Anne Arundel County animal control officials are proposing replacing the cramped, outdated animal shelter in Glen Burnie with a $2 million shelter in Millersville.
The lack of space in Glen Burnie makes operations difficult for the 30 employees, according to Tahira Williams, animal control administrator.
The space limitations also pose health hazards to the animals and to shelter visitors. There are no isolation rooms to separate sick animals, nor are there quarantine rooms to keep animals suspected of biting people.
"The main problem we have is inadequate kennel space," Ms. Williams told the planning advisory board last week. The seven-member panel makes recommendations to the county executive on capital projects.
"We have to put two or three cats in a cage who are not familiar with each other," Ms. Williams said. "They fight. They get sick."
Occasionally, cats have to be kept in the same room as dogs. "The constant barking causes stress to the cats," she said.
Ms. Williams added that people looking for a lost pet or to adopt have access to the cages and can be exposed to rabies because there is no separate quarantine area.
"[People] stick their fingers in the cages, the children do that, and they're exposed," she said.
People have been scratched, but there have been no major biting incidents and no lawsuits, said Victor Sulin, assistant director of the county's department of Planning and Code Enforcement.
In a letter supporting the proposal for a new shelter, Dr. Larry M. Richman, who operates a spaying and neutering clinic at the Glen Burnie shelter, noted that substandard conditions have caused periodic outbreaks of disease among the animals. These diseases included upper respiratory infections in cats and parvovirus, coronavirus and tracheobronchitis in dogs.
"The staff works tirelessly to maintain sanitation and disinfection, but their efforts are often negated by the lack of isolation space and inadequate ventilation," he wrote.
Animal control officials are eyeing a piece of county-owned property next to fire headquarters in Millersville for a 15,000-square-foot shelter. The 7,600-square-foot Glen Burnie shelter was built in 1964 and had an addition put on in the mid-1980s.
The Millersville location would be more convenient for south county residents, who make about a third of the annual calls for animal control service.
"It takes 45 minutes, sometimes longer, to get down to the southern part of the area if there's an emergency situation," Ms. Williams said.
In addition to the larger kennel space with isolation and quarantine rooms, the new shelter would have a spay/neuter clinic, a check-in room and office space. A glass barrier would allow people to look at the animals without touching them.
Mr. Sulin said people whose pets end up in the shelter have VTC complained about the conditions.
"Keep in mind these are people's pets," he said. "They're quite upset when [their pets] are not treated like they think they should be."
The county initially wanted to renovate the Glen Burnie shelter, but officials changed their minds and opted for a new building when they saw how much work was needed, Mr. Sulin said.
If the County Council approves the budget request in May, a new animal shelter could be open in Millersville by late 1997, he said.