Humane Society agreest to continue accepting animals from Gadsden while agreement is negotiated

The Humane Society Pet Rescue and Adoption Center of Etowah County has agreed to continue at least through April 1 to accept stray dogs and cats from the city of Gadsden, while center officials and city officials work on a new contract.

The center notified the city in January that unless it agreed to a new contract by Jan. 31, the shelter would stop accepting animals from the city after March 1.

According to the original 2006 contract, the city pays the Humane Society $8,000 a month and paid $125,000 toward the cost of the shelter on Brooke Avenue that opened in 2007. That contract expired in 2008, and the month-to-month arrangement has continued since then.

Humane Society officials, in a meeting with the City Council in October, requested an increase in funding to $204,000 annually. They said payments haven’t increased since 2006, but they are taking in more animals from the city, and costs have increased.

In a meeting last week, city officials asked for a month’s extension on the contract because there are three new council members. This will give them time to become familiar with the situation.