The Putnam County Animal Shelter approved raising puppy and kitten adoption fees as well as spay and neuter fees in the new fiscal year.
Shelter Director Jennifer Tracy spoke with the Animal Control Board Thursday regarding escalating operational costs. The shelter’s proposed budget shows a $5,800 deficit.
Tracy said the shelter faces increasing costs for everything from medicine and general supplies to cat and dog food. She said the shelter’s spay and neuter costs trend above the fees they charge to adopters, and euthanasia generates no income.
Tracy said the lulls in animal intakes during the COVID years have ended. Intakes of 2,517 for 2022 exceeded pre-COVID numbers.
Cookeville Finance Director Brenda Imel said the current fiscal year budget was projected at a loss of over a thousand dollars. That projection was updated with a surplus of over $45,000 due to interest from a 1.2 million bequest.
“So next year’s budget does have a deficit of $5,800,” Imel said. “That’s with us requesting additional contributions from the various governments. Also this budget does include proposed increases in adoption fees and spay and neuter deposit fees.”
Imel said they would be using reserves to cover that deficit if needed.
Tracy said one of the big headaches for the shelter was the closing of the Humane Society spay and neuter clinic.
“In that period last year we had zero animals born in the shelter,” Tracy said. “This year we had 51. And that’s January through April 1st. Nursing moms has doubled. The ones coming in pregnant from two to fourteen.”
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