Politics & Government

Easton to Remain in "The Dog Business"

Zoning board approves dog kennels at city water plant.

With no room at the Center For Animal Health and Welfare for stray dogs, Easton has been forced in recent months to house the animals at kennels installed at the city wastewater treatment plant.

Because set-up is looking less temporary, the city needed -- and got -- a special exception from the Easton Zoning Hearing Board to continue operating the four kennels along Route 611.

Mayor Sal Panto told the board the kennels were put in due to a 90-day emergency order after the Williams Township animal shelter became full.

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"We had no place to put the dogs," he said.

The kennels are heated in the winter and cooled in the summer, and contain a dog run. Last year, the city set up a website where it posts the dogs it finds. About 80 percent of them make their way home, Panto said.

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"We don’t want to be in the dog business, but we like this arrangement," he said.

Last year, the Center for Animal Health and Welfare announced it was changing some of its policies, including charging municipalities on a per-animal basis, and only taking them when it had room.


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