Is Animal Care And Control West Palm Beach A Kill Shelter

Michelle Christmann. a supporter of the Countdown to Zero proposal, waits with her Yorkie-Maltese mix "Snickers" for the discussion to come up at the Palm Beach County Commission meeting Tuesday, February 4, 2014. (Lannis Waters/The Palm Beach Post)

Palm Beach County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a policy change designed to eliminate the demand to kill thousands of unwanted cats and dogs over the next decade.

The commission signed off on a resolution that volition increase the county'southward efforts to spay and neuter dogs and cats, adopt unwanted animals, and discourage residents from dropping their pets at the canton's animal shelter on Belvedere Route in suburban Westward Palm Embankment.

The program, dubbed "Inaugural to Zero," will also create a partnership betwixt the county's Animal Care and Control Partition and the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League — the county's two largest animate being shelters. The partnership will let the two shelters to share information, work jointly on spay and neuter program, and search for grants to help lower euthanasia rates hither.

"This takes this forward so that no matter who is leading (animal control) and the county the mission is still the same," Dianne Sauve, the county's Animal Care and Control director, told commissioners Tuesday. "The mission is to finish needless euthanasia."

Animal Control sheltered 7,561 dogs, x,401 cats, and 1,129 other animals betwixt October 2012 and September 2013. Animal Command officials said 71 percentage of adoptable dogs and 21 percent of adoptable cats left the shelter.

Although the canton has reduced the number of pets inbound its shelter by one-third since 2012, the number of cats euthanized at the facility has held steady.

Sauve said cats and larger dogs with "square heads" are the most likely to be euthanized at the canton shelter.

"These are the two species that nosotros actually are challenged with," Sauve said.

Almost two dozen people attended Tuesday's meeting to back up resolution. Many wore green T-shirts with the phrase "together we can save lives" printed on the forepart. Iii people brought small dogs and held them in the commission'southward chambers during Tuesday'southward give-and-take.

Linda Gore, a lath member of Hirsuite Friends Adoption & Clinic in Jupiter, said the policy alter could salve the canton money by cutting downwards on the number of animals brought to the county'south shelter.

"It costs us more money to actually become and choice up these animals, try to find them homes, and unfortunately euthanize them," Gore told the commission.

Commissioner Shelley Vana, a long-time animal welfare abet, said it was important for the county to detect money to assistance pay for spay and neuter surgeries and other programs designed to reduce the pet population.

"I hope in some point in time we will continue to fund this then nosotros tin can not only do the right affair by our animals but also save money," Vana said.