Stray dogs to cost Paris taxpayers more

PARIS — The closure of the Allen Hill Animal Shelter in Oxford is likely to cost Paris taxpayers about $10,000 per year, Town Manager Phil Tarr told selectmen on Monday.

"Animal control costs are going up," said Tarr. "I'm gonna make adjustments in the budget for Thursday night this week to compensate for that."

Currently, the town spends about $6,000 per year on animal control, but Tarr projects that new costs could be closer to $16,000.

The news comes in the midst of an effort by the budget committee to create a flat budget, with no net increase over last year.

The cost to send dogs to Allen Hill has been a flat rate of $400 a year, an amount that Tarr said was so cheap as to be "unrealistic" for the shelter, but very "reasonable" for the town.

Tarr said that the town will likley use the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society in Lewiston, which assesses the town $1.32 per person.

"That in itself is in the mid-sixes," said Tarr. "The total cost now is up to around 15 or 16,000."

Travel expenses for Animal Control Officer Bob Larrabee will also begin to enter the picture.

"Now there's a mileage factor that Mr. Larrabee never charged us before," said Tarr. "That would be 51 cents a mile, and it's approximately a 50-mile round trip."

Selectman Lloyd Herrick questioned the basis of the mileage rate, but it was determined to be the federal rate.

Tarr said that the costs sometimes go beyond the transport and shelter of a dog. "Occasionally we have to pay for euthanization and sometimes we have to pay for inoculations and those types of things," said Tarr.

Staff members in the town office said that the town typically ends up being responsible for approximately 50 dogs per year, which would lead to a net cost of about $300 per animal under the new arrangement.

The shelter is closing for a variety of reasons, including new regulations and difficulties in maintaining facilities for the dogs.

The Allen Hill Animal Shelter typically only housed approximately 10 dogs at a time. The majority of animals brought there were reclaimed soon afterwards by their owners. The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society accepts more than 5,000 animals per year, including cats, rabbits, and other small animals.

The company says that pet overpopulation is often caused by a failure to spay and neuter existing animals. The shelter helps to combat that problem by offering assistance.