Animal shelter meeting scheduled in Burien

The debate over animal care at King County shelters will be focused in Burien on Monday, April 14, during a county council town hall meeting in the Highline Performing Arts Center, 401 S. 152nd St.

A 6 p.m. public reception will be followed by the meeting - "Caring for Our Animals" - at 6:30 p.m.

Highline cities contract with the county to provide a shelter in Kent.

County council members will hear public comments, review a consultant's final report, receive Executive Ron Sims' response and talk about last fall's advisory committee's study at the Burien meeting.

Council members may also make a recommendation on whether the county should continue to operate shelters.

Requesting residents to attend the town hall meeting in his district, council vice chairman Dow Constantine, D-West Seattle, noted, "We must take decisive action, and to succeed we will need the advice and support of the people of King County."

County officials say they hope a joint plan agreed to by both Sims and council members can be introduced at the meeting. However, the county's legislative branch and Sims' executive branch have tangled over shelter services since last year.

The town hall session was timed to the release of a consultant's report last week.

The March 17 report by Nathan Winograd, director of the No Kill Advocacy Center, on his observations of conditions and operations at county animal shelters in Kent and Bellevue disturbed council members.

Winograd found some of the sickest cats and dogs didn't receive food or water for up to four days and high rates of disease were caused by lack of vaccinations and inadequate medical care along with repeated instances of animal waste in cages.

He also reported that many cages in the adoption viewing area were empty, despite the availability of adoptable animals.

Mismanagement of animal cruelty investigations has resulted in a conviction rate of less than 1 percent, and repeated attempts by other agencies and private businesses to offer financial and volunteer help have been ignored, Winograd charged.

Sims and Al Dams, county animal care and control manager, denied the allegations.

However, King County Chairwoman Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac, said she bases her views on her personal visits to the shelter, an earlier citizens' advisory committee study and Winograd's report.

The advisory group issued a report in September labeling conditions in the shelters as "deplorable." Attempts to increase the number of adoptions have been "paltry at best," according to the report.

The council has suspended the work of the advisory committee after five members complained animal control staff was not cooperating with them.

Based on the past record, the council might have to make "drastic changes" - including shutting down the shelters, Patterson said.

Patterson said the council's goal is to create a model animal shelter program.

That would include providing a basic level of care for animals in the shelters, making sure only the most sick and dangerous animals are euthanized, and finding families for all healthy and safe animals.

"It doesn't matter who does it, it just matters it is done," Patterson declared.

Constantine added, "It is intolerable that King County would fail to properly care for vulnerable animals in our custody. Each of these creatures has a right to food and water, shelter, medical care and the chance to find a loving home."