The town of New Hartford is looking to have its own humane society up and running come January.
New Hartford Supervisor Paul Miscione said their contract with Anita Swan Humane Society is up at the end of the year and the town has decided to look inwards to deal with the stray dogs caught by animal control.
“They would take our dogs last year, but there was a big price increase, and a lot of changes were done to the contract,” Miscione said.
One of New Hartford’s current animal control officers, John Treen, used to be a shelter manager for Anita Swan’s and Miscione said the decision was made to take care of the town’s dogs.
Miscione said the goal isn’t for the shelter to be profitable, but operate for the good of the community. But until recently, there was no location available for a New Hartford Humane Society — until the records building became available.
“This year, [Police Chief Ronald Fontaine], [Treen], and I got together and found that the old record center [on Oneida Street] that used to house our records was available,” Miscione explained. “When we consolidated our records all to the Gander Mountain building, I suggested we use the old records building. There’s a great layout, a lot of room in the back for the dogs to go outside, and it’s part of our parks area.”
The New Hartford Town Board has approved the move, and Miscione said the goal is to have the building up and running as a human society by Jan. 15.
When asked about the cost, Miscione said Treen would run the facility, so there wouldn’t be any additional staffing costs unless additional municipalities were brought on.
“For actual costs, we have the animal control officer already in place. For the building, it cost around $30,000 for the build-out to add cages,” Miscione said. “And while there will be costs for food and housing the animals, it’s offset by the cost we would have had we continued paying Anita Swans. Its cost will either be the same or less.”
Any profit generated by the humane society would go back into it to cover any costs. The supervisor added that grants are also possible to cover the cost of vaccinations against rabies for New Hartford residents, or even cover the costs of getting their dogs spayed and neutered.
And, more than anything, Miscione said this was an opportunity to turn a building that isn’t being used into something that would benefit the community.
“We’re already getting messages from people who want to volunteer their time,” he said. “If we can use a building we currently have and become self-reliant, then this will bring people in the community together, I think.”
“We’re not looking to make money, and it’s not a financial gain, but it’s a win-win for the community,” he added.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: New Hartford to open humane society
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