It may be “Nicer in Newtown,” but not at the Newtown dog pound. The obsolete facility, home to Newtown’s stray canine and feline residents, is hopelessly inadequate, unsanitary and unsafe for the dogs and cats temporarily housed there.

Built 32 years ago, the Newtown pound has had only one update, the addition of a bathroom in 1977, 28 years ago. Its location, hidden behind the Town Dump, is an affront to the dignity of the animals that the town is charged with caring for and protecting. The Dump’s placement uphill and adjacent to the pound creates a torrent of waste, insect, rodents and trash that finds it way down the slope to rest at the pound.

Each time the dog pens are hosed down, raw sewage backs up into the insufficient drainage system.

Each time the dogs are walked, the staff and walkers have to avoid the garbage (and resulting swarms of flies) blown over from the adjacent dump.

Each time the fans are turned on, the inadequate and out-of-date venting system spreads airborne bacteria unchecked through the building.

Karen Nash, a Canine Advocates volunteer, said, “The summer months are the worst. The odor of baking garbage from the dump and the garbage-packed trailers parked in front of the pound is overpowering. After it rains, the depressions in the dirt road fill with runoff water and unknown contaminants from the dump. We have to steer the dogs around these puddles, as well as all the tempting garbage.”

Some of the existing dog runs must be used for storage of food and supplies due to the lack of available storage space. Additionally, some of the food and supplies must be housed in a small wooden shed on the property – a perfect breeding and feeding ground for field mice and rats.

There is only one, small, dirt outdoor play area. Often, only one dog at a time can play outdoors for a limited time, while the others have to wait their turn. There is no indoor play area. In bad weather, all the dogs are forced to stay in their pens until the weather clears.

There is only one small, hand-washing sink at the pound. This sink is used for the staff and visitors after using the bathroom or handling the dogs, as well as for washing food and water bowls. It can only be used for bathing the smallest of dogs. Arriving dogs, some having wandered the streets for an extended period of time, cannot be bathed. There is no grooming table, no place to brush the dogs or cut their nails. All dogs must be transported to the vet for these simple functions.

There is no separate space for cats at the pound. Cats must be crated and are exposed to all the dogs that, due to the limited space, must walk right past the crated cats to get outside. This is extremely stressful for most cats – and of course, great fun for some of the dogs.

The pound is not only situated downwind from the Dump, but it is adjacent to the train tracks. Freight trains come roaring through day and night, frightening the animals, already stressed from being locked up in a strange place.

Visitors trying to reach, or even finding the entrance to the pound, have an additional problem. On Saturday afternoons, the busiest day for potential adoptions, all the vehicles in town seem to be in line for the Dump. This is the same line used to access the pound. Over the last few years with the support and caring of Sergeant John Cole of the Newtown Police Department, new signs and lane changes have made accessing the pound a little easier, but it is still difficult to find.

Because of its hidden location, many Newtowners still don’t know that the town has a dog pound.

If pound visitors have the patience to wait it out, they must then sit in the only public space, Animal Control Officer Geri Bryan’s small, cramped office. This is also the reception area. All visitors and potential adopters walk directly into her office from the outside affording ACO Bryan absolutely no privacy. If an interview happens to be taking place, additional visitors have to wait outside or walk through her office to get in or out of the pound.

There is no indoor area for potential adopters to meet and play with the dogs. This has to take place in ACO’s Bryan’s office/ reception area. With the addition of the new computer it is a tight fit.

Limited space and unsanitary outdoor conditions are not the only problems faced by the staff and “residents” at the pound. Until last month, there was no fire alarm. Because the pound is set behind the Town Dump, in an isolated area, a fire would not be heard or seen until it was too late. Electricians have recently started wiring the pound for a long-overdue fire alarm system and possible air conditioning.

Animal Control Officer Gerri Bryan and pound keeper Carolee Mason do a remarkable job under these adverse conditions. The dogs are playful and happy. The pound is exceptionally clean, the dogs are taken to the vet for spaying and neutering and adoptions are processed. All dogs are placed for adoption unless there are dire medical or emotional problems. The cooperation of the wonderful pound staff and the caring volunteers from Canine Advocates has made the pound a place where dogs and cats are loved and respected.

But, it is time for a new facility.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal has been very proactive in his efforts to make improvements to the existing pound and is working with the town leaders, staff and Canine Advocates to find a new, better location for the pound. Selectman Rosenthal has presented this proposal to the Board of Selectman as a consideration for next year’s budget. A blueprint has been obtained by Canine Advocates for a new facility and will be forwarded to Selectman Rosenthal’s office for review in the next few weeks. In the interim, Rosenthal has agreed to continue to improve the existing facility until a new location can found.

Virginia Jess, president of Canine Advocates, remaked, “I am hopeful that, with the support of town leaders like Herb Rosenthal, who has always stepped forward to make positive changes for the dogs, and State Representative Julia Wassermann, who has been a faithful contributor and supporter, the people and businesses of Newtown will rally to provide a facility that is up to date and meets today’s needs.”

Thirty-two years ago, at the time the pound’s location was being considered behind the dump, Julia Wassermann wrote a letter to the Editor of The Newtown Bee complaining about the placement of the new dog pound adjacent to the Town Dump.

Not only was the pound built at that site, but 32 years later no changes have been made to address the inadequate, unsanitary and unsafe conditions that exist there.

Isn’t it time Newtown took a responsible look at the appalling setting of this obsolete facility?

A Building Fund has been established by Canine Advocates to accept donations for a new pound. Donations to the Newtown pound Building Fund can be sent to Canine Advocates at PO Box 236, Newtown, CT 06470. Please make your check out to Canines Advocates and note that it is to be earmarked for the Newtown pound Building Fund. Canine Advocates is a 501c3 corporation. All donations are tax-deductible.

- Adria L. Henderson