County animal shelter seeks fee increase, reduced rate of euthanasia

If Animal Control Bureau Manager Dawn Harman has her way, the Prince William County Animal Shelter will become a place where people could simply pick up their dogs or cats and be on their merry way.

No shots required after they depart, no medication to administer, just some tender loving care from their new owners once they get home.

To do this, however, will require some substantial changes to the operations of the shelter, including raising impoundment and boarding fees.

The impoundment fee increases will help pay for vaccinations for common animal illnesses such as kennel cough. It will also help pay for an upgrade in food.

Often, the shelter serves as a place where animals come to die. The staff does not have a full-time veterinarian at its disposal and consequently, many dogs or cats with illnesses or injuries are deemed unfit for adoption and euthanized.

“We don’t have a vet on contract that can examine the ones that are sick,” Harman said. “And we don’t own them yet, so we have to be careful what types of measures we take with them.”

In 2010, 63 percent of the 2,542 cats and 35 percent of the 2,816 dogs taken into the shelter were euthanized. Only 18 percent of those cats euthanized were considered feral or wild, which aren’t adoptable. In that same year, five dogs and 17 cats died at the shelter from illness or from injuries previously sustained.

“Our euthanization rate is lower than the average pound, but for us, it’s a lot,” Harman said.

Last week, Harman presented her budget proposals to the Board of County Supervisors. Among the changes were raising impoundment fees from $12 to $30, boarding fees from $5 to $15 and dog licensing fees from $5 to $10. Another significant change would be the consolidation of spay/neuter fees with adoption fees.

In the past those fees were separate. Prince William has a voucher system where potential adopters pay $25 or $35 respectively to the shelter to help cover the costs charged by their veterinarians along with a $20 adoption fee.

But according to Harman, individuals were receiving bills from their vets with “hidden” charges that they were unaware of up front.

Under the proposed scenario, individuals would pay no more than $185 for dogs and $145 for cats and be done with it. The shelter, not the pet owner, would be in charge of transporting the animal to the vet for spaying or neutering.

Other jurisdictions have a vastly different setup than that of Prince William. Fairfax County charges up to $190 for both fees while Loudoun County charges up to $150. Stafford County has no spay/neuter fee and charges $10 and $20, respectively for cat and dog adoption.

“We are hoping get on par with everybody else in the region, to make it more of a convenience thing for customers,” Harman said. “We want it to be a one-stop shop. When you go home, all you have to do is feed it and take it for a walk.”

Harman said a need still exists for a new, larger facility, which is not yet on the county’s Capital Improvement Plan. The proximity of the different animals in the shelter can lead to negative health effects, so having more space would be ideal, said Harman.

Currently, at any one time there’s room for 18 cats and 32 dogs to be adopted.

In the meantime, Harman believes these changes will go a long way to the health and happiness of the animals they take in thanks to the additional $184,000 in revenue from the fee increases.

A public hearing on the fee increase proposal will be held April 19 at the McCoart Government Center.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-530-3904.