New legislation introduced by the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday would allow the county to put abandoned pets up for adoption more quickly, reducing issues at the county’s animal adoption center, according to the bill’s sponsors.
Under current county law, an impounded animal, or an animal repossessed by the county, is considered abandoned and becomes county property if it is not redeemed by its owner within five days after the owner is notified of the impoundment by the county. If passed, the proposed legislation would decrease this period to three days.
According to councilmember Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3), one of the bill’s lead sponsors, the change in the law would “reduce overcrowding at the animal shelter, reduce the time that the animal is held at the shelter and accelerate the timeline for the adoption process.”
“Length of stay in a shelter is the biggest risk factor for overcrowding, infectious disease spread, elevated fear, anxiety and stress in pets,” Katz said Tuesday, noting a report by the Office of Animal Services and Adoption Center that inspired the bill. “When capacity for care is exceeded, staff will lose the ability to care properly for pets and cannot provide a fear-free environment.”
Katz said the office’s data shows only 3.6% of cats and 5.4% of dogs were reclaimed after three days, indicating that the vast majority of cats and dogs are either reclaimed within three days or go unclaimed.
“Decreasing the strain hold for three days does not significantly affect owners who reclaim their pets and does significantly benefit the animals who will ultimately go unclaimed because they have been rehomed more promptly,” Katz said.
Councilmembers Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5) and Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) are also lead sponsors of the proposed legislation. Council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4), Vice President Will Jawando (D-At-large) and councilmembers Gabe Albornoz (D-At-Large), Evan Glass (D-At-Large), Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-Large) and Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) are co-sponsoring.
The change is consistent with state law. The legislation would also require notice of the possession of the animal by the county to include posting on the animal owner’s door and on the Montgomery County Animal Services & Adoption Center website. A five-day appeal period would remain in place.
“I hope we can really publicize this for owners, because that’s going to be a significant change, and we’re going to work on communication with the public safety apparatus to do that,” Jawando said.
A public hearing on the bill will be held Jan. 21. A vote has not yet been scheduled.
