Is New London Needlessly Killing Dogs?

About a year ago when New London animal control officials considered euthanizing 10 pit bull dogs confiscated in a drug raid, there was such a hue and cry among animal activists that the city quickly backed down and instead found homes for most of the dogs.

The backlash from that situation also saw the City Council promising a review of municipal rules governing euthanization of animals in custody at the Bates Woods pound and then-Mayor Robert M. Pero said the city would develop a written policy on how to handle seized dogs.

But a new policy was never developed and in the last 13 months New London has euthanized 59 animals, 34 of them dogs. Of those, 25 were pit bulls or pit bull mixes.

In December alone animal control officials put down eight dogs, seven of them pit bulls. One of the pit bulls was an 11-month-old puppy. The pound can accommodate up to 14 dogs at one time.

A review of the city’s animal control records for the past year shows that it euthanized a larger percentage of animals than three of its neighbors in the region, Groton, Waterford and Norwich. Records also show that New London euthanized more animals than it adopted out.  All three of the other towns have higher rates of adoption than New London, the documents show (see chart at end of story).

City Councilor Michael Buscetto III, who chairs the council’s public safety committee and is a candidate for mayor, said his committee did not recommend adopting a new policy because the city's attorney, Thomas Londregan, advised against doing so.

Londregan said he recommended against a new policy because the one that was being considered at the time would have seen the city giving up some of its control of the pound to outside animal-rights groups. Some groups, he said, wanted to take a more proactive position on allowing the adoption of dogs that local animal control officials might deem hazardous because they are vicious or bite. That, Londregan said, could have put the city at risk of a lawsuit if such dogs were adopted.

"They wanted a special rule for rottweillers and pit bulls," Londregan said. "Presently, we evaluate all dogs regardless of breed. They're evaluated by our employees, not some outside agency." 

When determining how long to hold an animal, police follow the state law on euthanization, which requires towns to advertise the found animal and then wait at least 7 days from when that ad runs before it can euthanize, said police Sgt. Gregory Moreau.

New London’s pound records indicate that animal control officials often wait at least twice as long before putting an animal down.

Pero, who serves on the City Council and is also running for mayor, expressed concern about the city’s euthanization rate and said he’s not sure why the council never followed through on a new policy in the wake of the December 2009 pit bull uproar.

He said the council’s public safety committee held at least one meeting on the issue, but never forwarded information about a new policy to the full council for action.

“There was no follow-up back from the committee,” he said.

The council, he added, should review the issue and determine if police and animal control officials are doing enough to save animals that it takes in, particularly dogs.

“That should certainly be the goal of any pound,” he said.

Groton: 50 percent adoption rate

During the 13-month period between January of 2010 and January of 2011, New London took in 243 animals, most of them stray dogs and cats. It euthanized 59 of those and adopted out 49, an adoption rate of about 20 percent, compared to a euthanization rate of nearly 25 percent.

By comparison, Groton, where animal control officers pride themselves on a robust adoption program, took in 550 animals in the same time period and euthanized 54, 16 of those dogs. It adopted out 261 animals, a nearly 50 percent adoption rate compared to a euthanization rate of less than 10 percent.

Donna Duso, Groton’s animal control officer, said her town works diligently with local animal groups to assure that the homeless dogs and cats her pound takes in find good, permanent homes.

“I really take adoption seriously because I want it to work for the family and for the dog,” she said.

She won’t adopt out animals that are determined to have serious behavior problems, such as biting or other signs of viciousness, and some animals must be put down because they are very ill or injured. But the Groton pound also will not euthanize an animal if it needs medical treatment, is old or just takes longer to find a home.

“There is no reason, in this day and age, to euthanize for old age or a medical issue,” she said.  “Sometimes, you just have to wait for the right person to walk through the door. It just breaks my heart to know that some animals are being euthanized for no good reason.”

Chris Lamb, who heads up Connecticut Animal House in Waterford, a rescue league that works with local pounds to find homes for abandoned and stray animals, agreed.

Lamb, who is also an assistant ACO in Ledyard, said municipal pounds that work closely with outside groups like hers can help boost adoptions. One recent success story she had was with New London. Animal control officials there kept for several weeks two older cocker spaniel dogs, Hannah and Jeffrey, who were abandoned near the pound. Both were seriously ill and needed medical assistance. Lamb raised $7,000 so both could undergo surgeries and today they are healthy and ready to be adopted, she said.

“These were nice dogs … but they were never going to get adopted until their medical issues were cleared up,” she said.

That kind of fundraising, she said, is what an outside group can do for local pounds.

The goal of her nonprofit, Lamb said, “is to end the euthanization of adoptable animals in Connecticut.”

New London-Waterford pound merger

While some pounds, like New London’s, take in more pit bulls than others and are not large enough to accommodate the high numbers of animals that can come through sometimes, that’s where outside animal groups can be called in to help, Duso said.

“They should be reaching out for help from private groups. If they don’t, they’re isolating themselves,” she said. In the December 2009 pit bull seizure, a few outside agencies helped the city place the dogs.

New London has begun talks with Waterford on the possibility of a regional dog pound. One of the issues that must be addressed in such a plan, however, is the differing philosophy the two towns have on animal control, such as euthanasia, Waterford First Selectman Dan Steward said.

His pound, which currently shares services with East Lyme, does all it can to avoid euthanizing animals and places a high priority on adoption.

Last year Waterford took in 272 animals and euthanized 36 of those. However, a large proportion of those euthanized were sick or injured wild animals, state animal control records show.

Of those animals euthanized in Waterford over the past year, only six were dogs. The town adopted out 56 dogs and cats last year.