After years of outsourcing abandoned and abused pets to North Haven, Hamden is exploring joining forces with New Haven to establish a regional animal shelter.
New Haven's shelter at 81 Fournier.
A Tuesday press release from the mayor’s office states that the two communities have launched a working group of senior administrators and members of both police departments who are discussing how to turn New Haven’s current animal shelter on 81 Fournier St. into a joint facility.
During her 2021 mayoral campaign, Garrett committed to proposing a site for an animal shelter within the first 100 days of her new administration. Animal rights activists in town, such as local organization Gimme Shelter’s Lenny Young, have long been pushing for Hamden to create a safe place for unwanted pets and strays, like the 18 cats who were, according to the New Haven Register, discovered alone and starving in an Auger Street home back in 2016.
Young also argued that the town was losing money by renting out crates in North Haven, as well as jeopardizing the public health of community members by failing to properly control and care for strays.
Should the two municipalities follow through on the plan for the shared service, the project would involve physically expanding and renovating the Fournier location, according to the release.
“I am pleased with the direction of these discussions,” Garrett commented. “A regional renovated facility will create a long term solution for our animals without a much larger investment of constructing a facility of our own.”
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker added, “I’ve been a strong proponent of regionalization of services to both mitigate costs and provide better services to residents, and this potential project aims to do both. While we are still exploring and have outstanding important issues to work through, I’m optimistic.”
The release also states: “We would like to recognize the dedicated activists and volunteers at Gimme Shelter for their determination, commitment, and continued advocacy for animals over several years.”
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Lenny Young, who founded Gimme Shelter, told the Independent. “We’ve been here before. It would be nice this time to see an actual inter-city agreement come to fruition… sharing the costs is the fastest and most realistic timeline.”
In 2018, Hamden presented a different plan to construct a Hamden wing at a district shelter in Woodbridge, Young remembered. But the former administration ultimately ditched the project. “We’re basically running out of neighboring towns to pair up with,” Young said.
He added that he hopes Hamden receives at least 15 cages through a regional shelter with New Haven — a detail that was proposed in the 2018 blueprint.
“Gimme Shelter plans to keep fundraising,” Young asserted. The organization’s next event will be musical bingo at The Playwright Irish Pub on April 21.