NC: Resident Asks County To Consider 'No Kill' Policy At Animal Shelter

DOBSON, N.C. -- A county resident encouraged the county commissioners to consider a no kill policy and other changes for the animal shelter during a recent meeting.

Paula Stanley, a resident of Pilot Mountain, came before the Surry County Board of Commissioners during an open forum to offer several suggestions about the handling of impounded animals.

Stanley, who said she loves pets and especially dogs, explained to the commissioners how she got interested in this issue. She said she always knew in the back of her mind about euthanization of animals at the county animal shelter, but she thought things had improved when the new adoption center was added to the shelter a few years ago. But recently Stanley came across some statistics that surprised her.

According to the 2010 Public Animal Shelter Report provided on the N.C. Department of Agriculture’s Division of Animal Welfare Web site, www.ncspayneuter.com, Surry County Animal Control impounded 1,982 dogs in 2010 and euthanized 1,713, or 86 percent, of them. The shelter took in 1,951 cats and euthanized 1,835, or 94 percent.

“I was totally shocked, and something inside me kind of snapped when I saw that,” remarked Stanley.

She said that instead of sitting around and complaining about the high euthanization rate, she decided to talk to commissioners and animal control and health department officials. She said she has spoken to Animal Control Director Gary Brown, who listened to her concerns.

Of the issue, Stanley said, “This is not something that is just unique to Surry County or North Carolina.”

Stanley spoke to commissioners about the “no kill” movement, a movement that would require the policy that any healthy animal that comes into the shelter will be adopted if possible. This also would require a strong spay and neuter program, she said, and good adoption center hours.

“I’m just very excited and hopeful that we can move to that,” Stanley remarked.

She said she is not trying to be critical of the animal shelter, she just wants to make people more aware. She hopes that county personnel and animal groups can work together to try to change the statistics. “I think we need to make sure to give that thought,” she said.

Thomas Williams, a spokesperson for the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center, said, “We’re always open to open dialogue and discussion.”

He added, “We do work with local animal rescue groups as best as possible … I think our relationships are good with local groups.”

Through a partnership with Pet Sense in Mount Airy, Williams said the department has taken some pets there and been able to adopt several out. He said that the euthanization rate has decreased some over the past few years.

He said that the health department, which oversees animal control, has looked into a no kill shelter in the past. He said, “There were large costs associated with a no kill shelter, and it was just not feasible for Surry County.”

Williams said the lack of people spaying and neutering their pets is a big part of the reason why there are so many pets impounded and euthanized in the county. And in a rural county, dogs and cats have more room to roam and continue to reproduce, he added.

Stanley also recognizes that spaying and neutering pets is a big piece to decreasing the number of animals euthanized. She thinks the county needs to have more spay and neuter clinics.

“I think we need to be responsible pet owners,” Stanley remarked. “If you can’t afford to get your pet fixed, you probably don’t need to have one.”

Last week, Stanley also said she is excited about the idea of moving the county animal shelter. The commissioners recently approved a feasibility study to consider the possibility of building a new shelter.

Stanley told the commissioners, “Before we start buying land or buying plans or agreeing to anything, there’s another step we can take.”

She said there is another movement to make shelters more user friendly and have more open space for animals to play. She said having animals in cages, which often stresses them out or changes their personalities after a few days, is not the optimum way for people considering pet adoption to view them. She also noted that many people are uncomfortable visiting the pound. She admitted that she has not visited the shelter. She said, “I cannot bring myself to go over there.” She said she could not stand to see a puppy and think that it might be killed in a few hours.

She said an open play space, something akin to a car showroom, would be more ideal. Board Chairman Paul Johnson said the showroom idea is actually part of what the county is looking at doing with the new shelter. Williams said the current shelter has a gated play area where people can take animals they are considering adopting.

Johnson said the process of improving or building a new shelter is taking longer than people would like, but that is because it takes money.

But Stanley believes the county does not have to have a larger facility to enforce a no kill policy. She said, “We don’t need to build a bigger jail for these animals.” She thinks the county needs to actively work to find them homes.

“But certainly not every dog that is going to come in is adoptable,” Stanley noted.

Commissioner Buck Golding asked if the animal shelter figures take into account animals that are being adopted but then the county ends up having to take them back in.

Stanley said that although some will argue that there is just an overabundance of pets, there are many people looking for pets every year. The county just needs to find a way to connect them with the animal shelter. Even if there are not enough Surry County families interested in adopting pets, some of the animals could be transported to other locations where people are looking for pets.

She suggests using Facebook as a medium to get the word out about animals up for adoption at the shelter. She said, “It really is an amazing tool to spread news and make people aware.”

She asked the commissioners to revisit their policy regarding Facebook. According to Johnson, the county does not have Facebook accounts set up at this time and does not think it is a good idea at present with all of the problems the Web site can have.

Stanley said, “I just think there’s so many things that could be done … My main goal is to see the numbers go down.”


POSTED: 8:58 am EDT September 14, 2011
UPDATED: 8:59 am EDT September 14, 2011
Read more: http://www.wxii12.com/news/29179956/detail.html#ixzz1YMTpwGrz