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Residents press Hamilton council for answers on overcrowded animal shelter and online listings
Summary
Multiple residents and volunteers told the council the township animal shelter is over capacity, understaffed and failing to post photos/bios promptly; council said a volunteer coordinator is being hired and administration will follow up on staffing, phone and website issues.
Several residents and volunteers pressed the Hamilton Township Council on Sept. 17 about continuing problems at the municipal animal shelter, describing long delays in online listings, missing photos and bios, kennel cards that are not maintained, and prospective adopters who were turned away.
"I counted how many kennels. We have 36 kennels. There's no sign anywhere saying we have more dogs inside," said Lisa Williams, a resident who asked about staffing and whether waived-adoption events would have adequate staffing so adopters would not be turned away. Williams and other speakers said they frequently find animals listed on the website as "not available" long after intake and that many entries lack photos or bios.
Volunteers at the meeting described repeated instances in which adopters were told to submit applications and return later, and said the shelter software and cage-card protocols are not being used reliably to make animals visible to potential adopters. One long-time volunteer told the council many dogs sit in cages for months without behavioral evaluation or an assigned behavior-modification plan.
Councilmembers and administration said staff are aware of the problems and that the town is hiring a volunteer coordinator; administration acknowledged delays in a phone-replacement project for the shelter and said IT is prioritizing the phone and website fixes. Councilmembers asked administration to provide a timeline and to report back with specific corrective steps.
Multiple council members urged additional staffing at the shelter to ensure dogs are walked, photographed and evaluated promptly — all steps they said increase the likelihood of adoption and decrease long-term shelter stays. The council asked the health board and operations staff to follow up and return with a plan and timetable for implementation.
