Hinsdale, Shelter Still At Odds Over Housing Dogs

HINSDALE, IL – The Hinsdale Humane Society is charging too much to house animals, which is why Hinsdale is taking dogs to the DuPage County shelter, the village's leader said Tuesday.

Last month, the society gave the village 10 days' notice that it would stop accepting dogs. This followed 17 months of negotiations, the group said.

Previously, the society took Hinsdale's dogs for free. But it decided to start charging towns because of financial struggles.

The group is offering a flat fee of $375 for each dog it accepts or $100 a day for up to seven days.

Other towns, the society said, are going with the $375. The municipalities include Burr Ridge, La Grange, Western Springs, La Grange Park, Oak Brook and Brookfield.

By contrast, the DuPage County shelter's fee is $15 a day for up to seven days. Additionally, the shelter charges a $45 vaccination fee for placed animals and $75 for cremation and euthanization for unplaced animals.

But the county shelter, which is in Wheaton, said it expects to increase rates for the first time in more than a decade.

The county must accept all dogs, while the local society does not.

At Tuesday's Village Board meeting, Village President Tom Cauley said the issue is dollars and cents.

"I would like to work out something with the Humane Society," he said. "I would like to see them prosper and partner with us. It's just a lot of money."

Last year, the village police reported taking 27 dogs to the local shelter. The society said residents take many more dogs to it.

Cauley said the county's facility is considered a no-kill shelter, just like the society's. A no-kill shelter is defined as one in which at least 90 percent of animals find homes. The rest are euthanized.

The placement rates for the DuPage and society shelters are 92 percent and 98 percent, respectively, according to officials from the organizations.

The DuPage shelter's operations manager, Laura Flamion, said the society is probably offering more services to the community than the village realizes.

"We all have the same goals in mind," said Flamion, who was connected to the meeting by telephone.

JoAnn McGuinness, the society's president, said the DuPage shelter does a "phenomenal" job. She said the society doesn't accept all dogs because it is not government-funded.

She said her group needs money to cover costs.

"It's extremely costly from a labor perspective when you bring us animals," McGuinness said. "Our staff stops what they are doing when a police car pulls up in the parking lot because it's a policeman who is off the streets doing what he should be doing."

She also said Hinsdale has become a place where people leave dogs.

"There are dogs dumped here because people feel that they have a better shot in a wealthier area in finding a good home," McGuinness said. "And they stay with us for a long time. It's very costly to feed and care for those animals for a very long time."

(In an interview Wednesday, Police Chief Brian King said his department has seen no evidence of dog dumping in Hinsdale.)

McGuinness noted the dozen towns that have struck deals on the same terms being proposed in Hinsdale. Nine other towns, including those as far away as Skokie and Mundelein, are on the waiting list, she said.

She said the society is holding off on those towns until it gets an answer from Hinsdale.

"If we take on the other nine, we're going to have to say no to you," McGuinness said.

At the end of the discussion, Cauley said the village would continue negotiating with the society. Meanwhile, it would keep taking loose dogs to the DuPage County shelter, he said.