Editorial: Managing disaster on a different level

Monday, March 20, 2006 | 7:11 a.m.

Rather than allowing a $172,000 mobile animal shelter to stand idle until the Las Vegas Valley has a major disaster, Las Vegas officials are going to use the vehicle that they purchased with a federal Homeland Security grant.

According to a story in the Las Vegas Sun, the city acquired the shelter, which is contained in a 33-foot-long trailer, in November 2004 but has not used it other than during a disaster drill last year. The unit is designed to be used to help rescue and take care of animals in the event of a disaster.

While taking care of pets sounds like a minor detail in the face of a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, officials noted that many residents who refused to evacuate during Hurricane Katrina had stayed behind because there was no one to rescue their pets.

But in the absence of a disaster, there is no reason why the unit, which is equipped with a surgical suite and 33 cages, can't be used throughout the valley for vaccination, spay and neuter clinics and pet adoptions, Roger Van Oordt, Las Vegas' animal control supervisor, told the Sun.

Some of those charged with saving the valley's unwanted and abandoned pets could say that it is already a dire situation. The Lied Animal Shelter, which is operated by the nonprofit Animal Foundation for Clark County, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, takes care of about 60,000 cats and dogs annually - about a third of which must be euthanized, many for health reasons. Adoptions help, but spaying and neutering is far more effective in controlling the pet population. If an agency in the valley has the technology to provide more of those services, it should be used.