Kent animal shelter to close; County may stop providing animal control | Pets

King County is closing its animal shelter in Kent due to flooding concerns and Interim King County Executive Kurt Triplett said he wants the county to get out of the animal control business altogether.

The shelter, 21615 64th Ave. S., will will stop accepting animals in the next week or so, and send the animals not adopted to other shelters.

Triplett’s proposed budget funds only the first six months of animal control, from January first to June 30 2010.

The county has contracts to provide animal control to 32 cities. Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Triplett said existing animal control operations could form a nonprofit separate from the county, or they could be taken over by a nonprofit agency like The Humane Society.

Council members Reagan Dunn and Kathy Lambert, both at the conference, said they support the county getting out of animal control and Dunn said his colleagues on the council would likely also support the plan.