SCHENECTADY Mayor floats idea of regional animal shelter BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
The city can’t afford its own animal shelter, but with aggressive dogs occasionally attacking neighbors and feral cats roaming the streets, Mayor Gary McCarthy is working on a different solution: a regional animal shelter. He had discussed expanding the private Animal Protective Foundation shelter, which isn’t large enough to handle the number of dogs and cats abandoned in the city. But expansion costs too much, he said, so he’s started asking town supervisors if they’d contribute toward a county shelter. “The problem right now is all the scenarios are too high,” he said of the cost. “So far I haven’t seen a plan that is fi nancially viable.” To make it feasible, it might need to be an even larger, regional shelter, he said. Volunteers for the local animal rescue groups are eager to make it work — so eager that Filisia Ramdath asked the City Council to give the groups a vacant building and let them turn it into a shelter. Although much of the labor could be done by volunteers, she conceded that the shelter would also need signifi cant financial support from the city. It would need medical facilities, a kennel, and likely more than one veterinarian, she said. Both Ramdath and McCarthy don’t know where the operational funds would come from, but McCarthy said Ramdath is right to ask for a shelter. “I agree with them. There’s a problem there. The municipality ends up dealing with it, and none of the scenarios are cheap,” he said. In the meantime, the city may take other steps to reduce the number of mistreated dogs and feral cats running loose. Ramdath proposed regulating dog breeding and running an educational campaign to explain the importance of sterilizing pets and the dangers of dog fi ghting. Both ideas can be accomplished at little cost, McCarthy said. He wants to get Ramdath’s group to make education videos for the public access station. The city clerk’s office is also working on a campaign, but is understaffed, he said. “We would like to do that,” he said. “We want a more aggressive campaign regarding dogs.” Ramdath wants to stress that unaltered pets are breeding far too often — particularly cats. A pair of feral cats and their offspring can produce 420,000 cats in a seven-year lifespan, according to animal groups. There are also far too many dogs being bred, she said. “The main problem is backyard breeders who are trying to make a quick buck,” she said. “They see that’s the way to make money. And when they have to move, they just leave them.” She wants the city to require a license for breeding. McCarthy likes the idea. “That’s an interesting point,” he said. “It’s something the city probably could do.” He plans to look into it. He and Ramdath also want to combat dog fighting, which may be more prevalent than crime statistics suggest. Police have reported only isolated incidents, but Ramdath sees many abandoned dogs with injuries that she believes are caused by dog fi ghting. “I find animals on the street who have broken legs, who have been bitten terribly,” she said. Other dogs that they try to rescue are often too vicious to be saved, she added. “Most of these dogs are not adoptable because they train them to fi ght,” she said. McCarthy wants law enforcement to put a stop to dog fi ghts. “If dog fighting is more organized, we’ll focus city resources on it,” he said.
Mc Cheesy seems to want everyone ELSE do his job!!! Law enforcement to stop dog fighting, other towns to pay for a regional animal shelter, volunteers to do the work....
Put on some big boy pants and run this City. Why the heck isn't Vince Riggi Mayor yet!! Can't we get him in by claiming he's the only one on the City Council with a beating heart and a spinal cord!
I thought that the entire county (city/towns) already contributed funds to support the shelter....no?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
In other words they blew their wad on freebies for the votes. Now they need someone else tp pay for the crap they need, because they are broke.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
Mc Cheesy seems to want everyone ELSE do his job!!! Law enforcement to stop dog fighting, other towns to pay for a regional animal shelter, volunteers to do the work....
Put on some big boy pants and run this City. Why the heck isn't Vince Riggi Mayor yet!! Can't we get him in by claiming he's the only one on the City Council with a beating heart and a spinal cord!
Another idiotic idea from Mayor McCheese. Pit bulls that attack need to be destroyed not put in witness relocation. More working together crap. Town voters need to wake and send these DEM morons packing. McCheese is pulling down the entire County and no one is stopping him. How's the DSS facade "investigation"? ROTFLMAO!! Bring on a State Control Board and clean out City Hall.
And I guess the city is just overflowing with money to spend for it's share for YET ANOTHER SOCIALIST entity. Oh, wait, that's the mayor thinks the city taxpayers have so much money to pay the city's share. Yep, the mayor thinks the homeowners have such fat bank accounts.
City taxpayers can't afford the taxes now, the EVIDENCE is PROVEN by the imminent foreclosures.
And of course, we intelligent people know that a regional facility, assuming he means multi-county, that taxpayers in other counties would be subsidizing Schenectady's exhorbitant costs which are exorbitant because McC focuses on his political cronies instead of the residents and their neighborhood. Which is just the same that taxpayers in the towns would do with consolidation, we would merely subsidize all the crap that happens in the city.
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
Like the DSS "rehab"- lol. Expect more regional blather because McCheeses has a $10 million deficit and has chased the middle class and small business out. There are no more carcasses for the DEM morons to pick over.
I think it should be run on the same property as the county nursing home....pet therapy is great....and those pitbulls could have rehab too......
Great idea.
I know of a property in Rotterdam they can put it too
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
Logged
Another idiotic idea from Mayor McCheese. Pit bulls that attack need to be destroyed not put in witness relocation. More working together crap. Town voters need to wake and send these DEM morons packing. McCheese is pulling down the entire County and no one is stopping him. How's the DSS facade "investigation"? ROTFLMAO!! Bring on a State Control Board and clean out City Hall. 
