Now that the city of Fresno has struck a tentative deal with the S.P.C.A., some Fresno County supervisors say they'll create their own model in regards to animal control.
October 1st is when the S.P.C.A. said it would stop rounding up strays, so the three agencies had been collaborating on a solution. But on Thursday, the city separated itself from the county announcing it's close to locking up an exclusive 6-month extension with the S.P.C.A.
The city blindsided the county with its decision, however, supervisors Henry Perea and Debbie Poochigian tell CBS47 they're not mad. Instead, they're focused on moving in a different direction.
Fresno County Supervisor Henry Perea is baffled the S.P.C.A. and city of Fresno are once again considering a partnership for animal control services.
“We’re kind of scratching our heads considering this whole situation started with a dispute between the city and SPCA,” said Henry Perea, Fresno Co. Supervisor.
Beth Caffrey of the S.P.C.A. says many questions remain, but details should get ironed out during a meeting next week.
“It does seem very optimistic at this point,” said Beth Caffrey, of the Central California S.P.C.A.
A big priority is prevention. The S.P.C.A. wants the city's help spaying and neutering more animals to lessen the need for shelter space.
“We think it's really important that this is a collaborative effort between everyone and there can be some really great results coming from it,” said Caffrey.
The S.P.C.A. is willing to speak with the county as well, but perea says the situation has become too wishy- washy. He's looking forward to creating a new model that steers away from killing animals.
“The key to our new interim program is going to be working with all of the rescue groups to save animals and place them in homes,” said Perea.
A large tent will be setup in the parking lot of the old morgue to house pets and Liberty Animal Control Services out of Tulare County will be contracted in.
“Bottom line is animals in this county will be cared for and we'll move forward with a long term solution,” said Perea.
Voters will have to approve that solution two years from now. The county wants to put forth a measure like the zoo did to raise money to build a state of the art facility.
