Animal shelter prepares for shift

The Butte Humane Society shelter in south Chico was closed Wednesday (Feb. 1) to allow the city time for transition to start running the operation. After years of calls to improve conditions at the stray-, abandoned- or forgotten-animal pokey, the city decided to move in. BHS will still run the adoption program, and its website says the city is not “taking over” but rather “collaborating” to help operations.

For years shelter supporters and workers have tried to get the facility moved to a more-accommodating and higher-profile location than the city-owned building on Fair Street. But the city resisted and said it would make on-site improvements. Last year BHS opened a spay-and-neuter clinic and cat-adoption facility on nearby Country Drive, helping alleviate the cat population at the shelter.