Animal-control manager reports rising owner surrenders, new volunteer lead and plans to onboard volunteers by June

Sandra Hill, the borough’s animal control manager, reported at the May 5 Animal Control Commission meeting that owner surrenders and stray intakes remained high in early 2025 and that staff and volunteer capacity are being expanded.

Hill said the shelter named Becky McMahone as an additional animal-tender lead for weekend shifts and to head the volunteer program, and that the borough expects to begin onboarding volunteers in June. “She will be implementing that…she has a lot of experience developing outreach and volunteer…community connected programs,” Hill said, describing a tiered volunteer-training plan intended to let recruits “work up through the process” and support off-site adoption events.

The report covered monthly shelter statistics for February through April: owner surrenders were 111 in February, 108 in March and 105 in April; stray intakes rose from 42 in February to 56 in April. Hill said drop-off cage intakes and bite cases increased with warmer weather; March and April included multiple bite cases and bite quarantines. Kimberly (staff), who presented volunteer data, said volunteer hours grew from 90 in February to 131.5 in April and foster placements rose from 10 foster animals in February to 25 in April.

Hill also reported operational acquisitions and program updates: the borough purchased 10 universal, rechargeable microchip scanners at about $200 each; she said the borough paid for the scanners and that the shelter fund or Rotary Club offers discussed earlier were not used. Hill described the units as “universal scanners” intended for both shelter and field use and noted staff are preparing user instructions for distribution to fire stations. The commission asked about cost and whether lower-cost scanners could meet needs; Hill said the purchased units were chosen for durability and compatibility with a wide range of microchips.

On disease treatment, Hill and staff discussed a recently available parvo treatment that “stops the replication of parvo,” which the shelter fund has offered to cover despite the high cost. Hill said the drug reduces viral shedding but does not stop symptoms, so clinical care would still be required; the shelter has been using parvo foster care for two to three years with an outpatient treatment protocol for older puppies with higher survivability.

Commissioners asked about volunteer roles and training, whether fosters would be integrated into the volunteer program and timing for launch. Hill said existing fosters would receive consult-style support now and that the new volunteer lead will develop training documents; onboarding is planned around June. The commission discussed tracking of “boomerang” returns within 30 days after adoption; Hill said returns are tracked and no post-adoption spike has been identified after adoption specials.

The report noted clinic-level veterinary work: Dr. Pinto provides multisession veterinary care in the shelter’s procedure room several days per week, which commissioners later said affects whether owners can be present for euthanasia or other private procedures in the same space.

Commissioners did not take formal action on the operational items during the meeting; staff were asked to share more details on volunteer onboarding materials and scanner instructions with the clerk’s office.

The commission moved next to capital and emergency planning items.