Crystal Opts To Withdraw from PUPS for Stray Animal Services
The Crystal City Council has approved a new agreement that will change how police handle stray animals and lost pets in the city.
The city council opted to withdraw from the Maple Grove-based Pets Under Police Security (PUPS) facility. Instead, the council unanimously approved an agreement with Access Veterinary Care, an animal clinic across the street from the Crystal Police Department.
The agreement takes effect in 2026. According to Crystal police, the city’s arrangement with PUPS will run through 2025.
Crystal police take in between 60 to 100 lost pets or stray animals per year.
Crystal Deputy Police Chief Brian Hubbard says the new arrangement will not only provide thousands of dollars in cost savings, but lead to better service.
“Our enthusiasm for what we think this actually provides as a service besides financial benefit really became pretty clear to us,” said Hubbard, speaking to city council members last week.
Cost Factors Into Decision
The PUPS animal shelter is funded through a joint-powers agreement among seven northwest suburbs. The facility is run by the city of Maple Grove, which is considering a $2.6 million expansion to meet demand.
Hubbard told the council there were 50 days that PUPS did not accept more animals due to capacity issues. PUPS, which opened in the early 1990s, has room for only 20 dogs and 20 cats at a time.
PUPS is located in Maple Grove.
According to Hubbard, each city that has an agreement with PUPS pays a fixed charge plus an additional cost based on usage.
In 2018, Crystal paid PUPS about $19,000, said Hubbard. That amount is estimated to increase to $32,000 in 2024.
In comparison, the estimated cost at Access Veterinary Care would be $27,600, said Hubbard. Contract terms starting on page 64 of the recent city council packet say the agreement would start in Feb. 1, 2025 and expire on Dec. 31, 2027.
Hubbard said Access Veterinary Care felt comfortable handling 60 to 100 animals Crystal police take in per year.
“Based on the number of 100, they felt there would be no issue with their ability to board for that,” he said.
Hubbard said Crystal contributes about 9 percent of the animals currently brought to PUPS.
Due to the planned expansion at PUPS, Crystal faced a charge of $233,000 as its share of the construction costs, Hubbard said.
Hubbard also said Crystal staff contacted 15 vet clinics throughout the Twin Cities, but only two expressed interest.
Council members felt comfortable in the decision to change to the hometown provider.
“We’ve used Access in the past for our family’s pets,” said Crystal City Council Member Forest Eidbo. “We love their mission and it’s great to see they’re interested in helping the community.”
Also See: A Closer Look at Animal Rescues: Where Lost Pets Go
