NEW ORLEANS-- At Zeus' Place, the pets just keep coming.
"In the last eight months, it's overwhelming the number of people who
come in here with their pets, literally, who say, 'if you don't take it,
I'm putting it on the street,'" said Michelle Ingram, who runs the
boarding and animal rescue facility on Freret Street.
Ingram suspects the tough economic times are taking their toll on some families, who can no longer afford to keep their animals.
"I take in as many as I can, but I'm a private citizen," she said.
It is a situation that Ingram believes may get worse before it gets
better, mainly because of the state of animal control in the city. This
week, the Louisiana SPCA declined to bid on the city's animal control
contract, after failing to come to an agreement over costs with the
city. Now, the city must find a new organization to handle what the SPCA
had done for 60 years.
"We will not have animals roaming the streets or unnecessary nuisances,"
said Ann Duplessis, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for the city.
"We will continue to maintain animal control as we have over the last
three months when LA SPCA was not providing any services."
One of the ways the city maintained the animal control services was by
passing some of the responsibilities onto the New Orleans Police
Department.
"We get about two or three calls a week. We've probably relocated a dozen animals," said New Orleans Police Supt. Ronal Serpas.
In an ideal world, Supt. Serpas said the responsibility of animal
control would fall back in the hands of those who handle it best.
"We would prefer that people who are more trained, have better
equipment, resources and opportunities to be successful, do it," he
said.
One of the organizations City leaders approached was the Southern Animal
Foundation, which runs a non-profit veterinary clinic and a no-kill
rescue organization on Magazine Street.
"They approached us about possibly being interested in running animal
control," said Deanna Theis, the foundation's assistant director.
After the initial contact, though, Theis said city officials never got
back to them about it. No matter who ends up doing animal control, Theis
said, the need for it in the city remains great.
"We've had to turn some people away, we've had to refer them to other
organizations and other organizations are referring people to us," Theis
said, on calls they've received about stray or injured animals. "So,
it's becoming a vicious cycle already, but it's going to get worse
without any proper animal control facility."
Sources tell Eyewitness News that recently-created group called the
"Humane Society of New Orleans," is the leading candidate for the animal
control contract. City officials have said an official announcement of
who may get the contract could come this week.