Animal Shelter Needs Quick Fix

The Orange County Animal Shelter has the daunting task of trying to comply with a law to take effect Jan. 1 that will require the neutering of stray animals before they are adopted. If the timetable proves too ambitious, the county should seek help in Sacramento.

The new law requires dogs and cats to be neutered before being put up for adoption. Critics say the county has been slow in developing a plan to meet the requirements.

This month officials of the shelter said they would hire a full-time staff veterinarian and two animal health technicians. That should put the agency on track to conform with the new law, though hiring three people in the next few weeks and getting them to work together may not be easy.

The plan the Board of Supervisors will consider next month also includes contracting with veterinarians to perform the surgeries. The county will have to determine if that would be more cost-effective. The interim director of county Health Care Regulatory Services, which oversees the shelter, said a mobile surgical unit also will be leased. That will increase space available for the neutering.

The law on spaying and neutering was passed a year ago, providing plenty of time for counties to decide how to implement it. Other counties appear to have done far better in getting ready. Although the Orange County shelter has sterilized cats for over a year, it has not included dogs. If the shelter cannot comply with the state law when it takes effect, it should seek an extension. The legislator who sponsored the law indicated a willingness to grant the county more time.

There’s no quarrel with the benefit of spaying or neutering dogs and cats before they are adopted from shelters. There are too many animals euthanized each year simply because there are not enough people willing to take them in.

The Orange County shelter received about 17,000 dogs in the past year. More than 5,000 were reunited with their owners; fewer than 5,000 were adopted. Nearly 8,000 were put to death. Some are euthanized at the request of their owners because of age or illness, but many are killed because no one will adopt them and the county shelter can’t keep them because of space limitations.