Why Does Bowie Need A Shelter?

Posted on September 10, 2009 by Bowie Claw No Comments

Bowie CLAW advocates the creation of a small, local “holding shelter,” not a large, long-term (full-scale) facility like the Prince George’s County facility in Upper Marlboro. The aim is to establish a small facility in Bowie equipped to hold animals a short period of time (a few days). This would benefit Bowie citizens because:

• More than 50% of Bowie households have pets (cat or dog). A small, local facility allows more time for citizens who have lost their pets to locate and retrieve them. Legally, the County has the discretion to hold a lost pet for 3 to 5 business days. If an individual is out of town on business, or a family is out of town, for example, on a long (week or more) vacation, 5 days could pass between the time the individual or the family leaves and returns.
• A small holding facility in Bowie would provide a convenience to residents. From Allen Pond, which is on side of Bowie closest to the PG facility, it still takes nearly 30 minutes to get there. For senior residents, this is a long trip – and many of them don’t even drive. If citizens subscribe to the Bowie Pet Alert, they are notified immediately and could easily get their pet home safely.
• A small facility also would prevent lost pets from being exposed to potential and some life threatening diseases (such as kennel cough or upper respiratory problems, Parvo virus, and/or Leukemia in cats) and reduce the stress of being placed in a large facility (such as County’s) with so many other stressed and sometimes sick animals.

For animals whose owners cannot be located, the facility also would have these benefits:

• It would give CLAW and other animal welfare groups more time to identify potential rescue groups and foster homes for the stray pet.
• By having more time to place the pet, we will reduce the number of animals that County must care for. This gives the animals at County and the stray pets found in Bowie an additional opportunity for a long and healthy life.

CLAW has explored several other options, including space with local vets, kennels, and foster homes. But the reality is, without a holding place, your lost pet ends up with every other lost pet and stray in the County. Local veterinarians cannot hold these pets because of liability and cost. Further, a foster program cannot legally be established until we have a place to hold the pet for a few days for “observation.” A small, short-term holding shelter is the only answer.

Many people have contacted us for assistance in placing animals and advocating for other animal welfare causes. Although CLAW would love to assist and be involved in many of these efforts, at this point in time the mission that our members came out to support is the establishment of a shelter. Ideally, in the near future, CLAW can be involved in many activities (education, microchipping, etc.) as we work toward advocating for the health and welfare of our pets. But our first step is to see to the establishment of a small shelter. Once we have a central location in Bowie for our lost and stray pets, these other worthy ideas will grow organically.

If you have any questions or want to be involved in our efforts, please contact us via our website, www.BowieCLAW.org, email us a BowieCLAW@gmail.com. Again, we welcome your questions and your support!