by Rachel Hunter
The Town of Gouverneur at its Aug. 13 meeting tentatively approved the micro-enterprise loan application for Dog Control Officer Daniel Moyer to make state-mandated upgrades to the Rossie-Gouverneur Area Dog Pound.
The town board unanimously approved the loan in the amount of $30,000 at zero percent interest. The loan is tentative upon Gouverneur Area Development Council (GADC) approval. The funds will be used towards the purchase of a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) unit, which needs to be installed by December 31, 2024 due to new state regulations.
Faithful readers of the Gouverneur Tribune Press will recall that Dan Moyer is the dog control officer in 19 municipalities, and a total of 22 municipalities utilize the Rossie-Gouverneur Area Dog Pound. Starting in 2025, the New York State Department of Ag & Markets says animal shelters need to meet certain specifications in order to operate. The Rossie-Gouverneur Area Dog Pound needs a laundry list of upgrades, including a HVAC system and more.
During the Aug. 13 town board meeting, DCO Moyer said the following: “I can’t fail… I told the State that I will not fail, due to the fact that all of these towns that I deal with, including (the Town of Gouverneur, there’s nobody to take your dogs. The SPCA is full to their hat. Potsdam is full. They’ve got no room. And I’ll be honest with you, right now, I have six empty kennels right now in the facility. I was glad to get the three dogs out this last week from Gouverneur, because I need the space. I also deal with the Watertown SPCA with the Town of LeRay. They were putting dogs in the aisles, and it is just: We don’t know what to do. We don’t know where to go.
“These improvements are needed for the health and wellbeing of the dogs… We are only supposed to be a two-week holding facility until the owner claims the dog, or the dog goes to another facility like Gracious Friends Animal Sanctuary, Friends 4 Pound Paws, or Potsdam or Watertown. But they can’t take them. We’ve got some dogs that have been in the pound. There’s one from Gouverneur that has been in the pound since October. My wife and I don’t believe in euthanizing these dogs, unless it is court-ordered. We are holding them longer, and we are holding them on our dime. People are not claiming them. They are getting adopted. Friends 4 Pound Paws, God bless them, just took a dog last month that was on the euthanization list. They turned around and said that it was one of the best dogs they ever have had in. And they got it adopted out. Gracious Friends took three pit-bull puppies the other day. They didn’t have room for the mother, but they knew they could move the puppies. It’s just… we don’t know where to go. We have no idea.”
DCO Moyer is working with the Town of Gouverneur to apply for grant money through the New York State Department of Ag and Markets to fund the upgrades. But he told the Town of Gouverneur that needs a plan, just in case the funds don’t come through by the year’s end. That’s why he applied for grant money through the Town’s micro-enterprise loan program.
“I don’t know how many of you know my situation,” DCO Moyer said. “Last spring, we lost the garage and the horse barn. I’ve rebuilt that. So far, we’ve put almost $15,000 to $20,000 of our own into this facility because it is a viable operation. We believe it. Yeah, when this HVAC system comes in, it is going to raise the electric bill. It is going to raise the fuel bill. Some of the towns might have to pay more for the services that we offer. But I have explained that to them, and 99 percent of them are understanding of that.”
Town of Gouverneur Supervisor Dave Spilman Jr. said: “It is either that or they have to build their own facility. That would be $200,000 just for a facility and then you have to hire employees, pay the utilities… And if we do that, we are looking at a lot more cost.”
DCO Moyer continued, saying: “Not to brag, but most of these towns like me as a dog warden. If they don’t use me as a facility, and I pick up a dog for example in Rossie or Edwards, and have to take it to Potsdam, that is two hours out of my day. I wouldn’t be able to do the towns. They would be hiring another dog warden. While that is not a bad thing in some instances, I don’t want to see that happen. It is so much more convenient for me to pick up the dog in Gouverneur, Rossie, go home, put it in the pound. I eat dinner, go down and take care of them. I go in the morning to take care of them before I have breakfast. I am not driving all over the place… In a nutshell, I need a hand. Consider it, please.”
Supervisor Spilman said: “Our micro-enterprise loans are not like bank loans. We have the right to set the interest rate on them. We don’t have to use prime as a marker. Our last two loans have come in at four percent. I suggest that, because Dan does do the service he does for us, for the community – that we consider a zero percent loan.” After some discussion, the Town of Gouverneur Council unanimously approved the $30,000 loan, tentative upon GADC approval, at zero percent interest.
“I wasn’t expecting zero percent,” DCO Moyer said. “Thank you.”
“We are a small community,” Supervisor Dave Spilman, Jr. said during the discussion. “We all need to take care of each other.”
There was no further discussion.
The next regular meeting of the Town of Gouverneur Council will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, September 10 at the Town of Gouverneur Offices Building, 1227 US Highway 11, Gouverneur. For more information, call 315-287-2340.