Lyndon's Canine Head Count

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Created on Friday, 26 October 2012 16:23

Written by Brian Stone

LYNDON - In Lyndon, animal control officer Cindy Cady keeps local strays safe while attempting to find them a home.

She also runs the Lyndon Dog Pound, which provides a safe place for the animals and keeps them from roaming the streets.

"I love animals and I like to make sure they're taken care of," Cady said. "You hate to see any animal out there on the street. So I just like to give them a warm safe place to stay until they're reunited with their owners."

Between five and seven million animals end up in shelters every year, according to the A.S.P.C.A. Animal control in Lyndon is given a thirty-five thousand dollar budget each year, which includes the pound, supplies, and Cady's salary. The town contributes just over eighteen thousand dollars to that budget. The rest of the money - close to seventeen thousand - comes from fines, licensing and revenue from the pound. This year, Lyndon has decide to to a dog census. The goal is to get a better understanding of the number of animals in town, and how much revenue to expect from licenses.

"This is the first time we've done [a census] in years," said Lyndon Town Manager Dan Hill. "Over the last two or three years, we've noticed a downward trend of dogs being licensed."

It's not that Lyndon has less dogs, Hill said. "People just aren't registering them."