January 8, 2020 – Pet Resource Center of Kansas City (PRCKC) is asking Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) tax payers to voice concerns to the KCMO city council over an animal welfare crisis in Kansas City.
“It’s become a real problem,” explained Michelle Dormady, PRCKC founder and president. “Every day now there are dogs and cats lost and alone out on the streets.”
In June 2019, the KCMO city council voted to privatize animal control. The department now has only a small number of officers, which puts our community at serious risk and is leaving animals left to suffer. In fact, research into the 311 Action Center reveals nearly 250 calls have not been dispatched including 88 aggressive dog calls. A full report can be found here.
The vote to privatize was held and approved by council despite special committee recommendations against it. With no interim plan, our community continues to be left with inadequate level of services to protect them as well as hold pet owners accountable for owned pets wandering the neighborhood. We also fear taxpayers – knowing there are limited animal control services – will simply stop calling altogether, which could lead to injured and sick pets left to needlessly suffer.
Numerous animal outreach groups are trying to help with some of the stray calls but are already overwhelmed with an increase in requests for help. “ This is our community, we live and work in it, and we care,” explained Dormady. “We care about the safety of our community, the pets in it and the owners who love them. Our clients are like family and are here to help them fight for what they deserve, which is adequate and effective animal control services.
“As an organization with 17 years of work in our community, we are asking KCMO taxpayers to contact city council and ask for their immediate attention to this matter,” continues Dormady. “Taxpayers and animals in our community deserve adequate services, which includes public safety, enforcement and sheltering of unwanted, stray and abandoned pets in our community.
To see previous press release and for more information on PRCKC visit prckc.org PRCKC’s mission is to end pet homelessness through education and supportive services to help keep pets off the streets, out of shelters and in homes with the owners who love them.
