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Animal shelter on the mend

As of Monday morning, there were 12 animals at the Tlingit Street facility run by the Humane Society Yukon, said shelter manager Amanda Farrell. Most of the animals are still coming from the city pound.
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The Mae Bachur Animal Shelter is taking in new cats and dogs.

As of Monday morning, there were 12 animals at the Tlingit Street facility run by the Humane Society Yukon, said shelter manager Amanda Farrell. Most of the animals are still coming from the city pound, but animals are being accepted from the community on a case-by-case basis, she said.

Strays are welcome, said Farrell. But owners who are putting their animals up for adoption need to make sure they are vaccinated and spayed or neutered and have proper documentation to prove it. “We’re trying to hold owners accountable,” she said Friday afternoon.

The shelter may be able to pay for vaccinations. Paying to fix animals is one of the shelter’s biggest costs, and the shelter is trying to save money, she said. It can cost around $200 to fix an animal, she said, adding that veterinarians determine the price by weight.

With six employees, the shelter can house 15 dogs and 10 cats. Full capacity would be 20 dogs and 18 cats, said Farrell.

That’s a big drop from November when over 60 animals were at the shelter. At that time, monthly expenses were a minimum of $29,000. The board laid off staff to save money, and the shelter stopped accepting animals from the community. Now, monthly expenses run about $10,000, society president Seann Springford said Friday.

The organization continues to owe between $50,000 and $60,000, he said.

The territorial government is still holding back nearly $40,000 in funding for the society until the humane society has good standing again. It still needs to submit reviewed financial statements until the end of September.

Right now, the board has reviewed statements up to March 31, 2012. Its accounting firm won’t be able to compete the job until mid-February, said Springford. Then the society will need to hold a special meeting to approve the statements.

Once the society has good standing, it can receive its bingo license again – an important key to fundraising cash.

In the meantime, shelter staff are selling ribbons to raise money. A fundraising committee has been created, and the society plans to raise money at Rendezvous next month, said Springford.

Contact Meagan Gillmore at mgillmore@yukon-news.com