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-- Animal Control picks up more than just cats and dogs PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, January 23, 1990 -- 25 Busy year for Animal Shelter By Kelly Storry Chances are if you have lost your famil Pel, oh is Waiting for you at the Uxbridge/Scug: Animal Shelter. % The shelter is located in Goodwood, and takes all lost, stray, and found and cats in Scugog and Uxbridge Town- ships. Animal Control Officer Ann Barrett has been the local "dog- catcher" for 20 years, and is called out constantly to bringin astray, orinjured animal. This past year has seen Mrs. Barrett pick up 178 dogs from Uxbridge, and 174 from Scu- gog, of which only 118 in Ux- bridge, and 65 from Scugog were reclaimed. "It is, I search for a word, most frustrating, sad, and pro- motes such a helpless feeling when a dog is brought in to the Veterinarian with no identifi- cation, and it's leg is broken, or it has hundreds of quillsinit, or This dog was just one of several who Is waiting patient- ly to be reclaimed by his owner, or for someone to adopt him for their own. its back it broken, or injured. What to do? Do I repair it or give it euthanasia," she said. The problem is that if the owner of the dog is unknown, it is hard to decide whether to have the dog fixed, if it is never going to be reclaimed. Out of 352 dogs in the two Townships combined that were picked up, 56 had to be de- stroyed. The shelter has a legal three day time period, not including weekends or holidays to give the owner time to reclaim his animal. If not the shelter can le- gally put the animal down. Ms. Barrett encourages any- one who has lost a pet, to call the shelter to inquire about their animal. If the animal is not there at the time, she will keep the name on file, in case the dog does show up. In the case of cats, Ms. Bar- rett explains the main problem is that cats never have identifi- RAR hi This playful kitten represents just one of hundreds of kittens Animal Control Officer, Ann Barrett has picked up In the last year. 0 8 8 8 8 5 8 4580504058001 8088820808808080580008800088380080 cation. She explains that spe- cial elastic collars can be bought at pet stores. "Cats that are not neutered or spayed, result in many un- wanted cats, and it just goes on and on. Males tend to fight, fe- males have litters, They cannot exist on mice alone. Alas, left to run at large, unwanted, unsu- pervised tend to become feral cats. This is the perfect situa- tion for contacting rabies, and other diseases," she said. This past year she picked up 136 cats from Uxbridge, and 92 from Scugog, only seven from both Townships combined were reclaimed. She also stated it is hard to find homes for all these ani- mals, The shelter itself is only so big, and can only accomodate so many animals. There are eight cages for dogs, and seven for cats, which are often doubled up. They become too overcrowd- ed, and the animals can legally be put down. The shelter however does sell animals to the public after the legal three day limit is past. Dogs can be bought for $10, plus a dog collar, and for cats a donation is accepted. This past year resulted in a total of 72 dogs being sold, and 126 cats. Ms. Barrett receives calls from the public, when a stray or lost animal is becoming a nui- sance around their home. She explains that a dog is easier to catch than a cat. A dog will often listen to commands such as sit, or stay, just long enough for her to put a leash around it. Cats are a little more difficult, as they tend to become scared, and want to run. In this case, she uses a fishnet. One aspect of her job that many people are not aware of, is she captures more than the typical house pet. Ms. Barrett is the past year picked up birds including phe- sants, pigeons, and seagulls. She is often called upon to catch skunks, and raccoons who can become quite a nuisance around poeples homes. This past year, she caught 12 skunks, which were all de- stroyed, and seven racoons, of which two were destroyed, and five released. The only reason an animal like this would be de- stroyed she explains is if the animal is sick, injured, or has a disease. Other pets also tend to get loose, as she had to recapture three rabbits, and one ferret, that has escaped their cages. Aside from other wild ani- mals she has caught such as squirrels, muskrats, and groundhogs, she has been called upon to nab some exotic creatures. Ms. Barrett was called upon to destroy one bat this past year, as well as to catch and pick up, an injured coyote, that due to injury was later destroyed. Any animal that she feels needs medical attention, she takes to the Uxbridge Veteri- nary Clinic, where they are tended to free of charge. The clinic itself does not have the fa- cilities to give animal shots, or | to put them down. 'ne Animal Shelter which is [B88 rated by the "8 owned and o Townships of Uxbridge and Scugog, will be moving in the near future. Plans for a bigger building will begin in t spring in its new location in Reach Industrial Park, in Scu- gog Township. The Animal Shelter, current- ly in Goodwood, has been there since 1971, and according to Ms. Barrett, to say she is excit- ed, isa mild way to putit. The new shelter will have in- dividual runs for the dogs, as compared to the current one run, where each dog is let out separately. The new facility will allow the dogs to remain outside longer on nice days. The shelter will be sound- proof, and will have more cages, to accomodate more than what is currently allowed. Ms. Barrett also hopes the new facility will allow her the room to give animals their re- quired needles, and its own fa- cility to put dogs down when re- quired. The shelter is always in need of old blankets, or towels that can be used to wrap a sick or in- jured animal. Ms. Barrett in closing want- ed to emphasize the need for tags on pets, so they can be re- turned to their proper owners, and less animals would have to be destroyed. Anyone losing a pet, or any- one looking to purchase a pet, is encouraged to phone the Ani- mal Shelter at 640-1987. Ann Barrett, often uses commands and other tricks, when she Is trying to catch a dog. Here she demonstrates (with the help of Muggs), how she handles the nastier dogs, and keeps them from biting distance. in Goodwood. This adorable cat Is just one of many who are waiting for adoption at the Scugog/Uxbridge Animal Shelter located