SHELTER PROGRESS

HOUSTON — More than six months removed from the shooting of eight animals housed at the Houston Animal Shelter, the city continues to maintain the shelter and remains under the watchful eyes of area animal rescue groups.

Unsanitary and cramped conditions at the shelter were brought to light in February after then police Sgt. Charlie Seidl euthanized four dogs and four cats because they had been at the shelter for three months without finding new homes. Seidl has since been terminated and claimed he shot the animals at the direction of former mayor Roger Purcell, a charge Purcell denied.

Since then, the city has taken many steps to improve the shelter, said Tom Hood, Houston’s fire chief. First, the shelter, which had been administered by the police department, was put under the direction of Hood and the fire department. The city also spent about $20,000 upgrading, cleaning and improving the shelter. The biggest improvement is the construction of five new indoor/outdoor dog runs, where dogs can move freely in and out.

“What we’re trying to do now is put the animal control back in the city of Houston,” he said. “It’s going just fine. The facilities are clean. We’ve had the Alaska Dog News come out here to inspect.”

Linda Henning, who publishes Alaska Dog News, said there have been some drastic changes from the first time she observed operations at the Houston Animal Shelter.

“There’s a big difference, especially since the last time I was there and you couldn’t even breathe in there it smelled so bad,” she said. “The cats were in little cages. … I think the intent is on the right track. The thing they need in Houston the most is to communicate to the public clearly what they need. I’m willing to help them do that.”

Although the Houston Animal Shelter has made progress over the past six months, there’s still much work to do, Henning and Hood said. One thing Henning points out is that the shelter is mostly being looked after by a couple of fire department volunteers who mean well, but aren’t trained.

“The big drawback is they’re pet owners, they’re not experienced shelter employees,” she said. “I think they’re doing what they can, but getting more volunteers or more hands involved would help.”

It’s a need Hood acknowledges. He’s a trained firefighter, not animal control officer. A couple of wives of volunteer firefighters help with cleanup and intake of animals.

“And all the animal complaints I handle personally,” he said. “That’s why we had the Alaska Dog News come out. A lot of people came forward (following the shootings) and wanted to help. Tell me what we’re doing wrong and help us get better. … We’re trying to take care of it a lot better than before. It’s a lot cleaner.”

Cost a factor

What prompted the February animal shootings — a tight city budget — is still a concern for the Houston Animal Shelter, Hood said.

The shelter has an annual budget of $15,000 to $16,000 and an agreement with the Mat-Su Borough Animal Shelter isn’t cost-effective for the city, Hood said. Under the agreement, the Borough would handle Houston’s animal control and bill the city.

“That’s just not going to financially work out,” Hood said. “What we’re finding right now is that under that contract, anybody in the borough could take an animal over there, say they’re from the city of Houston and we’d get charged with it.”

From the borough’s perspective, the agreement could actually save Houston money and give animals better care, said Bob Haskell, chief animal care and regulation officer for the Mat-Su Borough.

“We have entered into a temporary contract until the contracts are approved by the assembly and both parties,” Haskell said. “I understand they’re trying to run a shelter out there, so that may undermine the contract. We may just bow out at this time.”

One change to that agreement between the city and borough is that Houston be notified anytime an animal belonging to the city comes into the borough shelter. Then, a city representative comes to pick up the animal and take it back to Houston, Haskell said. Theoretically, Houston should hold the animal for a day or two to see if it can be paired up with its owner. If not, then it goes back to the borough shelter.

That’s not happening, Haskell said, adding that based on numbers provided by Houston, he estimates the borough handling that city’s animal control issues would cost about $4,000 a year.

“It’s not necessarily an expensive venture for the number of animals they take in,” Haskell said. “If it’s a dog, we charge $12 a day for boarding.”

That charge is for a maximum of five days, or $60, after which the animal becomes property of the borough and is adopted out.

For Houston’s part, Hood said he’s trying to abide by the city’s code, which mandates Houston have its own animal control.

“We’re trying to do our best with it and trying to get the training to do it better,” Hood said. “We’re doing well right now, though.”

Still some concerns

While Hood said Houston is doing well with its animal control operation, some in the local animal rescue community still have concerns.

Susan Helmericks runs Mat Valley Kitties Rescue and has been in animal rescue for about 12 years. She picked up some cats from the Houston shelter on Thursday and came away from her visit worried. One of the cats she observed there had an injury that needed attention.

“In my opinion, the wrist appeared to be broken and maybe even an old injury,” she said. “It definitely needed, in my opinion, to be looked at. (The shelter volunteer) said there was no funding and she was trying to get it authorized.”

She also observed a dog tied to a post outside while the five new indoor/outdoor runs were unoccupied.

“I was disappointed, let’s put it that way,” she said. “I felt that all I had heard about the renovations that there would be (better) accommodations.”

That same dog, Mr. Barkley, was observed Saturday chained in the outdoor enclosure without food or water and unable to get into a doghouse in the yard.

Hood said the dog, which as been at the shelter for about six days, has not been mistreated. He can’t be held in one of the new runs because he jumps over the outside fence and while inside, bumps his head on the enclosure’s top trying to get out.

“I just fed him this morning,” Hood said Saturday afternoon. “He’s tethered up there because if he goes into one of those other runs, he’ll bolt. … If he gets away, we don’t know what will happen to him, get run over or shot or something. We put him out there for his own safety and we’re trying to get him adopted out.”

Overall, Henning said she’s been pleased by the progress made at the Houston Animal Shelter and encourages Hood and the city to keep improving. In the mean time, she believes Houston should reconsider using the Mat-Su Borough’s facilities if long-term housing is needed.

“At this time with (Houston’s) limited resources I feel that any animals that need to be housed for more than 48 hours need to go to the Mat-Su Shelter,” she said.

For Houston’s part, Hood said he welcomes input from Henning and Helmericks, and the city is trying to distance itself from the shooting incident where the person in charge of the shelter “wasn’t doing his job. We were unaware of that at the time.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.