Space has been, and continues to be, a problem for Warren County Animal Control and Adoption Center (WCACAC).

Last Thursday, the Warren County Health and Welfare Committee held its regularly scheduled meeting on the WCACAC grounds to better analyze the facility and its needs.

On May 1, WCACAC had 54 dogs and 19 cats on the premises but 21 dogs and cats in foster homes, making for a total of 94 animals in the care of the county. The software WCACAC uses reported the facility had 105 animals the day of the meeting, including fosters.

The committee discussed the crowding issues and touched on the topic of City Animal Control euthanizing dogs, which County Executive Terry Bell said could be something the county looks at next. “I’ve been down here and tried to help,” said Bell. “She’s got two freak dogs out here who aren’t going to get adopted. Their feet are all messed up and I know you don’t want to put any dogs down.”

The three- to four-year-old dogs indicated by Bell were believed to be Pyrenees mixed with corgis, a breed which have short legs and sometimes feature slightly out-turned feet. According to the employees of WCACAC, the dogs are healthy and in no pain.

“We’ve got to address these pit bulls coming in, no one’s going to adopt these pit bulls,” said Bell. “I’m just saying, you’re going to have to come up with something if you don’t want to put them down.”

Hollie Cox, who has worked in the world of rescue for years and was president of Helping Animals of Warren County until it dissolved, has experience with pit bulls and when asked about their temperament, she said, “Every single one of my foster fails (when a foster home decides to adopt the dog) are pit mixes. In reality, just about every dog you come across will have some type of “pit” in it. If people would literally take the time to do their research on these wonderful dogs, they would see how wrong they truly are. Every animal has the capability to be aggressive in some fashion, however, it is the owner’s responsibility to make sure they are trained correctly to prevent that.”

Presently, the vet WCACAC uses will not perform euthanasia for the sake of space at the facility. Per the vet, their office will not euthanize healthy animals unless they present with true aggression. Bell and Commissioner Scott Kelly added they knew of a mobile vet from Dunlap who would be willing to euthanize dogs in the kennels rather than bringing the animal outside of it and potentially exposing the employees to a dangerous animal.

“We agreed to euthanize only the dogs who are aggressive or too sick,” said Commissioner Blaine Wilcher in an interview after the meeting. “Our hope is to manage the population by euthanizing only those and to employ stiffer spay and neuter penalties so it’s not necessary in the future.”

The committee touched on the facility’s hours and discussed expanding the hours for better availability to those who might be interested in adopting but can’t make it to the shelter due to its limited hours. Currently, WACAC’s director is away on medical leave and a request for an additional employee was turned down during the county Finance Committee’s budget process for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Instead, an individual to answer phone calls on behalf of WCACAC and the codes office and to write permits was included in the budget per the county administration.

“We feel like the new employee that you want to hire in your office to answer our phone calls is like a slap in the face,” said Animal Control Office Manager Lisa Morton. “I return calls every afternoon that I am here. If I am off for two days, then I always try to follow up with those calls when I get back. A lot of the people who tell you they didn’t get a returned call never left a voicemail. I have 30-40 hang ups every day.”

Bell explained the inclusion of the new employee was to take the burden off of both WCACAC and the codes department, both of which he felt did not receive enough calls individually to validate having a new employee.

“The problem is what was quoted in the newspaper as what this person is going to be making,” said Morton. “It’s double what any of us make.”

“Justin came up with the salary and that’s what they’re starting everyone in the county building at,” Bell said.

“So, we stay here in the basement busting our hind ends, covered in poop and pee every day, and we can’t get any employees because they start at $9 an hour?” asked Morton. “And you’re wanting to pay this person $18 to $20?”

“Sherri’s got more money in the budget to do something about that, she’s done that on her own,” Bell said. “The money’s there, she’s just put it in other areas.”

“Sherri asks for a raise every year and we never get it,” said Morton. “Just like this year, we didn’t get it.”

Warren County Chief of Staff Jason Hillis indicated Morton was getting the same $2,500 raise as other county employees, if the budget passes as proposed.

“She (Sherri) asked for a raise just for us employees,” Morton explained.

Wilcher confirmed Morton’s claim, adding, “She (Sherri) didn’t ask for a raise for herself in her budget.”

Animal Control Director Sherri Bradley submitted a recommendation to include a raise of 3 percent for the employees of WCACAC, excluding herself, and requested an additional full-time employee to improve work flow and make it easier to send two people on calls as directed by the county.

“We feel disrespected, disregarded and treated like trash down here because I was told, in that Budget and Finance Committee, there were at least two commissioners who looked at our budget, threw it back on the table, and said they weren’t going to touch it because it included a new employee,” said Morton. “That’s a slap in our face.”

Hillis claimed that did not happen, though conversation did take place.

“I don’t know why everyone is so against us getting anything,” Morton said. “I had an already-certified animal control officer that used to work here who was ready to come back. I was going to give them part of my pay so they could work full time, so that I would have someone else on staff to work full-time with me while we’re in this position right now. I had to tell them no.”

“We need to have employees,” said Kelly. “We need to pay them.”

“I wanted to give voice to how we are feeling down here,” Morton said. “We’re always being complained on and its beginning to get too much, but I love my job.”

The committee expressed appreciation for the work Morton does with Hillis adding, “If we don’t change something down here, you will keep getting the same results you’ve gotten. You have to try something. Will it 100 percent work? I’m not promising anything.”

“I agree with you on that. I am willing to try and see if it helps. I appreciate any help, it’s better than nothing,” Wilcher said. “I hope everyone changes their mind about spay and neuter.”

Bell suggested the county approach local vets each month and offer to use county money to match funding for creating vouchers to encourage pet owners to fix their animals. “You can pass all the laws you want to, and that’s not going to stop the deal,” said Hillis.

Ultimately, the committee motioned to add a clause  to WCACAC’s rules and regulations allowing the Health and Welfare Committee to change adoption fees with recommendation of WCACAC’s director, Bradley. Adoption fees are currently set at $85 for dogs and $65 for cats.