For now, birth control and 'chipping' are core of animal control plan

Plans for the near future of animal control in Carlton County don't include any kind of physical building - instead it's more about communication, cooperation and preventive measures by government as well as citizen volunteers.

And any future plans definitely won't include the former Friends of Animals Humane Society building, which has been sold to a private party, Carlton County Commissioner Dick Brenner revealed during a meeting at Cloquet City Hall Tuesday morning.

"There were actually two bidders for the building, I was just informed the other day that the building has been sold and the mortgage will be paid off," Brenner said. "Friends of Animals will go out with no debt."

Cloquet city administrator Aaron Reeves told the group of 11 county, city and township officials and about a dozen concerned citizens that it could have cost as much as $1.3 million to fix up the old FOA building, a money pit that created immense financial woes for the now defunct humane society.

Reeves explained that the city invited the Humane Society of Douglas County and its contractor to look at the former FOA building after it closed last summer. They found a litany of problems. He said the biggest issue was the heating and ventilation system, because there was no separation for air exchange.

"There was no way to isolate a sick animal, so if you brought one sick animal in, it could infect all of them," he said, adding that FOA had issues with disease control.

The cost of constructing a new facility would be close to $2 million, he said.

"That doesn't seem to be a good use of public funds," Reeves said, pointing out that Cloquet and Carlton County both have expensive construction projects looming already, including a jail and garage for the county, and moving and renovating both City Hall and the police department, along with a library expansion.

Instead, he said, they are looking at expanding efforts to "chip" pets - implanting a microchip to provide a permanent ID for the animal which can be used to find the owner - and creating some kind of cheap or free spay/neuter program in collaboration with local or regional veterinarians.

"More spay and neuter means less unwanted strays," he said. "If we combine countywide with chipping and spay/neuter, hopefully within a few years we can significantly knock down the number of unwanted animals."

He said Animal Allies Humane Society in Duluth is seeing more places take similar actions and not invest in buildings.

Reeves also noted that just because this is the plan for now, it doesn't mean the city and/or county won't ever build an animal shelter. But it would be expensive to build and require ongoing investment to run. In Douglas County, the county paid for the building, utilities and upkeep, plus they make an annual payment to the humane society to help with costs.

"Not to say we won't do this eventually, but we don't want to go straight to [building] a $2 million facility," he said.

Problem or not?

Cloquet police chief Jeff Palmer said the department has had good success reuniting found pets with their owners using a chip reader and social media, including the department's own Facebook page and groups such as Missing Pets in The Northland, which has more than 8,000 followers on Facebook.

In response to assertions that there doesn't seem to be much of a problem, Jody Carlson spoke up. She runs the Missing Pets in the Northland page with three other people, and it's practically a full-time job, she said.

"We do A LOT of posting from Cloquet," she said, noting that she is constantly bringing pets home until their owners can be found or they can find another home. Her partner even bought her a chip reader for her birthday, she said, and she is always willing to go scan found animals.

"It's amazing the number of animals posted everyday for Cloquet and Carlton County," said Karen Villeburn-Vranek, who administers the Friends of Animals Lost and Found Pets of Northern MN page.

Trish King said she keeps a heated water dish in her barn for feral cats, and has to fill it up every day.

A full-time vet tech, Carlson said there is a problem.

"Someone will post about a lost dog, and I'll have 20 tags (on Facebook), she said, admitting it's no surprise when she comes home with another animal. "It's out of control."

County coordinator Dennis Genereau said he appreciated hearing from the citizens at the meeting.

"We have to acknowledge that there is assistance being given to minimize the problem that we might not even know about," he said, adding that the leaders sitting around the table are responsible for trying to get feedback from the public on issues such as animal control.

They also have to balance the input they get from different groups, he said later, acknowledging that the crowd at the Tuesday meeting was definitely filled with pet lovers, many of whom would happily pay higher taxes to have a new building. On the other hand, they had two dozen people come to the County Board meeting in December and tell them to stop raising their taxes.

At one point, they went around the table and asked officials from the different cities and townships what they've heard or experienced, and it wasn't much.

In Thomson Township, Carlton County Deputy Rob Lucas said he's gotten 20 calls "coded as animal, including a horse" since August. He remembered two times he reunited friendly dogs with their owners, and another three times the animal was gone before he got there for a total of five stray animal calls. Social media helps, he said.

"I think a lot of people are contacting us and it gets taken care of before anything ever gets to you," Carlson said, adding that it is a labor of love, but she doesn't want officials to misunderstand what is happening.

Call 911, or post on Facebook

Alicia Oliveras asked how officials plan to communicate with people who don't have or use computers.

Palmer said people should call 911 to report finding a lost dog or cat or an issue with a stray animal.

"I wonder if citizens don't know they're supposed to call someone," Oliveras said.

Palmer explained that the CPD will send an officer with a microchip scanner, and post a photo of the animal online. They can't take an animal, though.

"It's up to the people who find the dog to care for them or take them to Duluth (to Animal Allies)," he said. "We can't take possession of the animal."

King thinks the police department isn't hearing from people because they believe the city will take the animals and kill them after seven days.

Not true, said Reeves. The city will take possession of an animal only if it meets the statutory definition of a dangerous animal, he said. That is the purpose of the three kennels the city built last fall.

Carlson asked that law enforcement contact her or the Facebook page before just letting a lost animal go if the finder doesn't want to keep it until the owner can be found.

As the meeting concluded, Reeves asked that each official talk with the governmental body they represent to determine their views on preventive measures versus facilities, and how much money each body has set aside for animal control. He also said they have a list of grants they can apply for, including some for spay/neuter of feral cats.

"If we can get grant money, we can do more," he said. "If everyone agrees, we'll try this for a year and see. Then we'll check back, and we may have to re-evaluate and decide what is the next step. I can't promise anything. We don't know."

He also thanked the citizens who attended the meeting.

"You and other volunteers have become the humane society," he said to Carlson. "We are grateful."