More Dog Pickups May Cause Problems At Humane Shelter
'ADOPTABLE' DOGS: Long rows of cages, such as this, house lost or unwanted dogs at the Washtenaw Humane Society Shelter. They may be adopted. This row of cages is filled, but some of the pups ducked inside when a photographer pointed his camera. The shelter is at 3113 Cherry Hill Rd., just south of Dixboro in Superior township.
TAGS TELL STORY: These tags serve to identify lost or unwanted dogs and cats. Red tags (darker here) denote animals no longer wanted by owners and outnumber the yellow tags which refer to lost animals. The shelter may need an addition in the future.
More Dog Pickups at May Cause More Problems at Humane Shelter
By Ralph Lutz
"Unwanted" is a household word to those who manage the Washtenaw humane Society Shelter. It's a word upon which hinges each day's work.
There is a large peg board filled with red and yellow tags, and this tells the story.
Red tags far outnumber yellow tags. Red denotes that dog or cat owners no longer want the animals concerned. Yellow identifies lost animals brought to the shelter.
Thomas Kind, shelter manager, faces the future with apprehension. Yesterday he discussed limited facilities and the now daily arrivals of the Sheriff Department dog catchers.
"I leaned that we will have to carry on under our old contract which allots $8,500 a year for shelter operations, at least through this year
May Consider Addition
"This situation worries me. We'll just have to cope with the problem and consider an addition when the issue arises."
Then, into the drive came Deputies Gerald Goebel and Norman Taylor with nine stray dogs/ It was the firs large load since the control program started Tuesday.
Goebel and Taylor could have picked up even more dogs. Tehy said that in every instance, an effort was made to locate the owner of a stray dog and issue a warning.
This is a sample of what will probably be a daily scene at the shelter.
Sixty cages constitute the facility's limit. Ann Arbor's ordinance states that all animals must be housed at least seven days. They may then be exterminated in the gas chamber.
Received 280
Kind said he had received 280 dogs throughout the last two weeks, ended Monday.
He then pointed out some interesting statistics. The shelter received 5,132 dogs and 3, 843 cats from April 1, 1956, to March 31, 1957. This compares to 4,831 dogs and 3,371 cats over a similar 1955-56 period.
Dogs placed in homes this past year numbered 1,667-11 less than the previous year. There were 623 cats placed in homes this year, compared to 543 the year before.
There were 232 dogs and 18 cats restored to owners, compared to 181 dogs and 20 cats restored the previous year.
This year, boarding days for dogs and cats number 24,563 and 14,065, respectively.
Education is the only way that the "unwanted" phase of this work can be erased, as far as Kind is concerned. And he's not too optimistic.
Talkes, motion pictures and pet activity programs are fostered whenever possible.
Today, there are a wide variety of dogs and cats available for adoption. They may be obtained at the shelter, located at 3113 Cherry Hill Rd., just south of Dixboro.
The current shelter, built in 1951, is a trim brick structure flanked by a large lawn. It has been able to meet past animal influx problems, but the future is not bright.
Money is derived from various types of memberships. These include associate member who offer $1, voting members who pay $3 , contributing members who pay $25 and life members who off $100 or more. The first three are on an annual basis.
Kind manages a staff of four and says that this is sufficient. He ointed out a bit of irony as he cited the red "unwanted" tags on the wall and a poem on another wall which read,
"A faithful dog will play with you
And laugh with you - or cry;
He will gladly starve with you to stay with you
And never reason why."