BTAA continues to help lost and stray dogs

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

Two months after Bonner County and the cities of Sandpoint and Ponderay allowed their contracts with Better Together Animal Alliance to expire — ending their 30-year partnerships with the nonprofit shelter — BTAA continues to care for the municipalities’ stray, lost and abused dogs without financial compensation.

The change occurred after BTAA presented its newest contracts in March, which included increased budgeting requests to accommodate rising expenses in maintenance, utilities and veterinary medicine, among other factors.

“On our old system, we weren’t taking into account that — similar to an emergency room — whether a patient comes in or not, you still have to have nurses and doctors there, and you still have to have a building that’s ready for all of that, so the jurisdictions weren’t covering any of that cost,” BTAA Executive Director Mandy Evans told the Reader.

The proposed billing model would have cost the county — which accounted for 65% of the 406 dogs that entered BTAA in 2023 — $169,913 annually, Sandpoint $65,773 and Ponderay $19,184. The shelter proposed several payment plans to give the municipalities time to adjust their budgets; but, for Ponderay alone, it would still have meant a 1,818.4% increase from the 2023-’24 budget year, according to Ponderay Police Chief Jimmy Cornelius.

“The BTAA is a Private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advertises ‘no tax support.’ While I strongly support the BTAA’s strong commitment to the animals in need in our community, I cannot, and will not, recommend that these endeavors be paid for by the taxpayers of the community,” Cornelius wrote in an emailed statement.

BTAA employees scan a dog for a microchip. Courtesy photo.

BTAA worked with Sandpoint to whittle down various expenses, reducing costs to approximately $27,000 annually. Still, the Sandpoint City Council maintained that with the cost of repairing the city’s aging roads and sewer system, among other considerations, there simply wasn’t enough money in the budget.

Each municipality now has its own method of dealing with stray and lost dogs.

The Bonner County Sheriff’s Department will no longer respond to calls regarding found animals outside of city limits and will not pick up any dogs found while on patrol.

Conversely, the PPD will pick up strays found while on patrol and attempt to locate the owners “for a few hours” before taking the animals to Companions Animal Center in Hayden, according to a recent news release. The department will also post photos of the dogs on its Facebook page and website, ponderaypd.org. PPD will no longer accept dogs found by the public.

“While I appreciate BTAA’s desire to provide free or reduced-cost services, I personally feel that much of America has lost touch with the ideal of personal responsibility,” Cornelius wrote. “I believe that the costs of pet ownership should be the responsibility of the pet owner. It should not be subsidized by the taxpayers who may or may not have their own pets.”

PPD has also taken a proactive approach to reuniting pets and families by enacting a free dog tag program. Each tag has the department’s phone number and a tag number, allowing officers to look up the owner’s name, address and phone number. The public can pick up tags at the department (476770 U.S.-95, Ponderay), Ponderay City Hall (288 Fourth St.) or from Ponderay officers.

The Sandpoint Police Department has taken a similar approach by encouraging the public to license their dogs, creating a database for all law enforcement to refer to when a call comes in about a found dog.

“Most of the dogs in our city aren’t strays, they’re just lost,” said SPPD Chief Corey Coon.

The city of Sandpoint is working on updating its website (sandpointidaho.gov/police), adding a page under the “Forms” tab where people can submit their name, address and a photo of their dog to apply for a free license. Until then, the public can call SPD at 208-265-1482 or visit the office at 1123 W. Lake St. to register their animals.

“You can call a community resource officer and they’ll come out to your house in town with the form. That’s how important it is for us to get this done,” said Coon.

Patrolling officers will not pick up wandering dogs unless they appear to be in distress — whether they’re limping, malnourished or simply behaving oddly. The city will take these dogs into their possession and transfer them to a professional care facility, where they’ll receive medical treatment. The dogs will be transferred to a shelter if SPD cannot locate the owners within five days.

Anyone who picks up a dog in Sandpoint assumes “partial ownership” of the animal and can hold it for five days —  if possible — before surrendering it to a shelter, according to Coon. Officers will not collect the dog but will come out to help find the owner by scanning for chips and comparing the dog to photos in their database.

Though BTAA no longer receives compensation from the municipalities, it continues to accept stray dogs; however, the shelter cannot support the financial burden indefinitely. The public has brought in eight dogs since the contracts expired in September.

“Right now our position is, if people bring us a stray dog, we ask them to foster it. If they can’t, then we’re going to bring it in because I just don’t know what else we can do,” said Evans.

“It’s hard. People expect so much of us as a nonprofit — to be able to meet all of the demands and take care of everybody — and we’re also supposed to have enough money to do it,” she added.

According to Evans, BTAA’s insurance premiums have nearly doubled, costing the organization approximately $30,000 annually. That’s still less than the price of managing more than 100 animals’ waste, which results in a garbage bill of $50,000.

“The cost of veterinary medicine has gone up 60% in the last decade — it far exceeded inflation — and we are completely and closely tied to veterinary medicine,” said Evans.

“I just need the community to understand that we’re doing our best,” she added.

This past year, the nonprofit has already had to cut back on its workforce and dip into restricted funds to remain operational. BTAA has saved a small amount of money since it’s no longer required to take in all found dogs; however, those funds have been reallocated to the organization’s other programs.

In addition to their work with stray and lost dogs, BTAA offers free vaccines and microchips, provides emergency medical care, cares for and rehomes surrendered animals, and allows families to keep their pets by helping to pay for food and medical care. According to Evans, assisting with veterinary bills costs BTAA an average of $1,500 per week.

“People don’t think that we’re helping animals anymore. I have 106 animals in my shelter right now. I haven’t seen the length of stay that we’re experiencing right now since I first started with the organization almost 14 years ago,” said Evans.

“We are in a place of really wanting to help,” she added. “The community has to contact their local officials if they don’t like the way that they’ve decided to handle strays. We really need them to be vocal. We’re absolutely willing to talk to the cities and the county and see how we can work together, but they have to want to have those conversations.”

If you find a stray or lost dog, check it for an ID tag or microchip at one of the scanning locations listed on bettertogetheranimalalliance.org. Next, post pictures of the dog on social media and Petco Love Lost and text “STRAY” to 8883-LOV-BTAA for information on lost and found pets.

If possible, care for the dog while locating its owners and visit BTAA (870 Kootenai Cutoff Road) for supplies, if needed. If you find a sick or injured dog, call BTAA at 208-265-7297.

To keep your pets safe, ensure all animals wear collars with ID tags when outside. Visit BTAA Fridays from noon to 2 p.m. for the free microchip clinic, or stop by anytime for a free QR code ID tag. Finally, create a pet profile on Petco Love Lost, which uses facial and body recognition software to find photos of missing pets online.

For more information, visit bettertogetheranimalalliance.org.