Small Town News

Dog-control policies concern Sussex residents

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Kent County SPCA works to improve kill rate

It's been less than a year since Kent County SPCA took over animal control in Sussex County, and while improvements to the program have been made, residents say they are concerned about the treatment of animals collected by the organization.

Sara LeBright, a paralegal in Ocean View, tried to adopt a dog picked up by animal control in Lincoln, where she lives.

In October 2010, LeBright heard of an older, sick dog being picked up near her home. She contacted Kent County SPCA to see if she or a friend could adopt and take care of the dog.

"I called within a day of the dog being impounded and was told the dog was being held for evaluation," said LeBright.

After calling daily for more than a week and receiving limited information about the dog, named Max, LeBright decided to call Rep. Dave Wilson, R-Bridgeville.

"I have known Rep. Wilson since I was born, and he is a huge animal-rights advocate," LeBright said. "He was able to find out that Max had.been put down."

LeBright said she was horrified to find out a dog she wanted to adopt was euthanized by the shelter because he was old or sick.

"I was willing to take care of him," LeBright said. "I also volunteer with the Georgetown SPCA shelter, and it is a no-kill shelter that is not affiliated with the Kent County SPCA. I knew that animal-rescue organizations could have helped Max keep his life, even if I hadn't adopted him."

Dog-control contracts

Murrey Goldthwaite, executive director of the Kent County SPCA, said the shelter is respon-sible for animal control statewide, excluding Wilmington.

"We applied for the dog-control contracts through the counties and won the contracts," Goldthwaite said. "We have a revolving door of stray dogs and dogs being turned in by their owners. We understand that we can't possibly find homes for all of them, so we pick and choose the best ones for public adoption and then try to work with the rescue groups to place the others."

Goldthwaite said the organization is working to reduce the number of animals killed, but because it accepts all animals, reductions are slow to come. Goldthwaite said other shelters close their doors to the public once they are full.

"We understand that not all animals are going to find a home, but there is no reason that all adoptable animals can't find a home," Goldthwaite said. "We have an 85 percent save rate for dogs. We don't turn dogs away. Eventually I think the state will get to a no-kill status, but it's not going to happen overnight."

Goldthwaite said in many cases, dogs have to be euthanized because they can't be adopted.

Rescue before euthanization

Kent County SPCA regularly sends out emails to a list of rescue organizations in the state to try to place - special-needs dogs that are unable to be adopted through the shelter in Dover. These emails are supposed to help find foster homes for dogs, but Goldthwaite said other groups use them to generate bad publicity for the KCSPCA.

"We have enemies out there, as do all SPCAs," Goldthwaite said. "We have liability issues and a responsibility to the public when it comes to placing dogs. These emails are to allow other groups to take the time to work with the animal. If some of the animals aren't taken in, then they will be euthanized, but we try to place them."

Goldthwaite said he tries to work with outside groups so that the KCSPCA can continue taking in all the dogs that are collected by animal control and the ones dropped off at the shelter.

Jan Randolph of No Kill Delaware, based in Rehoboth Beach, said the KCSPCA could do more.

"Twenty-five percent of the dogs that entered KCSPCA in 2009 were from Sussex County because they hold the animal control contract," said Randolph. "Many people do not know to call KCSPCA to find out if their dog was picked up."

KCSPCA receives $675,000 annually for the Sussex County animal-control contract. The shelter is required to reduce the number of animals killed to meet new state regulations passed in 2010. The shelter is also supposed to improve publicity in Sussex County to help reunite dogs with owners and find homes for adoptable dogs.

"More money should be spent on publicity that informs people where to go to find their lost animals," said Randolph. "Many people call the Georgetown SPCA. There is a lot of confusion about the two different organizations."

Randolph said the KCSPCA has improved its emails to rescue groups by including individual dogs that are lost. Previously it provided a link to the petfinder.com page. However, Randolph said the shelter could do a better job with the pictures of animals. Many of the dogs are unrecognizable behind cage doors.

"The KCSPCA website has a lot of really bad photos ... a lot show dogs behind a cage," Randolph said. "KCSPCA has also not posted the kill statistics online for the full year of 2010, which is required by law. All other shelters have done so."

Randolph said No Kill Delaware monitors activities at KCSPCA in an effort to keep the public informed and as a way to promote no-kill shelters in Delaware.

Goldthwaite said it is the goal of KCSPCA to eventually be a no-kill shelter, but he said other tasks will have to come first.

Stray dogs

In Sussex County, stray or lost dogs are taken to All Aboard Kennels outside Dagsboro where they are held for three to five days to give owners a chance to reclaim the dog.

The retrieval fee is $25, plus a $15 boarding fee for each day the dog is at the kennel.

"The law requires us to hold the dog for 72 hours if it has no identification," Goldthwaite said. "If it has ID, we hold onto it for five days to try and find the owner. On the sixth day, we usually decide what to do with the dog."

Besides animal control, KCSPCA also operates vaccine and identification clinics in both Kent and Sussex counties.

"As an organization we take in 17,000 animals a year, so it takes us longer to get organized under new laws," Goldthwaite said. "We have to make sure one change works before we move on to another. I think we have done a lot in six months, especially with the save rate, and we're going to continue to strive to be better and do more."

Perhaps in the future, LeBright would not have had to hear that a dog she wanted to adopt was euthanized, but for now she just wants to tell her story, so others know about problems within KCSPCA

LeBright has adopted another dog after fostering him and his sister for the Georgetown SPCA, where she volunteers.

"I still don't know the exact day Max lost his life, but I do know it should not have happened. There are so many organizations that want animals for their shelters and would take in senior pets and care for them," LeBright said. "This is what we should be doing - protecting those that need to be protected. Shelter animals are quick to give more than they have ever received. They are not broken... instead, they have an unspoken strength and are priceless, in my opinion"





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