North County Humane Society to merge with San Diego

Oct 30, 2009 (North County Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- NCBH | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The North County Humane Society plans to merge with the San Diego Humane Society, officials of the two organizations said Thursday.

"We're extremely excited about this process," said North County Humane Society director Julie Bank.

"The slogan we're using for this is together we can do more," Bank said.

The merger would tentatively take effect by the end of the year, but Bank and San Diego County Humane Society President Mark Goldstein cautioned that they are still working out details.

"It's not a done deal," Bank said, but she said "our collective boards have agreed to merge in principle."

Goldstein, a veterinarian, said he was "99 percent sure" that the merger would go through. He said his board will vote on the matter Dec. 2.

"This is something we're very excited about," Goldstein said.

Bank and Goldstein announced the planned merger to their staffs and volunteers Wednesday. Merger talks have been ongoing for several months, Goldstein said.

Under tentative merger plans, the North County Humane Society's San Luis Rey Road center in Oceanside would become the north campus for the new organization, which would retain the name of the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA, Bank said.

No one is likely to lose their jobs as a result of the merger and the new organization would continue to provide animal control services under contract to Oceanside and Vista, Bank and Goldstein said. Bank said Goldstein would head the new organization while her role has yet to be defined.

The San Diego Humane Society does not provide animal control services but shares its Gaines Street campus in San Diego with the San Diego County Department of Animal Control, Goldstein said. He said that arrangement would continue under the merger.

Although details are still being worked out on how to combine programs from the two organizations, Bank and Goldstein said the purpose of the merger is to expand and improve operations.

"The goal here is to do more for animals in our community and strengthen the human-animal bond," Goldstein said. He said he hopes to bring some of the programs offered in San Diego to North County.

Among other things, they include a range of educational programs for all ages, from children to senior citizens, Goldstein said.

"We have 540 kids that come to camp at the San Diego Humane Society," Goldsmith said.

With an annual budget of about $11.2 million and a staff of about 150, San Diego is by far the larger of the two organizations, although North County deals with more animals because of its animal control services, Goldstein said.

Bank said the North County Humane Society handled about 5,000 animals last year, compared to the 2,000 to 3,000 that San Diego takes in for each year, according to Candace Eley, its public relations coordinator.

North County has an annual budget of $2 million and about 38 employees, Bank said.

The North County Humane Society went through a troubling period about three years ago when its executive director at the time, Stacy Steel, resigned in the middle of Enforcement Administration investigation.

Steel pleaded guilty in April 2006 to fraudulently obtaining 3,600 Vicodin tablets, ostensibly for dogs. Bank was hired as executive director in July 2006.

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