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SPCA Trying To Reduce Abandoning of Pets At Shelter

Jessica Bair/SUNCOAST NEWS

HENRY, A FOX TERRIER-dachshund mix, was found tied to the fence outside the SPCA Suncoast shelter in New Port Richey a few days ago. SPCA staff is taking steps to keep people from abandoning animals at the shelter.

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By Jessica  Bair | The Suncoast News

Published: November 2, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - One recent afternoon two adult cats and a litter of seven kittens were found in a plastic storage bin that has been taped shut with holes poked into the lid.

The bin had been thrown over the 8-foot-tall fence that surrounds the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Suncoast shelter.

Later that same day, a scared pit bull was left on a 6-foot leash tied to the fence, just inches from busy Congress Street.

This is what Director Martha Murray and the staff typically see each afternoon as the SPCA Suncoast shelter opens for business.

The SPCA is employing some technology to try to make these sorts of discoveries less likely.

Action was needed, Murray says, because animal abandonment is becoming increasingly common. At present, from 30 to 50 animals are being dumped on the shelter each month.
In one week alone the staff found 30 abandoned animals on the shelter's doorstep, Murray said.

"This is a major concern for the shelter," its director said in an interview Wednesday. "I am afraid, not only for the animals, who don't know what's going on, but afraid they'll get loose and be hit" by passing vehicles.

Animals abandoned in this fashion face other perils, Murray said.

For example, dogs tied to the shelter fence are unable to protect themselves from attacks by wild animals such as raccoons and opossums and can't seek shelter from stormy weather.

Closed containers such as the plastic storage bin in which the cat and kittens were found at the shelter can trap potentially lethal amounts of heat even in the early morning sun, Murray warned.

Furthermore, the people abandoning the animals are not leaving any food or water to sustain them until SPCA staff discover them, Murray said.

Another find, a Burmese python inside a plastic container sealed with duct tape, was particularly disturbing and a call to action, Murray said.

"It's such a growing problem that something just needed to be done," Murray said.
To help reduce the number of pets abandoned at the shelter after hours, the SPCA has installed donated security cameras. It will soon install motion-activated lighting along the fence as a further deterrent to abandonment.

Signs have been posted declaring, "Not only is it unsafe for the animals, but that abandoning animals when the shelter is closed is a crime."
Since the signs went up, there has been a marked decrease in the number of pets left outside the shelter.

The public is invited to visit the SPCA shelter, 7734 Congress St., to see the newly improved facilities, learn how to prevent unwanted pets and visit animals available for adoption. It is open daily, noon to 6 p.m.

For more information call 727-849-1048, send an e-mail or visit the SPCA Suncoast href=http://www.SPCAsuncoast.org> Web site.

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