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Cash-Strapped NYC Will No Longer Look For Lost Pets

Animal Care & Control Will Not Search Its Facilities

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Dog on a leash

Dog (credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

Updated: Nov. 13 11:20 a.m.

NEW YORK (CBS 2) — Budget cuts are putting your pets at greater risk if they are lost in New York City.

Animal Care and Control will no longer take reports of lost pets, and staffers at shelters will no longer search the facilities for missing animals.

Animal shelter volunteer Laurie Daniels takes care of “Misty,” a stray dog brought in as a stray two days ago.

It’s possible this affectionate canine is loved by an owner desperately looking for her.

But now, in our city with its thousands of lost dogs and cats, getting them back to their homes just got harder.

“There’s a very good chance if their pet is lost they wont be able to find them,” said Jane Hoffman, president of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals.

The budget for Animal Care and Control was slashed by $1.5 million in the past two years, and now a change in policy:

Staffers will no longer accept reports of lost and found pets.

“They have homes and who knows? They may be destroyed in a matter of days and that is tragic,” said Jessica Mawhirt of Battery Park City.

Frantic owners used to call Animal Care and Control directly to have city workers search the three main facilities, but that’s no longer part of the workers’ job description.

As a result of these budget cuts the owners of lost pets must come to city shelters in person, including one in Manhattan, and the others in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

The Department of Health, which oversees Animal Care and Control, said there is one exception:

“Animal Care and Control will continue to perform searches for disabled people who cannot physically come to the shelters to search for their lost pets,” the department said in a statement.

While the Animal Care and Control Web site continues to be updated, Hoffman showed Carlin many of the listings that have no photos and those with images can be difficult to make out.

Hoffman said now, more than ever, all owners must license, microchip and keep collars with IDs on their animals at all times. With those identifying clues, Animal Care and Control will still try to get your pet home.

Without them, you’re likely on your own.

Hoffman said, by law, an unclaimed animal can be adopted out or euthanized after as little as 48 hours, although it usually takes longer than that.

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    [...] difficult to say how many stray cats are on the streets of the city, but the shelters collect thousands each [...]

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    [...] New York will no longer look for lost pets at their own shelters? Posted on July 24, 2011 by Adrian Meli var addthis_product = 'wpp-258'; var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};Surely, this is a step in the wrong direction. New York is so cash strapped that the public shelters will no longer take calls from pet owners looking for their lost pets. Incredibly disturbing, see here: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/11/12/cash-strapped-nyc-will-no-longer-look-for-lost-pets/ [...]

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  • dianne

    the CACC is in a financial mess !! the city slashed its budget to ribbons. Everybody gives their money to the aspca with their sappy commercials and tug at the heart strings. Nobody gives to the CACC cause they kill animals hellllllo ASPCA sends their unwanted there to do the dirty work. they take in hundreds of animals no money , no food , no care what are they to do???? instead of everybody who thinks they know the answers volunteer there for a day or give a donation and maybe one day they can go no kill. food , vet care supplies and people to take care of them costs alot of money!

  • http://yesbiscuit.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/very-good-chance-nycs-lost-pets-are-doomed/ “Very Good Chance” NYC’s Lost Pets are Doomed « YesBiscuit!

    [...] blaming “budget cuts”, AC & C has announced they won’t be looking in the city’s 3 shelters for lost pets anymore when worried owners call: Frantic owners used [...]

  • Matt

    These failures are partners with the multi-millionaire ASPCA. Need I say more?

  • Erik4

    Jane Hoffman sounds like another cold,heartless Bloomberg employee.Bloomberg always hires the coldest people for positions that deal with lives.Wether it is the homeless head Seth Diamond having the pets of homeless people taken away on Christmas day,or Jane Hoffman talking about the within-48-hours killing of loved pets like its nothing.

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  • skippy777

    pets today; humans tomorrow

    • Deb Sanford

      Instead of spending all the money on killing stray animals put it into finding them homes or their lost owners. What an ass backward state we live in. Do you people enjoy killing?????

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    california and new york: the new face of american communism…both states are billions in debt and the state leaders like it that way….both tie for dead last in state that is worst for new business; california is rated dead last in quality of its government schools; both states just rejected all republicans who promised to clean up the mess. hispanics, both government and private sector unions, and liberal politicians will assure failure….

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    [...] NYC- ANIMAL CARE & CONTROL IN NEW YORK CITY WILL NO LONGER BE LOOKING FOR LOST PETS IN SHELTERS… [...]

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