By D. Chris Draughn
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Baltimore County’s new Spay/Neuter Center in Dundalk has helped ease tensions with a local animal rights group that had demanded improvements to the county’s animal shelter and changes on its euthanasia policy.
Sarah Hardy, the president of Reform Baltimore County Animal Services, praised the initiatives from Animal Services in the past year, but is still concerned about transparency concerning the number of animals being euthanized.
“The services they have implemented, from trap-neuter-release with Community Cats, opening a spay-and-neuter clinic in Dundalk, to the extremely low-cost fee to have your animal fixed is beyond what I thought was possible in a year and a half,” Hardy said.
She also commended county officials for enhancing animal adoption and the utilization of Facebook, plus partnering with nonprofit organizations.
“I think it is safe to say, county officials have picked a side and that side is to create positive change for the humans and animals of Baltimore County,” Hardy said.
Baltimore County Code 12-3-201 obligates the Animal Services to hold unclaimed animals for a period of four days before disposing of them through adoption or euthanasia. Reform BCAS would like to see a greater reliance on adoption.
Although Hardy is happy with the new initiatives, she still would like to see more transparency in the number of animals that the county intakes, how many are adopted and how many are euthanized.
“There is still this sense of secrecy and broken bonds with those who may have stood up against the county when animals were deathly ill and/or disappearing,” Hardy said. “The end story is RBCAS doesn’t truly know if things have positively changed. We will all know when the raw numbers of 2015 are released. The numbers will tell the truth in the reform movement.”
In August the county announced that for a $20 dollar fee, pet owners can have their dogs and cats spayed or neutered, vaccinated against rabies – including distemper and bordetella for dogs – and get a county pet license and microchip.
The low-cost services are intended to encourage responsible pet ownership and reduce the number of unwanted animals.
“Spaying and neutering pets is key to reducing the overpopulation of stray cats and dogs in our communities,” Animal Services Director Melissa Jones said in an email statement.
“Offering this service at such a low-cost, in two locations and in conjunction with Community Cats, enhances our efforts to help pet owners be responsible,” Jones said.
The county also announced a partnership with Community Cats Maryland, agreeing to share the space and veterinary staff at the 7702 Dunmanway location for free one weekend per month to assist the nonprofit organization in providing spay and neuter services to feral cats.
Community Cats Maryland is a nonprofit group dedicated to providing resource support to individuals, communities and governments, to manage feral cat populations through their Trap-Neuter-Return program.