Animal shelter fees to increase

untitled-(3-of-4)Drop off fees and adoption fees at the Kansas City animal shelter would go up under an ordinance before the city council.

The council public safety committee recommended approval today and sent the matter to the full council, which will vote on it next week.

The higher fees will help close a revenue shortfall and put the shelter on a level playing field with others in the metropolitan area, said Brent Toellner, board president of the shelter operator, Kansas City Pet Project.

The higher fees will discourage people from other areas dropping off pets there, he said, and the shelter will still not be making profits.

Because of vaccinations and other costs, he said, “we’re losing money on every animal that comes in the door – it’s just a matter of how much.”

The fees would go from $10 to $20 for animals dropped off, from $25 to $35 for those dropped off for euthanasia and from $25 to $50 for animals dropped off by commercial animal control companies.

Adoption fees will go from $65 to up to $120 for cats and from $100 to $300 maximum for dogs.

Toellner said that in practice adoption fees vary according to crowding at the shelter and other factors.

Cats are seasonal, with many litters of kittens in the summer, and generally go for $25 with the most for a cat ever probably being about $100, he said.

Rare breeds of dogs or purebreds can be in high demand and could bring up to $300, he said.

People can get competitive over the animals, he said. “We’ve even had fistfights when we had to call police.”

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