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County approves short-term contract for animal sheltering while new kennel is built
Summary
With county kennels under construction, commissioners approved a short-term contract with a private operator to shelter and actively rehome animals. The vendor described a test run achieving about a 93% live-release rate for transported animals and agreed to contractual performance terms and a 30-day termination clause.
Columbia County commissioners approved a short-term contract with Zootrack (represented by founder Doug Eddins) to provide temporary animal-holding and proactive rehoming services while the county builds additional kennel capacity.
Doug Eddins described his organization's approach to actively transporting animals to higher-probability adoption locations and said his test runs placed 37 of 40 transported animals into homes (a 93% live-release rate). "Ideally, a 100, but we know that's not a reality," Eddins said when asked about guaranteed live-release outcomes; he noted the contractor does not euthanize animals and recommends independent behavioral reviews for animals flagged as not adoptable. County staff said the contract contains performance expectations and short-term termination language, and commissioners moved to approve the agreement after a brief discussion and a motion to clarify oversight and termination rights.
County staff framed the arrangement as a stopgap that "keeps us out of the zero condition" when the county hits kennel capacity. The contract also included commitments to rehoming and to regular reporting on outcomes; commissioners asked that staff monitor performance closely and retained the right to terminate the contract if the service did not meet expectations within the short notice period included in the agreement.
The board voted to approve the contract after motion and second; no numeric performance targets beyond contractual reporting and a short termination timeline were adopted in open session.
