Great Bend Post
The owner and managers of Hoisington Veterinary Hospital were unaware the City of Hoisington was no longer interested in negotiating a new contract until after the Monday City Council meeting, having submitted an updated contract to the city for review.
“We were under the impression that we were still in the negotiation process and scheduling a time to meet with city officials,” said Dr. Lindsay Reif, owner of Hoisington Veterinary Hospital. “News reports of Monday night’s City Council meeting were definitely a surprise.”
Hoisington Veterinary Hospital has been under contract with the city of Hoisington as the holding facility for stray animals for more than 14 years. Under the terms of the contract, the hospital would hold four kennels open at all times to accept strays. Outside of the contracted terms, hospital employees also assisted city officials with contacting owners of stray animals, outlining the city’s requirements for release, and collecting payment for those services. The hospital assisted the city of Hoisington by promoting city tags and helping residents purchase the required tags and proof of vaccination.
In exchange, Hoisington Veterinary Hospital would receive a minimum of $200 per month. When the costs were paid by the owners, their contribution would be subtracted from that amount so the city invoices ranged greatly from $10 to more than $200 depending on the care provided.
“In preparation to renew or renegotiate this year’s contract, we reviewed the cost of keeping kennels open at all times for city strays,” Reif said. “That analysis showed the cost of keeping kennels unoccupied compared to the current contracted amount was out of balance with the cost of providing food, water, shelter, and medical care to the animals left in our care. Thus, we were seeking to update the contract and bring it more in line with operational costs.”
In order to renegotiate this agreement to shift to a consistent payment rate, raise the rate to accommodate for increased kennel costs, and more clearly outline the responsibilities of hospital staff versus city staff, the hospital legally had to terminate the existing contract with the city of Hoisington and submit a new proposed contract for review. The hospital did submit the termination notice on Aug. 25, 2023, which would go into effect on Dec. 31, 2023, but followed that with a proposal. Communication between hospital and city staff to set up a time to meet to discuss that proposal indicated those discussions would take place in mid-September, following the busy Labor Day weekend.
“While we are disappointed the city chose to publicly announce there would be no negotiations on an updated contract without notifying our staff, we wish the city of Hoisington the best of luck in their pursuit of its own facility,” Reif said. “We are proud of the work our staff does to care for Hoisington’s pets, and we remain available to help provide emergency care or potential adoption services for strays on a case-by-case basis - just as we do for any other Hoisington resident.”
In addition to the contractual agreement to hold strays, Hoisington Veterinary Hospital has been an active partner with the city of Hoisington in several projects including the creation of Scentral Bark, low-cost rabies and vaccination clinics, and educational campaigns. The hospital also helped create LADA Paws Rescue as an official 501(c)(3) non-profit rescue as a way to find foster homes and adopted families for the stray animals left in their care, rather than euthanize the abandoned animals. The rescue - which includes transportation, medical care, foster placements and adoption events - has grown to include not only stray animals, but also helps to rescue animals from illegal breeding operations, homes that can longer provide care, and other situations.
“Hoisington Veterinary Hospital takes pride in providing Hoisington and surrounding counties with professional, fair and reasonably priced care for their clients and owners,” Reif said. “We look forward to exploring continued areas of collaboration with the city of Hoisington to continue advancing the quality and access of that care for our community’s citizens.”