Animal Control

A commentary on the San Diego County Department of Animal Control (“Department of Animal Control Is Not Living Up to Its Name,” March 8), while well intended, borrows material from an internal document that was developed to assist the department in improving its service delivery system.

Some facts, therefore, may be in order to balance the opinions of the writer.

Further, some of the comments are not consistent with the state-mandated mission of the department.

As a regulatory agency, the department shares the writer’s special interest in curtailing the stray-pet population but takes issue with her contention that as many as half the animals adopted from the county’s three shelters are never altered.

Because of the budgetary constraints, the department has insufficient numbers of veterinarians to alter all animals adopted.

However, when an unaltered dog or cat is adopted from one of our facilities, the owner is required to post a deposit. That deposit is returned to the owner when the animal is subsequently altered by a veterinarian.

A recent audit found that San Diego County Animal Control’s deposit return rate was the second-highest in the state.

The writer maintains that the city of San Diego is paying 1,000% more for animal control than it did five years ago. The truth is that, until four years ago, Animal Control did not charge cities for the cost of controlling animals within their jurisdiction.

Since adopting a policy of full-cost recovery, the across-the-board increase has been 13%. In most areas of the county, the cost for service is approximately $3 per resident. City of San Diego residents benefit from a more concentrated population base and pay less than $2 each.

This is a sharp contrast to the statewide average of $5 per capita.

The writer--and your headline writer--allege “fat salaries,” such as “a 12% raise in the director’s salary and a 10.75% raise for the volunteer coordinator.” The department director, one of the county’s lowest-paid executives, did not receive a salary increase this year. The last increase was effected in the fall of 1990.

The volunteer coordinator received a standard 5% increase given to all employees. His position is covered by Civil Service and is represented.

Although the County of San Diego Department of Animal Control continues to work hard to reduce pet overpopulation in a number of ways, it must be understood that this issue is one that can only be addressed successfully through a concerted effort on the part of all animal control and human agencies, veterinarians, animal welfare groups and the general public.

While large numbers of healthy but unwanted animals continue to be destroyed, our work toward ending this tragedy is worth the struggle.

We would prefer to work cooperatively with all those who are interested in this at-large community problem.

BRUCE R. BOLAND, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, County of San Diego