City Extends Three Pet Contracts Short-Term Deals Give Time To Advertise For Long Term

Tue., June 17, 1997

By Kathy Mulady kathymu@spokesman.com

The Spokane City Council extended contracts Monday with two agencies handling the care, sheltering and licensing of pets.

Contracts with SpokAnimal CARE for animal control and with Spokane Humane Society for housing animals were extended through Sept. 30.

A third contract with SpokAnimal, for spaying and neutering services, was continued through Dec. 31.

The extensions give council members time to advertise for bids on long-term contracts.

“I get a lot of calls on this,” said Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers, adding she wants the issue resolved as soon as possible.

Recent problems at SpokAnimal have caused concerns among council members.

Nearly half the agency’s board of directors resigned in March shortly after an an employee was investigated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

The employee allegedly used the federal drug license of a veterinarian who no longer worked at the agency to illegally order a female hormone substitute.

Because of the investigation, council members gave SpokAnimal only a six-month contract at the start of the year instead of the usual one-year pact.

Rodgers cast the only vote last February against awarding the six-month animal-control contract to SpokAnimal.

City officials hope to find a single agency to handle all aspects of the animal-control program.

SpokAnimal and the Spokane Humane Society have both expressed interest in bidding on the entire contract.

Another possibility might be to consolidate services with the county. But the county says it would cost $1.1 million to expand its animal shelter to handle city animals.

, DataTimes

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