On October 14, 1982, The Alpine Avalanche printed a front page story about the state of the so-called Alpine animal "shelter" accompanied by a large photo of a forlorn dog behind bars. So outraged and embarrassed were the citizens of Alpine that a group of them met ten days later to organize the Alpine Humane Society.
The Alpine Avalanche, Oct 14, 1982, front page:
Shelter Support Sought
"I've been to other shelters and I'm embarrassed to tell them what we have here," said Toribio (T-Bo) Ramos, animal control officer for Alpine for three years in November.
"It gives no shelter for the animals. Like right now the way the rain is coming from the north, the water is coming in because the north side is just wire," Ramos said. He thinks he's just been lucky no animal has died of the cold.
"I'm only picking up animals for the safety of kids," Ramos said. He is especially concerned for the younger children. "Kids think every animal is going to be real nice to them."
"The deal is, when I get an animal with no tags, there's no way I'll know whose animal it is," he said." Some people get mad when I tell them their dog is in the pound, but it's better that I've got them."
The animals are kept three days -- 72 hours. "We make every effort to return the animal to the owner," Alpine Police Chief Bud Canuteson said. "We are not in a hurry to hurt anyone's pet, and if it is adoptable, we contact the radio station and the vet to advertise it. We really don't like euthanasia."
The shelter is a 5 x 7 x 7 foot high structure containing three cages, no lights, and no heat.
Three cages are not enough. Sometimes the shelter has 10 to 15 animals and the best Ramos can do is to separate male from female animals. There have been as many as five animals in a single cage.
The problem is money. The shelter is funded by the City of Alpine as part of the police department budget which began Oct. 1 according to Canuteson.
The $4200 is expected to cover expenses of euthanasia equipment, animal food, and maintenance of the vehicles. The fines collected from owners "in violation of leash/fence law also supplement the animal control budget for food, medicines, and cleaning supplies."
Canuteson said he believes "The city is going to kick in for some improvements in addition to the $4200 budgeted."
He said he is fully cooperative with City Manager Tom Longman in trying to upgrade the facility "within the monetary limits we have; the money from the tax base."
He said he and Longman have not been talking about a whole new structure, but "more cages, maybe six individual cat cages in one section; making the thing more secure, more protected from the cold and rain, probably by enclosing, and we're also thinking about heat lamps to at least make the animals more comfortable."
The cost of such improvements to the existing structure is estimated at $1000 to $2000 by Canuteson and Longman.
Speaking of the past few years, Canuteson said, "We've made improvements at the pound -- a better roof and a chain link fence -- and we try to feed properly."
But the emphasis since 1979 has been better training of officers.
"It's a thankless task. A lot of people don't look at it as a justifiable thing."
"We need everything," Ramos said. "You should see the truck that I've got. It's running pretty well now for an old truck, 1970, but it needs a cage with more compartments."
When calls come close together, it is difficult for the officer to get and keep the animals in the cage in the truck.
Ramos has lost count of the times he's been bitten. The equipment provided by the department for his job consists of a net, a dog stick, and a rope; considered by experts the best tools for capturing animals.
The officer has only a homemade tank which attaches to the exhaust pipe of car for euthanasia of animals not claimed. The funding provides funds for drugs for euthanasia of badly injured animals and skunks only.
But mostly, Ramos wants to build a new structure to shelter animals. He and Dispatcher Harold Frahm are willing to do the labor if they can get the materials.
Ramos said he would like, at the least, separate cages for each animal and separate quarters for cats and dogs.
Longman estimates a new structure would cost maybe $8000. On the other hand, if we can salvage the old structure and add to it, we might get by on $5000, especially if we use our own labor and our cost is mostly materials.
According to Longman, the City of Alpine has just not had the money for a better shelter.
Chief Canuteson said, "We have to live within the limits of fiscal reality. We do what we can with what we've got. We'll have to have outside help to upgrade on a continuing basis. We've tried to stay away from soliciting funds from private citizens because they're solicited to death anyway, but we started with the Scouts and probably other people are willing to help."
The Explorer Scouts, sponsored by the Alpine Police Department, recently raised between $100 and $200 for the shelter.
"It's a start," Ramos said, "and I hope people read about this and it brings support for the Shelter."
As a direct result of the newspaper story and the formation of Alpine Humane Society, a second shelter was eventually built at the city equipment yard at the base of A Mountain.
According to Alpine Humane Society Board of Director George Bradley, the "A Mountain Shelter" had three or four cages for dogs, a roof, and three sides. The side to the south was open, sheltered by the mountain, and situated to provide solar heat in the winter. At that time, there was no facility for cats. Many Alpine Humane Society members and Alpine citizens fostered cats (and some dogs) in their own homes. Alpine Humane Society held numerous bake sales and a yearly art show auction to raise more money for the shelter, specifically for cat accommodations. After a few years, Alpine Humane Society renovated a building next to the dog shelter and used it for cats. Unfortunately, euthanasia was still done by asphyxiation in a homemade container that was connected to the tailpipe of an engine. Alpine Humane Society volunteers went to the A Mountain shelter on a regular basis to clean and feed the animals. The third Alpine animal shelter, located at the city sewage plant, was not built until years later.
In 2011, the City of Alpine built a brand new city animal shelter which is still in use today.
According to Alpine Humane Society Board of Director George Bradley, the "A Mountain Shelter" had three or four cages for dogs, a roof, and three sides. The side to the south was open, sheltered by the mountain, and situated to provide solar heat in the winter. At that time, there was no facility for cats. Many Alpine Humane Society members and Alpine citizens fostered cats (and some dogs) in their own homes. Alpine Humane Society held numerous bake sales and a yearly art show auction to raise more money for the shelter, specifically for cat accommodations. After a few years, Alpine Humane Society renovated a building next to the dog shelter and used it for cats. Unfortunately, euthanasia was still done by asphyxiation in a homemade container that was connected to the tailpipe of an engine. Alpine Humane Society volunteers went to the A Mountain shelter on a regular basis to clean and feed the animals. The third Alpine animal shelter, located at the city sewage plant, was not built until years later.
In 2011, the City of Alpine built a brand new city animal shelter which is still in use today.
Current Alpine Animal Shelter, opened in 2011.
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