After losing animal control contract, KC Pet Project is expected to keep running shelter
KC Pet Project is poised to keep running the city’s animal shelter, less than a month after the nonprofit lost its $2.3 million animal control contract.
KC Pet Project would directly contract with Kansas City to run the city’s animal shelter in Swope Park under an ordinance presented in the April 1 Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee meeting. Previously, KC Pet Project ran the city-owned facility through a subcontract with the nonprofit Kansas City Campus for Animal Care, which has the same name as the shelter facility at 7077 Elmwood Ave.
KCCAC’s contract with the city ends April 8. Under the new contract, KC Pet Project would receive $232,222 to finish out the month. Provided that KC Pet Project meets certain diversity requirements, they would receive a one-year extension for $3.8 million, paid in monthly installments. This is the same amount that the city paid to KCCAC under the previous contract.
Under the contract, KC Pet Project would be tasked with caring for animals that enter the campus, performing spay and neuter surgeries, adopting out animals and providing maintenance and repairs up to $100,000, among other tasks. This is the same as the previous contract, under which the facility saw 15,631 pets in 2023.
In February, KCCAC abruptly pulled out from their agreement with the city, citing recent personnel changes at KC Pet Project and an alleged lack of transparency by the KC Pet Project board of directors. The nonprofit was founded in 2018 and fundraised $8 million for the construction of the $26 million facility, which opened in 2020 and is owned by the city.
KC Pet Project lost its animal control contract with the city in early March, after the city council voted to bring the service back under city control. Council members cited what they called lax enforcement of municipal animal ordinances, which culminated in a fatal November dog attack. KC Pet Project had taken over animal control from the city in 2020.
In March, a lawsuit was filed against KC Pet Project by a neighbor who was injured attempting to intervene in the November dog attack. The suit alleged negligence on the part of KC Pet Project.
The full council is expected to vote on the ordinance Thursday.
The Star’s Mike Hendricks contributed to this report.
