I think we can now officially sound the alarm: Delaware County is facing an animal control crisis. Again.
Yep, it’s déjà vu all over again. You can read all about it here.
That basically was the word from the newly formed Animal Protection Board this week. They’re the group formed to oversee construction of a new shelter on a site in Darby Township that eventually will take the reins of animal control from the county SPCA. You might remember the SPCA is intent on getting out of the animal control business.
If this all sounds familiar, it should. It was just a few months agao back in the summer that the county faced a similar crisis. Faced with a July 1 deadline, calmer heads prevailed and the SPCA was coaxed into offering a six-month extension of their services.
No one is pretending that is going to happen again when the deal expires on Jan. 1.
And now the new board is admitting there is almost no way that the shelter will be up and running by the deadline.
So now it’s on to Plan B. But no one seems to know exactly what Plan B will entail.
The most likely scenario is that the county will have to ship strays to an out-of-county facility. Maybe for several months. That is going to be a very expensive proposition.
In the meantime, back in Darby Township, not a lot is happening at the proposed site of the new shelter because several studies that need to be done first have yet to be started.
Not good.
Remember where you heard it. Come the holidays, municipal officials will be throwing up their hands at the notion of a looming crisis in animal control.
They will act surprised. They shouldn’t.
You can see this one coming.
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