frfday, October 15, 1976
14
daily nebrckan
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N l
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Having Lincoln police handle complaints about barking
dogs and stray dogs is more efficient than having t'ie
Humane Society handle them, said Kurt Sonderegger, a "
society trustee.
The Humane Society had handled complaints but
stopped picking up stray and dead dogs Sept. 10 when its
contract with the city was cancelled. It was cancelled
because the Society had accumulated an XSfiCQ deficit
in the first eiht months of 1976, Sonderegger said.
The city decided they could do a better job and do it
cheaper," Sonderegger said. The deficit at the Humane
Society began when the city cut the license fee fci half.
Sonderegger said that license fees were the main source
of income for the society.
Pdlae fcazTe ccmIis
The city's own service will be in full operation by Jan.
1 . In the meantime, the police are handling complaints.
The city's animal control service, a part of the City
County Health Dept., has one truck that is used to pick
up dead animals and confined strays, said Cathy
Mindt, one of three animal control officers.
Cathy Mindt, animal control officer, said confined
strays are animals that already have been caught and
are being held by somebody. She said the city will not
have the equipment to chase strays until Jan. 1 .
Dead dogs picked up by the city are held for 24
hours, Mindt said. If the dog has tags, the owner is
contacted, but if not the dogs are taken to the sanitary
landfill.
Humane treatment promoted
The Humane Society's main job, according to
Sonderegger, Is to promote the humane treatment of
animals. He said they are concerned about what the city
does with the dead animals. '
"We are dead set against dumping animal carcasses with
the rest of the garbage," Sonderegger said. He also said
that a number of Lincoln veterinarians are up in arms
Dennis Grams, assistant chief of environmental health,
said the city disposes of the animals that way because it is
the cheapest way. He said that Omaha has disposed of
animals in landfills and it has caused no health problem.
The Humane Society atlH boards animals, handles
adoptions, puts animals to sleep and annates or buries
these animals, Sonderegger said. Persons sti3 can bring
unwanted animals to the Humane Society and it will try
to find homes for them.
But the Society can board them for only a limited time
because of the cost. The animals have to be destroyed if
they are not claimed, he said. He added that the Humane
Society destroys 500 to 600 animals a month.
Dogs should be neutered
This problem would be eliminated if people would get
their dogs neutered, Sonderegger said. The Humane
Society doesn't like to destroy the animals, it just can't
afford to take care of them, he explained.
The city is working with the Humane Society to try to
reach an agreement which would allow the city to board
the stray animals at the Humane Society.
Grams said the city would pay the society to board
. stray animals it picks up, and to perform euthanasia
on these animals if the owners can't be found.
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