VINCENNES, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– Like many shelters across the country, the Vincennes Animal Shelter has been near capacity for much of 2023.
“We have stayed right near capacity near the entire year,” Leah Reagan, the director for the organization said, “during COVID our numbers were down because everybody wanted a pet at home with them. Now, it seems we’re falling right in line with the national average of shelters running at full capacity.”
This week, the city’s Board of Works is taking steps to support the organization. On Monday, the board approved two agreements to increase fees from $100 to $250 when the shelter takes in dogs from outside Vincennes city limits.
The agreements go for Knox County and the city of Bicknell. Mark Hill is on the Board of Works, and he said this was a needed change.
“The main thing we approved was an increase in the amount of money that the county and the city of Bicknell pay for dogs that they bring to our animal shelter. They don’t really have their own shelters, so they use ours, and what we have found here in the recent past is that the cost and care of sheltered animals has gone up significantly,” he said.
Reagan said the previous amount caused the organization to lose money– as many dogs they took in needed additional vaccines and treatment, and those costs can build up quickly.
“Veterinarian costs have increased, every year they creep up a little bit more and a little bit more. The medical supplies get more expensive, just the cost of maintaining the animals increases,” she said.
Those extra dollars will add up overtime, and Reagan hopes they will help the shelter beyond caring for the pets.
“We need additional staff to help care for all these animals, so getting the income to help fund that is huge for us,” Reagan said.
