By Dan Verbeck
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-985165.mp3
KANSAS CITY, MO. – Animal welfare advocates stressed a life-and-death kind of urgency to a Kansas City Council Committee today as the city looks for a new operator of the city animal shelter.
A veterinarian, Heath Rose, described the battle against incurable distemper which showed an outbreak at the shelter last month.
And the Vice President of the regional SPCA medical center was blunt in her assertion the community needs to set aside parochial squabbling over a new vendor, a new shelter. Gail Longstaff noted the number of serious diseases-- "and many are dying. Our organization alone has invested thousands of dollars into the animals we've pulled the last couple of months. Many of them have not survived despite the intensive care we're provided."
The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee was told it may be another two to three weeks before a suitable vendor to run the shelter can be hired, a contract negotiated.