City of Calexico thinking outside the box

With the rise in minimum wage and cost of medication and supplies, the Imperial County Humane Society reached out to the city of Calexico, to try and negotiate a raise in their rate for taking in impounded animals.

Devon Apodaca, the executive director of Imperial County Humane Society, said “the humane society cannot function on taking in animals for little to no cost. These animals come in, they’re vaccinated,
they’re given flea and tick preventatives, they’re de-wormed. They’re seen by a veterinarian if they have any illness or injury. And the cost that it costs us to take them in, far exceeds that seventy five that we initially proposed.”
But after rumors of the city possible euthanizing animals, Lt. Gonzalo Gerardo of Calexico Police Department says that’s not the case.
According to Gerardo, “we got phone calls. We’re getting phone calls that we were going to euthanize dogs and cats. That’s not our priority. We’re not going to euthanize dogs and cats even though the law allows us to. We’re not going to do that. We’re going to try and find all these dogs and cats homes.

With a budget already planned for the fiscal year, Gerardo says there’s simply no money to spare.
” During the fiscal year, it’s very hard for you to raise rates. When you already have everything budgeted. “

Calexico Animal Control hopes to find homes for their impounded animal with the help of outside groups like Dee’s Rescue, who won’t charge them anything to take half of their animals.