Langley Times, February 18/03
by Monique Tamminga http://www.langleytimes.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=47&cat=23&id=43016
Coquitlam’s municipally-run animal shelter enjoys the best animal turnover in North America, has more than 400 registered volunteers and is able to charge less than the SPCA for adoptions.
That’s just some of the positives Langley councillors, Township staff and local dog walking volunteers heard about as they toured the one-year-old animal shelter on Thursday.
Located beside Coquitlam’s workyard at Mundy Park, the shelter boasts heated floors and skylights for the dogs, communal outdoor and indoor play areas for cats and a playground for dogs.
The Coquitlam facility is the envy of animal shelters around Canada, said Coquitlam Councillor Mae Reid, who instigated and organized the switch from a SPCA-run shelter to a municipal one.
All the shelter’s food, medication and veterinarian services are donated, she said.
Since Coquitlam’s bylaw enforcement department took over animal control from the SPCA last year, dog and cat licensing revenue has increased and costs at the shelter are revenue-neutral, Reid told the tour group.
Township Councillors Kim Richter, Grant Ward and Howie Vickberg, senior bylaw enforcement officer Bill Storie, City Councillor Terry Smith and Langley SPCA dog walking volunteers Liz Smith and Patti Dale were shown around the clean and bright facility.
The group from Langley wanted to see, firsthand, how Coquitlam has been running such a successful shelter for the past year.
The township and the city are looking into the feasibility of running its own shelter jointly.
“From my perspective, Coquitlam is the model we should be following,” said Richter in a later interview.
Last month, the B.C. SPCA announced the closure of its Langley pound as of March 31. Since then, SPCA volunteers and citizens have set up a petition and made delegations to the Langleys in favour of having a municipally-run shelter.
Both the city’s and the township’s animal control contract with the SPCA expires at the end of June, which mean both councils have to decide whether to renew, go with a private contractor or go it on their own.
If Langley were to follow in the footsteps of Coquitlam, it would have its own bylaw enforcement officers take over.
Currently the Township pays $130,000 to the SPCA for its service, not including the cost of a separate contract for barking dogs and licencing. The City pays $50,000 to the SPCA for animal control.
Reid said since Coquitlam’s four bylaw enforcement officers took over the job, two more had to be hired. But revenues have gone up and the officers have found they are able to work on other bylaw infractions while out working on animal issues.
“Our collective agreement allowed for our bylaw enforcement officers to multi-task, and it’s worked out really well for them,” Reid said.
Currently the township has two bylaw officers and the city has one, said Storie, the township’s senior bylaw officer.
“I like the idea of crossing over into animal control. That way you get the best bang for your buck and there would be a stronger bylaw enforcement presence out there,” said Storie.
With three paid shelter attendants, whom Reid nickname “shelter mommies”, along with a huge core of volunteers, most animals that come in with behavioural problems become adoptable with all the care and attention they receive.
Reid said Langley would have an easier time building a shelter because of all the flat land available. Current zoning allows a shelter to be build on agricultural land in Langley.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Animal options studied
by Natasha Jones
Langley Township staff have been asked to prepare a report on all options for administering a municipal animal control function and shelter.
And, judging by reaction to Councillor Penny Kirkpatrick’s motion, a facility that is favoured the most is one not linked to the SPCA, and which will rely heavily on volunteers.
Kirkpatrick’s motion called for the report to be finalized before council adopts the 2003 budget in March. The analysis will also examine ways to promote and encourage the participation of volunteers interested in animal welfare.
“My passion and the reason for this motion is to look into a municipal animal control shelter,” Kirkpatrick said. She agreed with Councillor Kim Richter that the focus of the report should be on a humane municipal animal control shelter.
“I’m not real crazy about pursuing SPCA options, period,” Richter said to applause from the gallery.
“I would be quite content to see this limited to non-SPCA functions,” she said, adding that she would nevertheless be satisfied if the intent of the motion is to examine all choices open to the municipality.
The SPCA announced last month that it is closing the south Aldergrove pound on March 31, three months before the expiration of the contract that it has with both the Township and City of Langley.
On Feb. 3, Brian Nelson, the former director of field operations for the SPCA who ran the Langley animal control shelter for five years, told council he would like the municipal contract, but was unsure he would use volunteers.
Patty Kolody of the Concerned Citizens of Langley told council at that time that her group would like to see a facility run by paid municipal employees, as well as volunteers who, she said, “are the eyes and ears of the community.”
She said that people are demanding higher standards in general animal care, and few people are content with the ‘pound’ mentality anymore.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© Copyright 2003 Langley Times