By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – Residents looking to adopt a pet from the St. John Animal Shelter will be met with increased fees, after the parish was forced to change the veterinarian that treats the animals.

In a move to keep costs down at the shelter, the St. John Council unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday that raises the pet adoption fee to $100. The fee had previously been set at $85 since 2007.

St. John spokesman Buddy Boe said the change was necessary to cover the costs of the new veterinary care. He said in the past, the shelter was using the services of the St. Charles Humane Society but, beginning in 2008, those services were no longer available and the parish was forced to look in the private sector to perform the services needed for adopted animals. He said LaPlace veterinarian Dr. Phil Thiac will handle these services from here on out.

Boe said that since Dr. Thiac’s costs were higher than those from the St. Charles Humane Society, concerns had been raised at previous meetings about how the parish would foot the bill. He said an increase in fees was the best solution.

“It is still a reasonable price, and a good bargain for anyone who is looking to adopt a pet,” said Boe.

The ordinance calls for a $75 fee for spaying or neutering, $10 for vaccinations that cover numerous diseases, $5 for rabies vaccination, and $10 for microchip insertion and deworming of the animals.

Boe said the fee will only be charged on an as needed basis. He said if a stray is picked up that is already sterilized, the adoption fee will only be $25.

“We attempted to keep the fee reasonable to keep the idea attractive to adopt a pet from our shelter,” said Parish President Bill Hubbard after the meeting. “I hope the public sees that we had a great deal with St. Charles in the past, and now we have to use the private market which resulted in the small increase.”

The St. John Council approved construction of a new animal shelter at their inaugural meeting in January of 2008. Since that approval date, the shelter has gone through several stages of design. Boe said the final design should be presented to the council by the end of May. Once approved by the council, the administration will advertise for bids and begin construction.