Stray animals of Afton: Beware

Dogs, cats and any other domesticated pets found wandering the streets of Afton will be housed once again by the Animal Humane Society in Woodbury.

The official contract signing between the city of Afton and the AHS was approved at the city’s Oct. 21 meeting.

The action concludes a saga which has dragged on for months.

The city rejected a request made at the start of summer by the AHS that in addition to dogs, Afton’s animal control officer would also pick up cats.

Following that decision, the AHS terminated its contract with the city to accept its dogs, at which point Afton’s animal control officer indicated she would consider terminating her own contract if she had to take the dogs to an alternative facility in Maplewood.

Forced to reconsider, Afton City Council voted to approve the new, revised contract on Oct. 21.

“This has been an ongoing issue,” said Mayor Julia Welter at the meeting, before the decision was made. “I have now discovered a colony of feral cats in my yard — five kittens and a mother.

“I have to say, I thought about calling the animal control officer and I realized that I can’t because we don’t have a contract.”

City council members have not ruled out the possibility of introducing cat licensing in Afton.

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