The recent lawsuit filed against Baltimore County shows that the movement for change at Baltimore County Animal Services is gaining momentum ("Residents sue Baltimore County over animal shelter conditions," Jan. 2).
However, politicians keep resisting the community's efforts at reform. Several local shelters — including the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care shelter, the Maryland SPCA and the Baltimore Humane Society have joined forces to promote lifesaving approaches to the homeless pet situation.
The Baltimore County Animal Shelter did not join the group. Recently, the county began accepting applications for a new chief of animal services. One of the applicants was Jen Swanson, the executive director of the Baltimore Humane Society. But then the county canceled all interviews and postponed the hiring process.
Under Ms. Swanson's leadership, the BHS saves about 97 percent of the animals that enter its shelter. By contrast, BCAS kills most of the animals that enter the county shelter.
The county says that is because it cannot turn away animals (it is an "open admission" shelter) and that the animals it receives are deformed and unwanted. But other open admission shelters in Maryland succeed where Baltimore County fails.
For example, the Baltimore City shelter saves almost 80 percent of the animals it takes in and Allegany County's save rate is more than 90 percent. The difference is not the kind of animals they take in but the their attitude toward the lives of those animals.
The county's decision to postpone the hiring process seems curious. Without new direction, the conditions at BCAS will not change even after a new shelter is built.
Jane Speer, Lutherville