Proposed budget cuts would make it harder to find lost pets in Wichita, vet warns

If you find a stray dog in Wichita, you will no longer be able to take it to the animal shelter, under budget cuts proposed by the city.

Some veterinarians fear that will make it harder to reunite owners with their lost pets.

Wichita’s city budget calls for ending its animal shelter drop-off program, one of several cuts proposed by City Manager Robert Layton to shore up a $50 million deficit over the next two and a half years.

A major recession is expected to continue in Wichita during that time as the city grapples with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under Layton’s proposal, the Wichita Animal Shelter would only accept animals picked up by Animal Control for violations of the city ordinances, ending a longstanding practice of taking in strays and pets that can no longer be cared for and holding them until they’re reclaimed or transferring them to a shelter for adoption.

Layton acknowledges that the move is likely to be controversial, but it would save the city $932,000.

“There are a lot of folks who won’t be happy with that model change, but we have to think differently. I mean, I don’t have the ability to maintain everything at status quo,” he said.

Opponents say its a reckless move that will make it harder to find lost pets, disrupt mail service in poor neighborhoods due to more dangerous dogs and create a public health crisis.

“This is a dangerous situation,” said Teresa Burks, a veterinarian on the city’s animal control advisory board. “It’s just not a good situation to have random dogs running loose in the city.”

Mayor opposes cuts

Mayor Brandon Whipple said he doesn’t support Layton’s plan for the animal shelter and would like to see it changed.

“The private shelters have told me they don’t have the capacity to be able to handle the strays that the city handles right now,” Whipple said. “If we are going to stop a service that our community is used to having and shift it over to the nonprofit sector, there has to be a more collaborative hand-off to ensure they are in a position where they can accept this increase of services.

“If not, we run the risk of loose pets possibly encountering people they don’t know and having an adverse reaction.”

Whipple said his conversations with private shelters made it clear that a plan for a smooth transition is not in place.

“That is something I think needs to be worked out before we go down this path,” he said.

The city manager and city staff prepare the annual budget, but the City Council can approve or deny it. The City Council will hold a budget hearing Tuesday and is expected to vote on it Aug. 11.

Packs of feral dogs

Under the existing system, residents can drop-off stray pets at the Wichita Animal Shelter, which does testing on the animals to determine whether they’re fit for adoption or should be euthanized.

The Wichita Animal Shelter, 3303 N. Hillside, doesn’t directly adopt out animals but instead transfers them next door to the Kansas Human Society or other private shelters. This year, around 70% of animals at the city’s shelter have been transferred to private shelters, according to a report earlier this month at the Animal Control Advisory Board meeting.

The shelter also will hold lost pets until they can be reclaimed by owners and acts as a centralized location for members of the public who find a stray and want somewhere to take it.

If that gets cut, more pets are likely to get picked up and then dumped, veterinarians fear.

“This is unacceptable, and a terrible way to save money,” said veterinarian Christen Lee Skaer of Skaer Veterinary Clinic in a Facebook post about the proposed cut Friday.

Skaer is hoping emails sent to City Council members will help convince them to continue allowing drop-offs.

“The public picking up strays actually saves the city money,” Burks said, because strays will eventually need to be dealt with and “by the time Animal Control arrives, strays are usually long gone.”

If someone picks up a stray without a place to drop it off, it’s likely that they’ll post about it online, try to keep it, give it away or sell it, Burks said.

“If your dog gets out, it will be harder to find,” she said. “Instead of the Wichita Animal Shelter, it’ll end up on Facebook or Craigslist or a neighborhood website or one of several private shelters. So you’re looking all over for your lost pet, and after three days a shelter can sell your dog.”

But for Burks and Skaer, the problem goes beyond pet owners reclaiming their pets.

“This is a public health issue,” Burks said.

A loose dog gets wary of people in three or four days, she said. Then it becomes “semi-feral,” often “packing up” with other dogs.

“The packs go hunting together, whether that’s rummaging through the trash, killing cats or attacking dogs. They’ll bite people, chase children and reproduce indiscriminately.

“Within one to two years, Wichita will have multiple packs of feral dogs, especially in areas that are already struggling with poverty.”

The move could also disrupt mail service, she said. Mail carriers don’t have to deliver mail to homes or neighborhoods with dangerous dogs.

“Mail carriers do not want to go into neighborhoods that have feral dogs running loose,” she said.

In a Facebook post, Skaer said: “the public health consequences of this change are huge. Increases in animal bites, potential rabies exposures, parasitic diseases, and other zoonotic diseases are all likely outcomes.”

Compromise on the horizon?

Layton said ending the drop-off program is a business model change that could become permanent.

“What we’re trying to determine is what’s essential,” he said. “Our animal control program, its number one priority is to keep people safe. But when it comes to adoption, let others do that, not us.

“We’ll work with the rescues and we’ll work with the Humane Society and others to try to come up with a more comprehensive model that can work.”

The Wichita Animal shelter takes in 10,000 stray animals a year, according to the city’s budget book.

Drop-offs are 50% of those animal intakes.

Whipple said he would like to see significant changes to the proposal before passing next year’s budget.

“This entire proposal needs to be a little bit more thought out,” Whipple said. “We need to make sure we have a good handoff on this. If we are going to shift our focus only to dangerous animals, how do we ensure our community partners are able to pick up the extra work that they’ll have?”