A pipe recently burst in a bathroom on the second story of a stone cottage in Baltimore County?s Baldwin community.
In a garage in the back, a washing machine shakes violently with each cycle, and winter months require portable heaters to keep warm.
After a recent tour of the home, which serves as the county?s animal-control headquarters, Councilman Vince Gardina said he was shocked by the “piecemeal facility” that houses hundreds of dogs, cats, goats, even an albino python, and is calling on other lawmakers to support funds for a new building.
“The animals are kept as clean and neatly and as humanely as possible,” said Gardina, D-5th District. “But it?s old and run-down and completely inadequate.”
The county has operated the facility off Manor Road since the property was purchased in 1980, when the county?s population was significantly smaller, Gardina said.
In each of the past four years, the shelter has handled around 60,000 calls and 17,000 complaints. With new legislation imposing hefty fines on owners of dogs and cats who fail to register their pets, Gardina said the shelter will be busier than ever.
Animal-control director Charlotte Crenson-Murrow jokingly described the facility as “shabby chic.” Recent improvements, she said, include new kennel cages, a new barn roof and new kennel ceiling.
Some of the “leftovers” from the shelter?s former residential use are perks, she said, like garage doors that give indoor animals fresh air.
“Yes, we?re going to need a new shelter, but it?s not going to happen overnight,” she said. “So we do whatever we can to make it livable and comfortable for the animals.”
But funding for a new facility next year does not appear likely, lawmakers said.Through a spokeswoman, County Executive Jim Smith said he “appreciates” Gardina?s input, but said capital improvements will have to be highly prioritized next year.
“This will be an extremely lean budget year,” said spokeswoman Marjorie Hampson. “In lights of the cuts at the state level, the coming year will be difficult for local governments.”
