Stray dogs in Bonner County could have nowhere to go after contract with animal shelter expires

PONDERAY, Idaho – Bonner County may have no place to send its stray dogs next month as contracts with the animal shelter are set to expire.

Better Together Animal Alliance, the nonprofit that has housed stray dogs for the county for 30 years, says they have been vastly undercharging for the service and can no longer afford to care for the animals at the current rate.

The shelter charged the county and the Idaho cities of Sandpoint and Ponderay a combined $18,400 last year to take in 406 stray dogs. The actual cost was $275,000, according to the shelter.

With rising costs for staff and supplies, and more dog intakes, Better Together is asking the municipalities to cover their share. Broken down, that is $169,913 for the county, $65,773 for Sandpoint and $19,184 for Ponderay, based on last year’s numbers.

Remaining costs came from another 27 dogs whose jurisdiction was unknown.

Other cities, like Priest River, are covered under the county contract.

Officials balked at the dramatic increase. Sheriff Daryl Wheeler said in a July email with Better Together Executive Director Mandy Evans that he cannot justify to the taxpayers “a 1033% increase” and he declined to renew.

The shelter accepts stray dogs from both law enforcement and good Samaritans. The municipalities are charged for both through an annual fee based on each jurisdiction’s percentage.

Over half of strays are brought in by citizens. Since Aug. 1 last year, 62% were from the public and 38% were from law enforcement, Evans said.

Evans said she notified the local governments of the changes in March but did not hear back from them. Better Together was willing to negotiate the terms and offered several tiered options to ramp up payments to the full amount over the next five years. Evans sent the county another letter in June offering to discuss alternative ways to cover the contract, such as waiving their dump fee or assuming their insurance liability.

It is unclear what the county’s plan is or whether it has one.

At a budget hearing Aug. 26, Wheeler told the commissioners he has no obligation to impound stray dogs. A state law that would require the practice only applies to counties with a dog license ordinance, which Bonner County doesn’t have.

Impounding dogs in animal abuse cases is purely discretionary, he said.

“If the sheriff’s office has an occasion to investigate an animal cruelty case involving a dog and needs to take possession of that animal, we will spend those dedicated funds in our budget and utilize the services of a local veterinarian if those services are required,” Wheeler said at the meeting.

Wheeler did not respond to requests from The Spokesman-Review for clarification.

Luke Omodt, chair of the county commissioners, said in an interview that animal control is under the sheriff’s authority and directed further questions to Wheeler. Omodt said he believes Wheeler is working on a plan, but Omodt doesn’t know the details.

Omodt, who lost a primary election in May, is stepping down to resume his old job as a teacher at Bonners Ferry High School in Boundary County.

He said in the absence of a plan by the sheriff, it would probably take pressure from the citizenry on the new commissioners to change the ordinance to require dog licenses. But he doesn’t think there is much wiggle room for it in the budget.

“They put us in a difficult position,” Omodt said.

The commissioners passed the county’s annual budget last week and did not increase the $15,000 allocated for animal control.

Evans also commented at the budget hearing that she does not think $15,000 is enough for the county to take care of its 250 strays on their own.

She asked the county to communicate its plan with the public so they know how to find their lost dogs and how stray dogs should be handled.

“It is a public safety hazard to not take stray dogs in,” Evans said.

Sandpoint, meanwhile, offered a little more clarity.

The city tripled its animal control budget on Aug. 21 to $7,000 and plans to open a request for proposal later this month.

City attorneys also are drafting an ordinance change to make dog licensing optional. This would remove the obligation to impound strays.

Police would still have the discretion to impound, but the city wouldn’t be required to accept strays brought in by citizens, city attorney Zachary Jones told council members.

Evans said the city seems to have a pessimistic view that citizens are turning in their own dogs as strays so they don’t have to pay fees. Trusting good Samaritans to bring in strays actually saves law enforcement resources, so they don’t have to dispatch an officer every time a stray is found, she said.

Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm said he is concerned many of the dogs turned in by well-intentioned citizens are actually from the county. It is confusing, he said, because many areas outside of the city have a Sandpoint ZIP code, but they are technically part of the county.

“As a city we feel obligated and responsible just for those dogs that are police-retained,” Grimm said. The city also wants better control over its ability to fine owners when they pick up their missing dog.

Better Together often waives those fees for owners who can’t afford it, which Evans said is more cost effective than holding the dog long-term to try to find it a new home .

Since the city lacks any of its own facilities to house dogs, even temporarily, it will open the service for bids. And since there isn’t another major shelter in the county, Grimm suggested the dogs could be spread across smaller operations, like mom-and-pop farms that could handle a few kennels.

In the interim, strays could be housed at a doggy hotel or veterinarian clinic for a fixed per -dog, per -day price until a permanent solution is in place.

“We have contingency plans,” Grimm said at the council meeting. “Rest assured we’re not going to euthanize them or leave them stranded.”

Post Falls is an example of a city in Idaho that runs its own shelter.

Jason Mealer, a captain with the police department who oversees the Post Falls Animal Shelter, said most cities historically had their own pound. A private donor helped the city build a new facility a few years ago, and donors continue to support the shelter with food and supplies.

The shelter has three employees and an annual budget of about $200,000. It helped a little over 400 dogs last year, about the same as Better Together.

Most are lost dogs quickly reclaimed by their owners, Mealer said.

The shelter is only a temporary holding facility, however.

After five days, the shelter will try to send the dog to one of its regional partners, including Better Together, for adoption. As these neighboring centers have gotten fuller lately, Mealer has noticed an uptick in people who seem to be from outside the area abandoning dogs in the city.

Better Together can continue to function without the municipal contracts. The organization does much more than care for stray dogs – it primarily rehomes dogs and cats surrendered directly by their owners. All told the shelter admitted 1,572 animals last year.

And it runs various programs designed to reduce the number of animals who might end up on the street, including community spay and neuter clinics, free microchip implants, veterinary assistance, an animal food pantry and emergency boarding for owners going through a temporary hardship. Better Together also founded Home To Home, a website used by 150 organizations across the U.S. and Canada that facilitates direct adoptions and foster care without the need to go to a shelter.

The shelter is financially supported by donations and an on-site thrift store.

Stray intake is more of an administrative burden than regular owner surrenders. It is unpredictable when strays come in and staff have to be available 24/7.

When a stray is brought in, it is screened by a vet and kept separate for five business days while they publicize the dog as missing on social media. If an owner cannot be found, the dog is admitted to the general shelter for adoption.

An increase in stray dogs and longer stays have cut into the shelter’s capacity over the last year, Evans said. There is a waitlist for owner surrenders.