The City Poops on PACCA
PACCA loses Philly contract to care for lost and abandoned animals.
By LU ANN CAHN
Updated 10:56 AM EST, Tue, Jul 28, 2009
It's a huge blow for PACCA, Philadelphia’s animal shelter, who lost it's bid on Monday to continue to care for the city's lost and abandoned animals. The city says three experts reviewed bids and unanimously agreed the Pennsylvania SPCA (PSCPA) would be a better provider.
PACCA has been responsible for the care of 31-thousand lost, sick and abandoned animals a year. But, from the beginning, the city's contracted agency has been under fire.
In 2002, the SPCA gave up its city contract partly due to the fact that Philadelphia refused to outlaw the ownership of pit bulls. The controversial breed accounts for over 80 percent of the dogs in the city's shelter.
The shelter has had issues since it took over for the SPCA, PACCA's CEO Tara Derby admitted.
In October, Derby took Lu Ann Cahn of the NBC 10 Investigators for a tour through the shelter after former employees claimed PACCA was mismanaged.
Four dogs were euthanized by mistake. This mistake lead individuals who were bitten by the dogs to endure painful rabies shots due to the fact, Derby confirmed.
The NBC10 Investigators also told you about a missing Euthanasia logbook that’s required to keep track of drugs. All the drugs were accounted for, Derby claimed.
The Pennsylvania SPCA (PSPCA) will take over animal control January 1, 2009. Its contract budget of $2.89 million dollars is less than PACCA's budget of $3.1 million.
The PSPCA will be expected to provide full time licensed veterinary services, which was not being provided by PACCA.
In a press release the city says it's developing a comprehensive plan to improve animal control.
First Published: Dec 1, 2008 5:00 PM EST
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