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Animal Control walls go up
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Nikki Childers photos Elected officials and staff members of WCACAC visited the build site to commemorate the first walls being placed. Pictured, from left, is WCACAC Executive Director Sherri Bradley, Animal Control Officer Lisa Morton holding Biff the dog, Commissioner Steve Glenn, County Executive Terry Bell, commissioners Kasey Owens, Blaine Wilcher and Scott Kelly.
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Superior Walls was hard at work last Thursday afternoon as it began placement of the initial walls of Warren County Animal Control and Adoption Center’s new facility.

After over a decade of failed attempts, the first walls of Warren County Animal Control and Adoption Center’s (WCACAC) new building have been placed.

The build located behind the existing facility and across the highway from Warren County Sheriff’s Department is a combined effort between the county and Superior Walls, which has donated the exterior walls and other critical parts of the build, foundation and the labor required to implement those aspects. County Commissioner Blaine Wilcher reports the remaining cost of the build is the responsibility of the county and $400,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) money has been set aside to fund it. The donation, said Wilcher, saved the county approximately $150,000.

Set back by rain and inclement weather, construction of the build was delayed from its original start date, but the Superior Walls crew worked to get the first wall placed Thursday afternoon between patches of rain. The build could be completed in as little as three to six months if conditions allow and will provide roughly double the space of the existing structure WCACAC uses presently. WCACAC will continue to use its old structure as a holding place for sick animals and overflow once the new one is finished.

“All of us on the Health and Welfare Committee as well as many commissioners and volunteers to the shelter have been wanting this,” said Wilcher. “We’re excited to see what we’ve worked hard to get passed finally happening. I want to stress that, if we don’t do something more serious for spay and neuter, this building will get filled up like the one we already have.”

Wilcher cited the animals dumped by people and the continual cycle of stray animals having litters over and over as a source of overpopulation in need of being addressed.

“Even if we euthanized a few animals a month, such as the ones who are too aggressive or, for whatever reason, cannot be adopted, we won’t put a dent in our population,” Wilcher continued. “The other option of keeping a certain number of animals and, in other words, euthanizing, is something the committee and the staff of the shelter do not want to do. Most local vets do not want to put down healthy animals. We need our commissioners and aldermen to work together to create stiffer spay and neuter penalties to deal with our stray animal population.”

At the time of print, WCACAC had 127 animals in its care including those involved in pending court cases and pets being fostered. The facility reports it is in desperate need of fosters or adoptive homes and encourages everyone to consider filling out a foster form available at its office located at 169 Paws Trail. WCACAC is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and frequently posts its available pets on its Facebook page.