Spokane County voters concerned about SCRAPS animal control system

SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. -- The Washington primary is less than a week away. We want to help you make an informed decision when you cast your vote.

We asked you what issues concern you most this election season, and several people had questions about Spokane's animal control system, or SCRAPS.

"Scraps' mission is animal safety and community safety as well. We are meant to protect animals, make sure that we are enforcing county and state ordinances, and make sure we are enforcing dangerous dog laws for Washington State, said Nick Hobbs Doyle, SCRAPS Shelter Operations Manager.

SCRAPS contracts with cities across Spokane County. It's the animal control piece of those contracts that opens scraps up for criticism.

"They're turning away multiple dogs every day from coming into the shelter, which is a huge concern for public safety with all the stray dogs loose. They also are taking in far less animals than they did under prior leadership," said Elicia Spotts, who used to volunteer at SCRAPS.

The current director at SCRAPS says he has led the organization since 2022.

Under prior leadership, SCRAPS took in 1,990 dogs in 2021.

In 2023, their total dog intake was 1,482.

That means scraps took in 508 less dogs in 2023 than it did in 2021.

SCRAPS took in more cats in 2023 than it did in 2021.

Scraps says that drop is because it needs to make sure they are able to hold the dogs ethically and humanely. But, Potts and others who wrote in say they disagree with the changes.

"it seems that lots of people have spoken up and, and, you know, I'd like to see more politicians get involved and work together because, you know, right now, taxpayers are paying for this service. And they're not doing this service," said Spotts.

We took those concerns to County Commissioner Candidates.

"I'd like to see a community relations officer at scraps hired and funded," said Chris Jordan, County Commissioner for District 1.

Jordan is a candidate who is running unopposed and for re-election.

"I think we should fund that position so that we can really have someone whose job it is to field community concerns. Work with the community get the word out about adoptions, get the word out about volunteering," said Jordan.

Jordan said he hears the concerns regarding animal welfare.

"I'd really like to see the advisory committee of scraps be strengthened with more people who have strong expertise and experience in animal welfare, being able to provide SCRAPS with the best possible advice on how it can do the best job," said Jordan. "We need the best possible experts on that advisory board so they can make the best decisions and try to save adopt or rehome as many dogs as can be safely done."

Molly Marshall is a candidate running for Spokane County Commissioner, District 5. She wants to help restore the community's trust in SCRAPS.

"I think you can do that by strengthening the advisory board and help them meet these these missions. This mission statement but also we need some transparency. And, we need to include all the stakeholders," said Marshall. "We need to have them at the table and also the advocates for humane treatment of animals."

Marshall is running against County Commissioner Al French who has held the position since 2011.

We reached out to French, as well as Josh Kerns who is running for re-election in district 3. Neither responded after multiple attempts.

"They've increased killing of those animals by 1,000%. So, there's a lot of concerns with how this entity is being run," Spotts said.

When looking at the data: That claim of 1,000% is false. But, there has been in an uptick in euthanasia over the past few years.

In 2021 scraps accounted for 38 dog deaths-some are dogs that may have been sick or injured and died in their care, most were put down.

In 2023 that number jumped to 102.

That is just over a 171% increase in dog deaths in two years.

There was nearly a 27% increase in cat deaths in that same time frame.

SCRAPS' reason for the uptick in euthanasia?

"We are seeing an increase amount of animals with behavioral issues. So those behaviors put local animals or local community members at risk," said Hobbs Doyle.

Elicia Spotts doesn't have a solution-just wants the politicians who make contract decisions to listen to what the community wants.

SCRAPS says they do as much outreach as they can to get their animals into loving homes.

To view the data for yourselves download the PDF below.

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