San Diego to Decide Who Will Handle Thousands of Animals

The San Diego City Council will decide what will happen to thousands of shelter animals Monday when they decide whether to adopt a contract with the San Diego Humane Society. The cities of Carlsbad and Santee have already agreed to adopt contracts with the humane society after the Board of Supervisors voted in 2017 to stop providing animal services to six cities — San Diego, Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carlsbad and Santee.  All Aboard! Poway’s Historic Train Returns to Service The city of San Diego must now decide who will handle their animals before the contract with County Animal Services expires on June 30.”We’re hopeful they’ll approve, mainly because they’re going to see what great benefits they’re going to have; they’ll have support of the entire humane society,” said San Diego Humane Society Chief Steve MacKinnon.  Former Escondido Teacher Accused of Sexual Misconduct with Student Off Campus The decision will affect about 18,000 shelter animals each year in the city of San Diego. While some council members agree the new contract should go to the San Diego Humane Society, there is some pushback from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) that believes whoever takes over animal services must employ union workers. Special Needs Students Dance Night Away at ‘Night To Remember’ Prom “We just want to make sure the citizens of San Diego are protected by animal service officers that are well-trained, get good pay and are able to interact with the community well,” said David Garcias President of SEIU Local 221.But MacKinnon said for the contract to work for them, unions cannot be part of the deal.”We’ve got over 5,000 volunteers and we expect that number to go up come July 1st,” MacKinnon said. “The concern is when you have a union contract, they could be limited where they can’t jump in and lend that hand that we really need, there’s no way we would operate without those volunteers.”Garcias said the union’s concern is about the paid jobs and not the volunteers.”The volunteers are a completely different service,” said Garcias. “We respect the volunteers, they’re a huge part in helping us succeed.”Nonetheless, as a non-profit relying on thousands of volunteers as well as regular staff, San Diego Humane Society said it will refuse any deal with a city that requires a union mandate.”We really don’t see the need to have a third party coming in and inserting themselves in there and really interfering with our operations,” MacKinnon said.On April 19, a motion at the Budget and Government Efficiency Committee meeting passed 3-1 to forward the contract with no recommendation to the full council. Councilmember Chris Cate did not vote. Ahead of the vote, a packed room debated the future of the city’s animal services purchasing and contracting agreements.”The county is disappointing us all by deciding after 45 years to get out of the business and putting us in this difficult position,” said Councilmember Chris Ward at the meeting. Some audience members started to cry as conditions of the animals in county custody were described by a speaker. “My colleagues and I have dedicated ourselves to sharing animal welfare for years,” said Lisa Murphy who argued in favor of awarding the animal services contract to the San Diego Humane Society and has worked there for eight years. “We are a reliable resource for pet owners seeking education.” Lauren Michaels expressed concern for the “unadoptable animals” that she believes won’t get the care or attention they need from the San Diego Humane Society. “Under the San Diego Humane Society all animals will receive the highest level of care and have the best chance to find their forever homes,” rebutted Dana Boyd at the meeting, a professional dog obedience trainer. One speaker was worried that the San Diego Humane Society would not be trained enough to handle wildlife such as mountain lions and farm animals such as horses. “If we don’t move forward with this, then the responsibility will fall on our police officers, which we cannot have happen,” said Councilmember Chris Cate. “The San Diego Humane Society has been around for a long time and I have no doubt they are up for the responsibility.” 
Source: NBC San Diego