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Shelters work to keep  pets in adoptive homes

Animal adoption agencies revise rules and work more closely with owners.

Animal shelters eliminate barriers on adoption

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By Kim Margolis, Staff Writer Updated 8:39 AM Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Before Terry Carlisle took over as executive director for the Society for the Improvement of Conditions for Stray Animals, he was a client, happy with the dogs and cats he adopted.

He assumed that successful adoption was the overwhelming public impression of SICSA, which was founded in 1974.

He was wrong.

“I thought it was a well-run place and people loved it,” Carlisle said. “Instead, I heard from people who were ticked off because they were told they could not have a pet.”

This feedback prompted Carlisle to make customer-focused changes like dropping a fence requirement for dog adoptions and cutting the interview time for a person wanting a cat to about 20 minutes, down from an hour.

A staff member now greets visitors and allows them to wander the cat and dog areas to look for a new pet. Previously, visitors had to be escorted.

SICSA is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Changes in fees

SICSA charges $145 for a dog, but has added variable rates for some purebred dogs. A purebred might require a fee of about $300 to $400, still less than half the price a pet store might charge, Carlisle said.

The Humane Society of Greater Dayton plans to do the same this spring, said Brian Weltge, executive director.

Increased fees will go exclusively to the spay and neuter program, but Weltge also hopes it ends up dispelling the myth that because shelter animals are more affordable than those at pet stores or from breeders, they are somehow not as good. “It sends the message that they are somehow damaged products,” Weltge said.

Meanwhile, the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center has gone in a different direction, reducing some fees for animals. This month is March Madness with some of the dogs’ cages featuring markdowns. It also has a discount called “Seniors for Seniors” where older pets are matched with older pet owners at reduced cost.

This process has meant that in some instances, the shelter spent more money on an individual animal than it received in adoption fees. But a loss to their bottom line can still mean a win for their mission.

“The community wants us to adopt animals out,” said Mark Kumpf, director of the county’s Animal Resource Center in Vandalia. “The old animal pound, which was catch and kill, is not acceptable.”

Helping owners cope

The shelter has responded to the reality of what the nation’s struggling economy has meant for pet owners.

When a pet is lost and taken to the Animal Resource Center, the owner must pay a boarding fee. If the person does not have the money to reclaim their pet, the shelter will allow them to work at the shelter for $10 an hour to pay their debt.

The shelter has also seen a stark increase in the amount of owners of large dogs trying to surrender the animals because they simply cannot afford to feed them.

Instead, they can arrange to get the owners a temporary supply of dog food and keep the animal in the home. “It’s a community situation,” Kumpf said. “The cost to keep them at home and work with someone is less than caring for them here.”