Latest news with #MercerCountyAnimalShelter
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
First readings of spay/neuter and canine control ordinances scheduled
princeton – A proposed county spay/neuter ordinance and canine control ordinance with goals of controlling the local homeless pet population are scheduled for first reading today before the Mercer County Commission. A canine control ordinance's first reading is an early item on today's commission meeting agenda. This meeting begins at 10 a.m., at the Mercer County Courthouse. County Commissioner Greg Puckett said this ordinance for canine control is a change in the current leash law. 'This helps clarify that dogs do not need to be tethered to be controlled,' he said. The ordinance states that tethering or putting a dog on a leash is a form of control, but not the only way to control a dog, Puckett said. Keeping dogs behind a fence so they can't wander around a community is another way to control them. Making the ways pet owners can keep their dogs under control clearer is a better way to address the county's animal issues, he said. In March, Matoaka residents spoke to the county commission about the problems they were having with stray dogs tearing into trash and harassing people. 'We've had these issues for decades,' Puckett said. 'We did have that public meeting and a lot of what came out of that public meeting was ways to solve a lot of these problems. I want to thank everybody who came out. The solutions that are being supported have come out of that public meeting. We want to thank the community and assure them that we heard them loud and clear.' The canine control ordinance would include getting a county dog warden. Sheriff A.P. Christian said that under West Virginia Code 19-20-16, counties are authorized to hire dog warden. The sheriff's department would not be the agency hiring a warden. The county has animal control officers, but their duties are focused on dogs and cats being treated inhumanely, Christian said. Dog wardens are authorized to pick up stray and unlicensed dogs that are roaming the county. After the canine control ordinance's first reading, Puckett is scheduled to do the first reading a county spay/neuter ordinance. The county tried to institute a spay/neuter ordinance in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of passing an ordinance is to manage Mercer County's large population of homeless dogs and cats. Both last year and this year, the Mercer County Animal Shelter has declared Code Red situations whenever its facilities were too full, Puckett said. Code Red is declared when euthanasia may be considered to make more room. In October 2024, the Furever Fixed low-cost spay/neuter clinic opened near the county animal shelter to help decrease the homeless pet population. The nonprofit clinic has been busy with both dogs and cats, said Director Connie Gillespie. 'Oh gosh yes,' Gillespie said. 'We had that dry spell when we were between veterinarians. We do have a full-time veterinarian now four days a week. We do have a waiting list that we are working on with still over 300.' The spay/neuter clinic recently completed over 300 spays and neuters through the West Virginia Spay/Neuter Program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Gillespie said. Since April 1, the program has helped pet owners from Mercer, Monroe, McDowell, Raleigh and Summers Counties. There are clients who do not show up for appointments, but the clinic also helps the neighboring animal shelter by doing spay and neuter procedures. 'We are nonprofit but we are not a government-run solution,' she said. 'Every animal that leaves our facility that is spayed or netuered has a certification of sterilization their owners can show landlords and anybody else that needs to know their animals are fixed.' Farmers and hunters told the commission the last time a spay/neuter ordinance was proposed was that it would harm their work dogs and hunting dogs. Puckett said the proposed ordinance has variances for hunters, breeders and other owners that don't want to spay or neuter their dogs. Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Commission meeting in special session to address animal concerns
PRINCETON – A special Mercer County Commission session this coming Monday offers opportunities to speak with local officials about the Mercer County Animal Shelter and the county's issues with homeless dogs and cats. The Mercer County Commission is meeting in special session on Monday, April 7, starting 6 p.m. at the Mercer County Courthouse to discuss animal control issues. The meeting will be held in the courtroom of Circuit Court Judge William Sadler. A large population of homeless dogs and cats keeps the Mercer County Animal Shelter's kennels and cages full. This ongoing situation has been illustrated last year and this year by the multiple times the shelter has had to declared a Code Red status when its facilities get too full. Code Reds are declared when the shelter may have to consider euthanasia to make more space if not enough dogs are adopted or transported to out-of-state rescue organizations. The shelter has held adoption events with lower fees to help pets find homes. County residents have appeared before the commissioners about stray dogs causing problems such as digging into trash and threatening people. Sheriff Alan Christian said after the county commission's March 27 meeting that his department picks up dogs suffering abuse and neglect, but the department's humane officers could not pick up stray dogs. Humane officers are not tasked with picking up strays. Dog wardens have this job, but Mercer County does not have one at this time. Commissioner Greg Puckett said the animal shelter works to make space for homeless pets, but the fact that the county has so many stray dogs means that emptied dog runs are filled again as soon as canines are adopted. The county has problems addressing dog issues due to a lack of regulations. Puckett said that in one instance, an owner in Matoaka has over 50 dogs. Christian said the public can share ideas about the shelter and animal control with him. 'I have pretty much an open-door policy,' Christian said. 'If they catch me here, I'm happy to talk to them about anything in the community. Not just dogs. You name it, that's what I'm here for.' Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Euthanasia on hold as low-cost spay/neuter clinic stays busy
Jan. 30—princeton — A low-cost spay/neuter clinic is adding to its staff while Mercer County's animal shelter keeps working to find homes for dogs and cats while avoiding the euthanasia option to make more room. The Mercer County Animal Shelter declared a Code Red on Jan. 15 due to the large numbers of homeless dogs and cats filling its kennels and cages. A Code Red is declared when euthanasia may be considered as a way to create more room for homeless animals. Shelter Director Stacey Harman said the Code Red was still in effect Wednesday, but she still hoped to avoid euthanizing animals. More dogs and cats keep arriving at the shelter. "I don't really want to come off of it yet," she said about the Code Red status. "We have had some adoptions, but not a lot. Basically what we've opened up will be filled up pretty quickly with animal control and stuff, so we're not going to euthanize right at this second, but it still could come." "Right now, we're not euthanizing anything," Harman said. "But we are still on that edge to where we still could. We've had several adoptions which is great." An animal rescue trip will be departing on the first week of February and it's hoped that will alleviate the Code Red status, too, she said. "I have a rescue trip going out first week of February so hopefully that will alleviate a lot of it, too," Harman said. Furever Fixed, Inc., a low-cost spay/neuter clinic which opened last year next door to the animal shelter, is now seeking another veterinarian surgeon to help keep up with the numbers of dogs and cats being brought in for spaying or neutering. "Furever Fixed, Inc. Spay/Neuter Clinic is excited to announce an opening position for a salary based veterinary surgeon to work two (or more) days a week," the facility announced on the Mercer County Animal Shelter's Facebook page. "Furever Fixed, Inc. is also looking for relief veterinary surgeons to fill in, as needed." Connie Gillespie, general manager of Furever Fixed, Inc., said the spay/neuter clinic has done procedures on a combined total of 360 dogs and cats since it opened. "We're looking at two different things," Gillespie said. "We need a veterinarian surgeon for a minimum of two days a week and then we also need what the West Virginia Board of Medicine calls a relief surgeon." A relief surgeon is on-call if the regular surgeon cannot come to work due to an illness, family emergency, family event such as a wedding, a power loss or other reason, Gillespie said. "We're wanting to open up at a minimum of five days a week and we're doing three clinical days now," she said. Recent winter weather and power outages slowed the number of cases coming into the clinic, but higher volumes of cases are anticipated from April to November, Gillespie said. The spay/neuter clinics 501©((3) tax status is still pending, she said. People interested in applying can call the clinic at 304-431-2033 during current business hours Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30 5 p.m. Gillespie said pet owners can contact the clinic at 304-431-2033 or 304-961-6184. The email address for Furever Fixed, Inc. is Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@ Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
