In the doghouse: concerned residents speak out for animals at city shelter

During a West Valley City Council meeting in November, residents raised concerns about policies and practices at the local West Valley Animal Shelter.

On Nov. 15, resident Amy Menna and her mother appeared before the council to request that city officials investigate the shelter’s policies for euthanizing animals and suggested that the shelter employ more volunteers to meet staffing needs and change the hours of operation to allow greater convenience for residents who want to adopt a pet.

“[These policies] need to be addressed immediately,” Menna said. “I’d like to see a financial audit of the shelter.”

Menna and her mother said they are concerned that the shelter hours are inconvenient for residents because the facility isn’t open on Saturday or Sunday, or late enough for people who work until 5 p.m. each evening through the week.

The West Valley Animal Shelter provides animal control services locally and for the city of Taylorsville. Dogs, cats and other animals housed at the shelter are cared for and made available for adoption.

The shelter opened in its current location at 4522 West 3500 South in September 2009. The 12,000-square-foot facility has the capacity to house almost 200 animals and has at times had dogs, cats, birds, chickens, ferrets, snakes, hamsters, pigs, goats and rabbits.

The West Valley Animal Shelter is open to residents five days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Although many of the animals housed at the shelter are adopted by residents or placed with private rescue organizations, shelter staff employees are charged with the responsibility to decide which animals must be euthanized.

West Valley Animal Shelter Operations Director Kelly Davis said animals selected to be euthanized are most often put down due to illness or because the animal is dangerous. He said although adoptable animals are sometimes euthanized, shelter staff is always working to reduce the number of animals euthanized each month.

“We’re improving all the time,” Davis said.

Five full-time and two part-time employees, along with a rotating roster of volunteer employees, staff the animal shelter. Animal shelter employees and volunteers work to care for the animals 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Davis said the shelter doesn’t currently have enough employees to keep the facility open to the public six days a week, but that when the shelter was open on Saturdays five years ago the extended hours didn’t increase the number of pet adoptions.

“That was our slowest day [of the week],” he said.

Davis said he would like to see the shelter extend its hours, but that would require increased funding to hire more employees.

“We don’t have the staff to cover six days,” he said.

Budget decisions, such as the level at which to fund West Valley Animal Services, are made each year by the West Valley City Council.

Budget discussions for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins in the summer, could begin as early as January.