Post by Brooke on Feb 18, 2004 21:09:16 GMT -5
Animal shelter proposes building crematorium
By John O'Connell - Journal Writer
POCATELLO - When the freezer fills at the Pocatello Animal Shelter, Tammy Slade, like most kennel workers, would rather turn a blind eye and let someone else deal with it.
That wasn't an option Saturday morning. The freezer was already packed with black garbage bags stuffed with animal bodies, about 25 dogs and 20 cats.
Slade had 10 more cats to put down and no more room, so she had to make a dreaded landfill run.
About two to three times a week, a shelter worker loads the bed of a pickup truck with dog and cat remains and dumps them in a designated pit at the Bannock County landfill.
During a recent City Council study session, Animal Shelter officials told council members they would like to build an animal crematorium attached to the shelter, which they believe would save themselves time while generating money and providing a more dignified way to dispose of animal bodies.
"It's like you're just abandoning them," Slade said. "I know they're already gone, but it's a task you just do and try to forget."
Animal Shelter Manager Mary Remer said she proposed building a crematorium five years ago. Back then, it would have cost $45,000. The project was never funded.
Remer realizes building a crematorium could still be a tough sale, given the city's current economic situation.
"Their budget is so strapped right now anyway," Remer said. "That's something we may have to look at, ways we can do our own funding for a crematorium."
She said pet owners who want their animals cremated currently have to take them to an Idaho Falls crematorium, a facility which generated $50,000 in fees last year. Remer is uncertain what the facility's operating costs were.
"Once it's paid for, I think it would generate some funds," Remer said.
Remer, too, has made landfill runs.
"It's a hard way to do a farewell after you've taken care of those animals," she said.
She plans to talk to animal crematorium operators in Idaho Falls and other Idaho cities to gather data.
Remer believes in the near future the Environmental Protection Agency will ban dumping euthanized animals in a landfill because of the potential for contamination from poisons used to put them to sleep.
She said the Idaho Falls crematorium is about the size of a one-car garage.
"I don't think you'd ever know there was one in Idaho Falls if you didn't already know it was there," Remer said.
Kennel worker Adie Goff proposed another solution. She believes the city should work out a deal with Idaho State University to use its crematorium. ISU already disposes of some animal shelter bodies every few months, Goff said.
"It's just disgusting. I don't like going up there and throwing frozen bodies out of the back end of a pickup," Goff said. "It seems so insensitive. We don't treat people like that."
By John O'Connell - Journal Writer
POCATELLO - When the freezer fills at the Pocatello Animal Shelter, Tammy Slade, like most kennel workers, would rather turn a blind eye and let someone else deal with it.
That wasn't an option Saturday morning. The freezer was already packed with black garbage bags stuffed with animal bodies, about 25 dogs and 20 cats.
Slade had 10 more cats to put down and no more room, so she had to make a dreaded landfill run.
About two to three times a week, a shelter worker loads the bed of a pickup truck with dog and cat remains and dumps them in a designated pit at the Bannock County landfill.
During a recent City Council study session, Animal Shelter officials told council members they would like to build an animal crematorium attached to the shelter, which they believe would save themselves time while generating money and providing a more dignified way to dispose of animal bodies.
"It's like you're just abandoning them," Slade said. "I know they're already gone, but it's a task you just do and try to forget."
Animal Shelter Manager Mary Remer said she proposed building a crematorium five years ago. Back then, it would have cost $45,000. The project was never funded.
Remer realizes building a crematorium could still be a tough sale, given the city's current economic situation.
"Their budget is so strapped right now anyway," Remer said. "That's something we may have to look at, ways we can do our own funding for a crematorium."
She said pet owners who want their animals cremated currently have to take them to an Idaho Falls crematorium, a facility which generated $50,000 in fees last year. Remer is uncertain what the facility's operating costs were.
"Once it's paid for, I think it would generate some funds," Remer said.
Remer, too, has made landfill runs.
"It's a hard way to do a farewell after you've taken care of those animals," she said.
She plans to talk to animal crematorium operators in Idaho Falls and other Idaho cities to gather data.
Remer believes in the near future the Environmental Protection Agency will ban dumping euthanized animals in a landfill because of the potential for contamination from poisons used to put them to sleep.
She said the Idaho Falls crematorium is about the size of a one-car garage.
"I don't think you'd ever know there was one in Idaho Falls if you didn't already know it was there," Remer said.
Kennel worker Adie Goff proposed another solution. She believes the city should work out a deal with Idaho State University to use its crematorium. ISU already disposes of some animal shelter bodies every few months, Goff said.
"It's just disgusting. I don't like going up there and throwing frozen bodies out of the back end of a pickup," Goff said. "It seems so insensitive. We don't treat people like that."