SM Shelter’s Future Unsure

Animal advocates charge county is turning a blind eye to growing
animal services demands in area
By Tony Burchyns Staff Writer

Morgan Hill – While the airport next door appears to be expanding – 100 new hangers were recently added – the San Martin Animal Shelter is staying put, for now. 

But questions continue to mount over the shelter’s long-term future, which has been in doubt since 2002 when the Santa Clara County Airports Commission proposed allowing corporate jet traffic access to the South County Airport.

The proposal includes building a longer runway that could force the old county-run animal shelter to relocate or – some fear – vanish altogether.

With that scenario in mind, some animal lovers are wondering why the county has not put in place contingency plans for building a new facility somewhere else to meet South County’s animal control needs, particularly after the county spent $95,000 on the Animal Needs Assessment study in 2004 that recommended expanding the shelter.

“It would be reassuring if (county officials) would once in a while address that issue,” said Elaine Jelsema, a former volunteer at the shelter. “But we have heard absolutely nothing.”

Jelsema and others are concerned that the county might be turning a blind eye on the community’s needs. While there are five animal shelters serving the county’s unincorporated areas, the San Martin outpost is the only one south of San Jose. It provides referrals for low-cost veterinary services, including spaying and neutering, as well as pet adoption for resident animals. And unlike the other county-funded pet clinics, the San Martin location is equipped to treat horses and livestock. 

The 2004 assessment study suggested enlarging the facility to meet population projections by 2025. But so far, county officials are holding off on that recommendation because the nearby airport may also be pushing for more room. But no one seems to know when. The county first needs to fund an environmental study that could takes years to complete.

“It’s going to be five or 10 years before that runway expands,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage.

The air of uncertainty – and lack of capital funds during a crippling county budget crisis – have prompted the county to stick with the status quo. 

Greg Van Wassenhove, the county’s agricultural commissioner, said airport expansion is not imminent. Also, he said the current size of the San Martin animal shelter is adequate. He downplayed the need to build a $7.2 million facility as suggested by the county’s study.

“The size of the shelter is certainly serving the needs of the unincorporated area,” he said.

A bigger facility would be nice, he added, but the county’s $160-million deficit dampers wishful thinking. 

According to the county’s Animal Control Program, about 71 percent of dogs and puppies that entered the shelter during the first nine months of 2006 were adopted or retrieved by owners within their first 30 days of residency. For cats and kittens, that rate was about 74 percent. Animals that aren’t brought home are eventually euthanized to make room for more occupants.

“With a 30 percent kill rate for dogs, I can’t see how that can be a positive statistic,” Jelsema said. “God help them if the shelter is overcrowded.”

While the idea to build a new shelter has had little effect, so too has a recent scheme to add a 24-hour emergency pet clinic to the existing facility. Van Wassenhove got approval from the Board of Supervisors in March to solicit proposals from veterinarians to operate an all-night county modular unit at the shelter, but after sending out more than 700 requests, only one person called for an interview. She later canceled. 

“It was very discouraging, running contrary to what we expected,” said Rachael Gibson, a policy aid for Gage. “I don’t know where we will go from here.”

Van Wassenhove said he may reexamine the plan before making a full report to the board. Meanwhile, the nearest veterinary service with graveyard shifts is the Emergency Animal Clinic in San Jose.