As a result of the pandemic pets, the way strays are handled in Independence has changed.
INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (KCRG) – The pandemic has caused a ripple effect in Independence, which has resulted in a change in how the city handles stray animals.
The Police Department used to work with Independence Family Animal Care to take in stray animals. The clinic's contract with the police department expired at the end of last year.
They claimed that because so many individuals obtained pets during the pandemic, they no longer have place for stray animals.
Our boarding facilities are a lot busier than they used to be because of the increase in people getting pets, Bailey Dudley, the clinic's manager, said.
The process of upgrading the clinic's license "raised some ideas," Bailey acknowledged.
Should we be putting pets where we don't know if they've been vaccinated or what their health history is, should we be putting them next to the ones we do know? Bailey wondered.
Independence Police Chief David Niedert said the department considered other choices, but this was the one that officials decided made the most sense in the end.
We looked at other options, Niedert said, but Cedar Bend Humane Society had been taking the majority, if not all, of our unclaimed strays prior, so it seemed like a logical fit.
According to Chief Niedert, the city sees roughly two stray dogs per month on average.
Independence Police Chief David Niedert said the department considered other choices, but this was the one that officials decided made the most sense in the end.
We looked at other options, Niedert said, but Cedar Bend Humane Society had been taking the majority, if not all, of our unclaimed strays prior, so it seemed like a logical fit.
According to Chief Niedert, the city sees roughly two stray dogs per month on average.
Officers began constructing a pound in a wash bay at the back of a Street Department building after the clinic informed them that their contract was coming to an end.
Animals will now stay there for a night or two before being picked up by the Cedar Bend Humane Society in Waterloo.
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