Some municipalities in the Capital District are struggling to house stray or missing animals. And local governments are asking for help.
Before a tour of the facility that houses dogs, cats, guineapigs and more, Mohawk Hudson Humane Society CEO Ashley Jeffrey Bouck says while she wishes the shelter could take in animals like it used to pre-COVID, it doesn’t have capacity.
Bouck says with all the sheltering services the Menands facility offers, such as providing for animals for those escaping domestic violence situations, animal cruelty cases, and more, they’re at capacity.
“They're the kennels that are for the dogs who are available for adoption. They're for the dogs who are staying with us through safe keep their isolation, to keep healthy animals healthy, and keep the animals who are in treatment getting better faster,” Jeffrey Bouck said. “So yes, there are many kennels here, but they all serve a different purpose."
With limited funding and a lack of space, Bouck says she’s willing to work with municipalities to apply for grants or provide guidance. As a nonprofit, the shelter stays open through the support of donations, grants, and volunteers. The shelter says it receives “no ongoing funding from federal, state or local governments or any other animal welfare organization.”
Across the Hudson River in Rensselaer, city leaders in Rensselaer are calling on the county to build an animal shelter.
Democratic Rensselaer City Council President John DeFrancesco says without a county facility, local municipalities bear the brunt of dealing with stray animals.
"What we have to do is we're just one of the first who are addressing our issues because you don't want to have dogs put down because you have no place to put them, you know, a healthy dog. So, you just have to, we have to make do.”
Rensselaer County says “the responsibility for animal shelters rests with cities and towns, based on state law.”
The Rensselaer Common Council recently voted to increase its animal control contractual line for the fiscal year. The funding will allow for the purchase of a four-kennel structure to house stray and abandoned dogs.
In nearby Troy, the city has been sending animals to neighboring Saratoga County and other nonprofits for several years. But last year, Republican Mayor Carmella Mantello says the city renovated space at the Department of Public Works to temporarily hold some furry friends.
“This is a short-term fix. We're not in the business of dog shelters. Kevin, we did have a part time. We're now hiring two more-part timers and one full time, so we're really going to invest in ensuring that the city is safe, because it's a public safety issue when you have stray dogs. In the summer months, as you know, we see the numbers literally triple and double,” Mantello said.
Mantello says she hopes mayors in the Capital Region can work together to come up with a solution.
“It really is a regional problem, not just here in the county, but across the river,” Mantello said.
In Albany County, Sheriff Craig Apple says the county received a $500,000 grant through the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets to build a shelter.
Apple says an additional $150,000 to $200,000 in needed funding was budgeted for to finish the project.
Apple seeks a program on the grounds of the county jail that will benefit animals and humans in need.
“It will allow us to not only house the dogs and solve a bit of an issue that Mohawk Hudson is being, you know, burdened with, but I also hope to have the homeless men and women that stay in my shelter, pay them a wage to manage it and to clean it and to feed and everything else, so they can start getting a little bit of a skill set, or so to speak, at least earning money,” Apple said. “And then our goal is to get them a regular job and get them out on their own, which we've been doing right along.”
Apple says the shelter is expected to be finished by fall and will hold 16 dogs.
In Watervliet, Democratic Mayor Charles Patricelli says while Troy and Rensselaer are taking steps to build small facilities, the small Albany County city doesn’t have the resources to shelter animals on its own.
“We don't have the capacity, or even the room to, you know, to do that. And I like I say, we have. We've had a number of stray dogs lately, but for the most part, you know, a good majority of them, we've been able to reunite back with the homeowners. There are many dogs that have not been licensed, so it makes it difficult, you know, to locate the owners. But we usually do it, you know, by, you know, again, in social media and word of mouth.”
