Simpson County needs more room for unwanted pets

Hunt for new shelter hampered by problems

By Greg Wells, gwells@bgdailynews.com — 270-783-3276

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

FRANKLIN The 12 week-old puppies at the Simpson County Animal Shelter must be adopted to escape death, but even if they are, another death sentence could await them.

Parvo a viral infection which causes vomiting, diarrhea and very often death within a few days has infested the shelter, said Mike Martin, the countys animal control officer.

The illness is particularly vicious because it can infect pups before they are old enough to be given the immunization for it, according to veterinarian Steve Maloney.

He added that the treatment for a puppy with Parvo is expensive, and not often successful.

Then there are the cats, which you wont see at the shelter. They arent there because there isnt any good way to keep them separated from the dogs, Martin said.

A new, larger shelter would allow the county to take in cats rather than leaving them on the streets as the county is forced to do now, said Vickie Sharer, who is on the county steering committee for a new shelter.

She has also begun working with others to set up a Friends of the Shelter group to take donations toward building and outfitting a new shelter.

The county applied for and received an $86,000 grant for building a shelter, Simpson County Judge-Executive Jim Henderson said. But the efforts were set back last week when the lowest construction bid was $149,000.

Henderson said the plans they had drawn up called for just under 2,000 square feet, but he is paring the plans back to about 1,700 square feet in hopes of getting the cost down to $120,000, which is what the county has earmarked for the project. Revised bid specifications will also include some reductions in office and administrative fixtures to help keep costs low.

The new shelter will be nearly six times the size of the present one, which the judge said stays full most of the time. But the project is pressed for time, since the grant requires that the new shelter be built and useful by the end of June.

The present shelter is crowded and lacks the means to segregate animals, young from old, cats from dogs and so on, Henderson explained.

Martin said the shelters euthanasia program is somewhat flexible, allowing longer for puppies to get old enough to be adopted. The weather has an effect as well.

We hold them at least five days; longer in the summer when we can let the animals outside, Martin explained. It gets really crowded around here sometimes.

He added that the shelter is full when it has 15 adult dogs there are 31 dogs, including 17 puppies, in the shelter today.

Maloney said the design of the present shelter prevents the staff from adequately cleaning and sanitizing the animal holding area. He and the other committee members visited shelters in the surrounding area when planning for a new building and have taken the best ideas they found.

The city of Franklin has donated land for the new shelter and has taken care of the water and sewer hookups, Sharer said, but now a bid low enough for the county to approve the construction is needed. Henderson said the county is planning to advertise for bids again at the Dec. 28 meeting.

Sharer added that the needs will continue after the construction has finished, which was part of the reason for the Friends of the Shelter.

I hope the community and local industries will contribute to help build and equip the shelter, Maloney said.

Anyone interested in making a donation to help the Friends of The Shelter can mail their checks to Integra Bank at P.O. Box 617, Franklin KY 42135. Questions can be directed to Sharer at (270) 776-0359.  Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700