<\/p>\n
Associate Professor Emerita Valerie Waldin contributed to the following article.<\/p>\n
Melissa Manno \/ Times Union \/ June 8, 2023<\/p>\n
RENSSELAER\u00a0\u2014 A junior Girl Scout troop packed into the county office building Wednesday night to address local legislators and vocalize a concern shared by dozens of other attendees: the lack of a county-wide animal shelter.<\/p>\n
It was a full house at the East Greenbush building, where community members gathered to express the need for a facility that can care for the county\u2019s rising stray and neglected dog and cat population.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many, many stray animals in the streets and the animal shelters outside of the area won\u2019t even take cats. There\u2019s danger where strays are too: they could get hit by a car or attacked by another animal,\u201d said fifth-grader Viviana Toledo, a member of the Averill Park Girl Scout troop that is advocating for the creation of a new shelter as part of their Bronze Award project.<\/p>\n
In the Capital Region, Saratoga County is the only county that runs an animal shelter. While communities have largely relied on the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in Menands, a staggering spike in stray dog and animal cruelty cases\u00a0has overextended the organization\u2019s resources.\u00a0Last November, the humane society cut ties with 16 municipalities due to a lack of room in its 86 dog kennels.<\/p>\n
Residents lobbied for a Rensselaer County sheltering program at\u00a0a public forum in February, with Legislature Chairwoman Kelly Hoffman of\u00a0North Greenbush\u00a0saying a special legislative committee would have to be formed to study the issue. But four months later, no such committee exists, and advocates say little has changed to confront a growing animal welfare crisis.<\/p>\n
An effort is currently underway by town supervisors Scott Gallerie of Sand Lake and Keith Hammond of Poestenkill to convert a Waste Management recycling plant at the intersection of routes 66 and 351 into a dog pound. Hammond said they\u2019ve come to an agreement with Waste Management to pay $120 a year to use the building, and have already completed an environmental and engineering review. The last step before they can begin $50,000 worth of renovations is a 30-day waiting period in which the public has the opportunity to petition the shelter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they come in with the petition and it\u2019s viable, it\u2019s going to kill the project. That will be the end of it,\u201d said Hammond. \u201cIn order for me to put it up to a public vote I\u2019d have to wait until November, and this was supposed to be a quick short-term answer, not a prolonged process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite a successful fundraising and volunteer drive, Hammond wasn\u2019t too optimistic that the project, which is intended to primarily serve the two small towns, would make it through the waiting period due to opposition. Several residents who attended Wednesday\u2019s forum argued that the facility is insufficient because it will only intake stray dogs and not stray cats, dogs or cats who have been abused, abandoned in homes or surrendered.<\/p>\n
Valerie Lang Waldon of the New York State Humane Association, who has taught about animal law at Hudson Valley Community College, pointed to the Saratoga County Animal Shelter as being an effective model to draw upon.<\/p>\n
\u201cStray dogs are being kept in jail cells, feed stores, in the private homes of dog control officers. \u2018People do not know where to look for their animals,\u2019 she said, adding that community members would be happy to dedicate their time and energy toward helping make a long-term shelter a reality.<\/p>\n
Last month,\u00a0a $500,000 grant\u00a0was awarded to the Albany County Sheriff\u2019s Office to create an auxiliary shelter that will include 12 large, long-term housing kennels for dogs that are part of court cases. Schenectady also received $200,000 for updated, larger kennels and renovations to the city\u2019s existing facility to make it safer and more humane for short-term stray dogs waiting to be retrieved by their owners.<\/p>\n
Waldon asked legislators why the county hasn\u2019t applied for similar grants to fund a much-needed sheltering program despite recent investments in commercial and residential development. \u201cWith more housing comes more pets, rabies, toxoplasmosis, wildlife degradation, housing values decreasing\u2026\u201d she said. \u201cI guess what I\u2019m trying to say is it seems to me, for the county, it\u2019s about priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Girl Scout Troop 1725 will continue to raise awareness in the community about the need for an animal shelter. In addition to speaking at the public forum, the girls have also volunteered at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, designed and handed out flyers to spread the word and sent letters and pictures to the Rensselaer County Legislature.<\/p>\n
Fifth-grader Nora Hinsdale summed it up simply: \u201cWe need to start making progress on the shelter or the cats and the dogs won\u2019t have a home or a safe place.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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