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Baker City council hears urgent calls to find short-term impound option while exploring long-term shelter
Summary
City staff and animal-rescue groups told the council the city faces an imminent loss of its local inbound animal facility and reviewed short- and long-term options including a temporary veterinary contract, transport to regional shelters and creating a local shelter with mixed public/private funding.
Baker City councilors on Feb. 11 heard that the local contracted animal clinic will end its impound services in mid‑February, leaving the city without a nearby inbound facility to hold dogs picked up by police or code enforcement.
City staff summarized a range of options and urged the council to secure a short‑term arrangement with a local veterinarian while a longer‑term solution is developed. Summer Brown, representing Best Friends and the local dog program, and volunteers and rescue leaders urged faster action and offered community support for a permanent shelter.
The problem, staff said, is twofold: the animal clinic notified the city in mid‑December that it plans to withdraw from the impound contract because the practice has strained its business and client relationships; and local partner organizations that previously absorbed unclaimed animals have reduced capacity. The clinic had typically held animals for five days to allow owners to reclaim them after paying fees at city hall. Best Friends and the Powder River Correctional Facility dog program have taken some animals but cannot absorb expected demand.
City staff described short‑term options as (1) limiting police pick‑ups to only dangerous dogs that have bitten someone, or (2) securing a veterinarian willing to sign a temporary inbound contract; staff said they are in active discussions with a local veterinary clinic. Longer‑term possibilities discussed included contracting with a regional shelter (La Grande/Union County were discussed as models), soliciting proposals from private boarding operators, acquiring property for a city‑run facility, or forming a public–private shelter that could generate revenue from boarding, training and other services.
Speakers from Best Friends and other local rescue groups cautioned that any local shelter must comply with Oregon Department of Agriculture record and intake requirements and that operating costs can be substantial. Volunteer and nonprofit leaders estimated operating costs could be significant (one volunteer recalled earlier estimates in the low hundreds of thousands per year for staffing). Volunteers offered help with grant writing, fundraising and program operations and asked the council to form a work group that includes community partners.
Council members signaled support for a two‑track approach: secure a short‑term inbound arrangement so officers have somewhere to take animals in the coming days, and form a working group with councilors, staff, Best Friends, rescue groups and county partners to develop a regional, sustainable shelter model. Staff said they would continue negotiations with the veterinary clinic and coordinate with county officials.
The council did not take a formal vote on a permanent solution at the Feb. 11 meeting, but directed staff to pursue a short‑term contract and to return with recommendations and a proposed work group timeline.
