Porter County animal shelter in ‘state of emergency’

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Updated: December 24, 2011 8:15AM

VALPARAISO — The fate of the Porter County Animal Shelter — riddled with concerns about theft, the loss of a new director after only 90 days at the helm and a parvo virus outbreak that shut the facility down last week — was the main topic of discussion at Tuesday’s Porter County Council meeting.

Porter County Commission President John Evans, R-North, approached the council about the shelter, since it falls under the commission’s responsibility.

That sparked impassioned pleas over conditions at the shelter, discussion over what would happen if the council cut off funding, and interest in a public/private partnership for the facility.

Funding for the shelter never changed after it became a no-kill facility three years ago and the cost of caring for the animals increased, Evans said.

“Just give us a little time and hopefully, we can deliver a quality product,” he said.

Noting that the shelter is in a “state of emergency,” Council President Dan Whitten, D-At-large, asked for an emergency meeting between the council and all of the shelter’s stakeholders, including a recently formed Animal Shelter Advisory Board, to talk about the facility.

“The end may be that we get out of the business, but we need a contingency,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s disastrous for the animals.”

Whitten said he could understand if council members wouldn’t feel comfortable coming to the meeting, since the shelter has become a political hot potato and a no-win situation.

“What’s happening there is atrocious and shocks the senses,” he said.

Councilman Jim Biggs, R-1st, said money has come up missing from the shelter three times this year, most recently last month.

“As a county council, we’re not going to continue throwing good money after bad,” he said, adding if he had his way, he’d give the shelter 30 days to fix its problems, then shut it down if that didn’t happen.

Councilwoman Karen Conover, R-3rd, said she’s talked with both council members and commissioners about a private/public partnership for the shelter, but the facility has immediate needs that must be addressed.

Councilman Jeremy Rivas, D-2nd, agreed.

“Regardless of whether we want a public/private partnership, we’ve got to get this thing out of the hole it’s in,” he said.