November 7, 2007

Bid approved for new animal shelter

Genevieve Bookwalter
Sentinel staff writer
SANTA CRUZ -- Stray dogs, cats, gerbils and iguanas will soon have a new place to lounge as they wait for humans to adopt them thanks to the county Board of Supervisors, which on Tuesday approved a $4.9 million contract to build a new animal shelter in Live Oak.

Dan Coyro/Sentinel
Checho the dog looks at the world from inside the fence at Bed & Bisquits where the private kennel is housing dogs for the filled-to-capacity animal shelter.

San Mateo-based contractor Ralph Larsen & Son Inc. was the lowest bidder for a new facility to house many of the 5,500 animals that pass through county Animal Services Authority doors each year. Work should start in about three weeks, and finish next summer. The new center will be on the site of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' old kennel, on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Rodriguez Street.

The bid was well below the $5.6 million that county leaders estimated the project would cost. It will be paid for by the county Redevelopment Agency.

"Santa Cruz is really progressive, and it's really exciting that Santa Cruz County will be getting a progressive animal shelter," said Tricia Geisreiter, animal services coordinator for Santa Cruz County Animal Services Authority.

The new facility will include an animal exercise yard, more kennel space and indoor and outdoor meet-and-greet areas, among other features.

The building will have separate areas for residents giving up an animal and those looking to adopt, as both can be emotional times for opposite reasons, Geisreiter said. The walls will be insulated to contain the barks and howls. Fruit trees, flowers and other landscaping should provide county residents with a shelter to be proud of, added Katherine Vos, general manager of the county Animal Services Authority.

The building is a long time coming.. The county took over animal-control services and the bulk of sheltering in 2002, after an audit revealed the SPCA had misused $715,000 in taxpayer dollars through unauthorized purchases and staffing. The SPCA now serves as an advocacy and education group but does not handle shelters.

In 2004, the county bought the SPCA's former kennel for $1.6 million. But the building was in such disarray that leaders decided, instead of repairing it, they would tear it down and build a new one.
"To try to renovate something like that is kind of a waste of money," Supervisor Jan Beautz said.

The county is now housing abandoned animals in Scotts Valley and Watsonville shelters. When they don't have enough room, dogs and cats also stay at Bed & Biscuits, an animal boarding house on 17th Avenue whose owners donate space to strays when their beds are not booked.

When the new Live Oak shelter finishes next summer, the Scotts Valley shelter will close and animals will be moved to Seventh Avenue. The Watsonville shelter should remain open, animal services officials said.

Beautz said the new shelter should be an asset to the neighborhood. Residents seem enthusiastic about the new design, she said, especially the increased noise control.
"This will be much nicer for the animals and the people that go to adopt the animals, and the people in the neighborhood," she said.

Contact Genevieve Bookwalter at gbookwalter@santacruzsentinel.com or 706-3286.