Huntington Beach may opt for no-kill animal shelter

Kenneth Ma

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Stray animals are one paw closer to having a

no-euthanasia animal shelter in Surf City.

The City Council voted 6 to 0 Monday to spend $50,000 to study the

feasibility of providing a city shelter that would not kill unadopted

healthy animals. The city now has a contract with Orange County for

animal services.

The study was placed on the agenda by Councilwoman Pam Julien partly as a

response to about 350 postcards from residents asking for more humane

animal services. The postcard campaign was sponsored by Save Our Strays,

a community group that asked the council in May to consider building a

no-kill shelter.

Concerns about the county’s facility also rank among the reasons for the

study.

In a memo to council members, Julien said she is worried the city’s

contract with the county is about to become $73,000 more expensive

beginning July 1. The current contract, which ends June 30, costs the

city $342,000. That figure may be raised to as much as $415,000, she

stated, and the county has yet to send the city an invoice for the

upcoming contract.

Also, Julien said she is concerned about a recent Orange County Grand

Jury report detailing problems with the county’s shelters and that the

county plans to locate its new shelter in Tustin, which is further away

from Huntington Beach than its existing site in Orange.

Councilman Ralph Bauer said a shelter in Huntington Beach would give

local cities an alternative to the county shelter. If the city builds a

shelter, it may be shared by other cities in a joint powers agreement.

Karen Chepeka, president of Save Our Strays, has said a no-kill shelter

would keep healthy homeless pets alive until they are adopted instead of

killing them.

The county animal shelter, she has said, serves 21 cities, with

Huntington Beach being one of its biggest customers. Nearly 120 local

dogs and 85 local cats end up there every month, she said.