals from its facility to the streets, where stray or wounded dogs might cause further problems or be tortured or killed.

Joe Daly, Springfield Township police chief, said the officials were looking into teaming with other counties's shelters, finding a private vendor, or developing a county-operated shelter. They are also planning to ask the SPCA to change its mind or extend the deadline, Daly said.

Said James Maloney, director of public health in Upper Darby: "Even if government moves at lightning speed, it won't happen in eight months."