Hackel pitches new shelter in animal control update

MACOMB COUNTY — During what was ostensibly a review of Macomb County Animal Control activities, County Executive Mark Hackel floated initial ideas for getting the department into a new facility.

“It’s kind of aged out. It’s beyond its extended useful purpose,” Hackel said on Oct. 2 during an event at the Macomb County Animal Control facility in Clinton Township. “We keep trying to throw some good money after some of the challenges that we’re facing, but the reality is we’ve been working with (county) commissioners and we’re working to figure out how do we come up with a new facility, much like we did with the jail project and we worked on our (Macomb County Sheriff’s Office) Marine Division out on Lake St. Clair. There are things that are capital projects that are needs for the county, and this is one that I know the Board of Commissioners is very supportive of, and we’re going to continue to work forward on that.”

Plans about what such a project may entail were spotty in the moment — Hackel estimated the project to be in the $15 million to $25 million range, depending on whether a new facility would be built from the ground up or as an attachment to another county property, such as the nearby Robert A. Verkulien Building.

“We would hope that it’s (made on) property or land that we already have,” Hackel said. “These are my suggestions (and) we’re putting it out there that we’re working with the board (of commissioners). I think that’s going to be a savings, not having to worry about the land itself. Suggested properties could be Freedom Hill, could be a partnership with Macomb Community College. We’re going to be doing a new Verkulien Building, so with that there could be a combined effort trying to build a facility for the animal shelter there as well.”

Hackel’s idea about what to do with the current shelter was more sorted out, at least as far as keeping it around. Hackel said the nearly 70-year-old building at 21417 Dunham Road (built in 1958 and remodeled in 1981) could keep its animal-focused mission by being repurposed as kennels for animals showcasing higher levels of aggression, among other potential uses.

“Based upon the footprint we see here, there’s no question that it’s going to be the kennels and the appropriate type of kennels separating animals that would be more aggressive than others,” Hackel said. “We’ve got the medical portions of the facility where we try to make sure, we have separation of animals that might be sick. We’re using a garage for major incidents (around 30 cats recently rescued from an Armada home were set up in the garage), but this isn’t really the best use of the area to deal with these cats that were brought in from a hoarding situation.”

Along with still-operational facilities at the current shelter, there is space to walk animals on the property itself. More space can be found at the surrounding county facilities and at the nearby Nicholson Nature Center. Hackel was also open to the facility being repurposed by another county department.

Even with an aging building, work has been steady and evolving within the department. Macomb County Animal Control took in over 2,620 animals over the past year, vaccinated nearly 4,200 pets, microchipped over 1,530 animals, spayed and neutered over 720 animals and issued nearly 10,500 licenses. All of this was done by a team of 30 volunteers and a small team of animal control officers, their collective work coming out to a 95% save rate among animals taken in by the department, 960 direct adoptions and over 540 animals returned to owners from the Clinton Township-based shelter.

An initiative highlighted by Hackel and Animal Control Director Jeff Randazzo was the new MicroChip Connect program, which are self-service stations that give people the ability to check an animal for an implanted microchip to make reuniting lost pets an easier task.

“Clinton Township, Roseville, Armada and Shelby Township were all our pilot programs for our new self-scanning microchip stations, and they’re all located at the police departments,” Randazzo said. “So far, just in Clinton Township, over 33 people within the last two weeks have utilized that self-scanner. It tells us that the community is more engaged, and our microchip return-to-owner rate is definitely going to increase. It’s about finding lost pets and getting them reunited, diverting them from coming into the shelter.”

Along with the self-scanner initiative, Macomb County Animal Control hosts events throughout the year to connect its services to the community. The Snip Happens event, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11, will register the first 20 male outdoors cats for trap-neuter-return treatment. A fill-the-trailer event happening at the Garfield Road Pet Supplies Plus in Clinton Township over the weekend of Oct. 10-12 aims to raise supplies to support Macomb County seniors and their pets. The department is also hosting a trunk-or-treat event at the Macomb Public County Works parking lot — just up the road from the shelter at 21777 Dunham Road in Clinton Township — on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 1-3 p.m.

Go to macombgov.org/departments/animal-control for more information about the department, to learn how to adopt an animal, to find out how to volunteer and more.