Money Woes Bite Tompkins County SPCA

I would like to commend the new executive director, Abigail Smith, for telling it like it is. I am absolutely astonished that she has the guts to step forward and say--not that "No Kill isn't working"--but that the community needs to take responsibility for animal control if they want a top notch shelter. In other words, good animal control needs to be bought and paid for, and it needs to be bought and paid for by more than the dedicated sweat of volunteers, humane society staff, and the willing pockets of donors. Municipalities need to show they value the service a shelter provides by paying at least the regional average for animal control services.

Full article at The Ithaca Journal, here.

According to statistics presented by Smith to the Ithaca Town Board Thursday night, 2002 cost for animal control nationally was $4-6 per capita per year. Tompkins County residents, in contrast, pay $1.76 per capita.

“Municipalities have been getting the deal of a lifetime for a long time on animal control,” Smith said.

Tompkins County's SPCA is unusual in that it provides animal control as a contractor but also functions as SPCA organizations do everywhere — saving, rehabilitating and making animals available for adoption.

Smith said the SPCA has for years been covering budget shortfalls in its animal control function with donations intended for its traditional animal protection function.

“In my mind, the SPCA has a mission, and the people who donate are donating to that mission,” Smith said. “Animal control is a state mandate. It's a contracted function and it should pay for itself. It shouldn't rely on the goodwill of donors to cover their requirements.”

New York state mandates that municipalities meet certain basic requirements for animal control, including providing a facility where strays can be held for five to 10 days, Smith said.

“You have to obviously provide food, shelter, medical attention and competent care,” she said.

On Aug. 27, Smith sent a letter to all of the county municipalities, informing them that the contract fees they pay will have to double next year or the SPCA will cancel all contracts.

Smith said when she was appointed executive director in February 2007 and started looking at the organization's finances, she was floored.

“I walked into a deficit situation, and it was pretty clear what the source of the deficit was: contracts are less than half what they should be,” she said.

If you expect that, upon opening your door to find a stray dog, you should be able to pick up the phone and have someone appear at your door that day and take it away...you need to pay your four bucks a year. If you also feel that dog should get a bath, vaccinations, worming, a vet check, and a reasonable chance of finding a home, you should find $4 a year to be a bargain.

It seems like Ms. Smith is the kind of person who is willing to honestly say that all is not perfect or easy in Never Never Land. But notice she says "we" throughout. I don't see her outwardly setting blame on any previous individual(s). That takes guts. She wasn't here when previous decisions were made, but she's saying "we" now, because as executive director, it's her responsibility to take the heat.

One of the TCSPCA's previous director "took the heat" for being a hero. He got a lot of flack, but he got a lot of worship, too. He was a change agent, and change agents have the luxury of stirring up outside-the-box thinking, but then leaving it behind to move onto the next step. All organizations NEED a change agent. They give us all a good boot in the butt to get us out of the rut we are stuck with. But it's a bit more popular to "take the heat" when you can go to bed resting in the assurance that the right people will think you are right. In Abigail Smith the TC SPCA now has a director who has to keep the momentum going. She doesn't seem to be worrying first about that shining national example. She seems to be worrying about her animals, her staff, and her volunteers. She's examining how a shelter provides good services for a good community. She's saying something unpopular that no one else before her was willing to say so, overtly.

And, in that article, and in the video I recently saw, she isn't blaming anyone else. She could say "previous administrations, blah, blah, blah." Instead, she says "we."

About ten years ago, a township in Tompkins County approached me to ask if I would do dog control. The sum they were offering at that time (I believe it was $3000 for the year at that time) was so low it was appalling to me. My cat rescue probably costs us $6000 a year...to help out maybe only 100 cats in a busy year. At that time, I had a wildlife control and feral cat contract that paid me $7000 a year for only 400-some acres of land (24 hour response however, 352 days a year). Call up a wildlife control company and ask how much it costs per animal to pick up a rabid raccoon, or a hit-by-car skunk...and learn how cheap domestic animal control is, relatively, even at the national average.

When towns say "We'll seek other options" they had best do their homework. A dog control shelter is required by law to have office hours so owners can look for their lost dogs. It's not just a matter of picking up and housing strays. They need a relationship with a vet for animal care and euthanasia. Or they need training, staff, and appropriate drug storage so they can euthanize the animals themselves.

Ask any DCO about dog control and they'll tell you -- "It's not the dogs. It's the people." It the time you must take working with people that costs the time and money.

Anyone interested in taking over one of these contracts needs to do their homework as well. If they euthanize too many dogs, the spotlight will be turned on them. If they put in the effort necessary to find homes for them all, they'll need to commit far more than what the towns are willing to pay them. They need to realize that people will call them---not just about strays--but to surrender owned dogs. And when the dog control shelter turns them away saying "We only take strays" those dogs will show up tied to their front door, or worse yet turned loose in the parking lot or the state forest (where now, they ARE strays). The TC SPCA accepts owner surrendered dogs. A dog control shelter will not be able to afford to unless they subsidize their sheltering funds beyond what the municipality provides. But they will get owner-surrendered animals anyway. Without the infrastructure to support all those dogs, they could find themselves in a serious situation.

If they are a vet clinic, they need to realize that seriously pissed off people are now going to be walking in their front door, mingling with their best customers. They need to realize that they will be expected to provide services additional to caring for stray dogs. Barking complaints, late night response for emergencies, etc. If they are a business, they'll shortly find out whether what the town is offering will cover their costs--and their heartache.

When someone walks into the vet clinic with a box of 12 puppies, and the clinic tries to turn them away because they "aren't strays" and the guy says "fine, I'll just dump them down the road," and your customers are listening....what will you do?

You'll take the puppies, of course. And each puppy will cost you approximately $100 to care for and adopt. $1200 for ONE big litter of puppies. And how much is that town paying you for the whole year?

I can imagine there are one or two businesses in Tompkins County that could pull this off for a town or two. But it will entirely change their mission. They need to go into it with open eyes. And I imagine in a year or so, they too, will be demanding a raise from the municipalities.

The Tompkins County SPCA has two buildings, volunteers, and staff. Pay them what they are worth so they can do a good job. Pay at least the regional average. If you aren't willing to pay the regional average, the message going out is that the municipalities of Tompkins County aren't willing to pay for basic animal care.

What does that say about our "no kill community?" We were all willing to accept the kudos when someone was saying "Hey, it's easy!" Now that someone is being straightforward and seems to be saying "No, it seems it's possible, but it means we need Commitment and that means dollars"--some people aren't willing to face the music.

And to anyone who does decide to leap in and take over an animal control contract: Remember, you can't do it alone. Work together with the SPCA. Who knows what kind of good things could result from cooperation and partnership? It is important for the county to remain an "animal community" even if the work does end up, once again, split up, town by town.

Go for it, Abigail. And good luck to you, and to the staff and volunteers of the TC SPCA.

(OK, now where is that TC SPCA donation envelope they sent me? Now that I've ranted, I guess I'd better put my money where my mouth is...)