WALLINGFORD, Conn. — The Wallingford community is calling on the mayor to act, after learning the town animal shelter does not have air conditioning in its kennel area.
Mayor William Dickinson told FOX61, there has never been AC in that area and he's never gotten a complaint. In fact, the issue was just brought to his attention for the first time during a town council meeting last week.
Town council members are asking him to dip into a $700-thousand fund that is specifically for the animal shelter.
"We have the money, we can do it," said Vincent Testa, a town councilman. "There's already duct work, there's already the infrastructure to manage it, it really should just be the stroke of a pen and I'm not sure why there's been delay on this," he said.
The mayor said the town is in the process of hiring a new animal control officer who will be consulted about the issue. He also said there needs to be research done on how much it would cost, and what it would take to install AC.
Volunteers have been working hard through the dog days of summer to keep the animals cool.
"We got the pool here, but inside there's just some fans," said Alex Zawdzki, a volunteer. "The water is a big thing, we brought some ice in today to put in the buckets and cool the water down," he said.
He's been helping out at the shelter for four years. He says a heatwave makes for tough conditions in the kennel and he's happy it's finally getting some attention.
"I think it was a long time overdue, it was raised a few years back and you know nothing really came of it," he said.
Zawdzki said they are looking for a tent to create some shade in the yard of the shelter to also help cool the animals down. The shelter says it has been overwhelmed with support and is not in need of new volunteers at the moment.
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