Upset with county governments handling of animal shelter, group will withhold its support

Saturday, August 28, 2004

The Allen County-Scottsville Humane Society has had enough. The nonprofit animal welfare organization is pulling all its fund-raising and volunteer support from the Allen County-Scottsville Animal Shelter in protest of the way county government runs the facility.

One of our big things is lack of direction, said Kerri Barman, founding president of the countys humane society.

She said shelter director Jimmy Marsh is also expected to perform extra duties normally handled by animal control officers, and the humane society feels that reduces his competence in both jobs.

Allen County Judge-Executive Johnny Hobdy, who hired Marsh for the job, agreed that the shelter director has picked up additional duties since the November firing of Robert Henry, a former Allen County animal control officer.

Henrys termination left the county with only one official animal control officer.

Henry was fired after removing four dogs from the custody of their owner when neighbors reported seeing the owner dragging the dogs behind a truck. Hobdy told the Daily News in November that Henry was fired for failing to keep Hobdy updated on what was happening in that case.

Im the man whos got to answer all the questions, Hobdy said after the incident.

At the pay rate of $300 each week without benefits, Marsh directs the shelter operations, transports animals to be euthanized, reports regularly to Allen County Fiscal Court and even responds to animal control calls.

What gets me is thats a salary position and you may go there now and he may not be there, but Sunday morning at seven o clock he may be visiting a church because they have a pack of rabid dogs on their front porch, Hobdy said. Nobody thats criticizing (Marsh) ever seems to mention weekends and night work that falls under the $300-a-week salary.

Hobdy said he and Allen County Fiscal Court havent found the right person to replace Henry, but added that they are not actively trying to fill the second animal control officer position at this time.

Were a small community with a strapped budget and we cant hire somebody who can only do one job, Hobdy said. Its unfortunate, but our people have to have more than one specific duty. Mr. Marsh was hired because of his background with animals not necessarily small animals but I felt his background qualified him then and I still feel that way.

Barman begs to differ. She said Marsh, who has a background in livestock medical care, is not the Allen County Humane Society Boards idea of a good fit.

We dont see too many cows come into the shelter, she said. Both groups understand theres a huge amount of unwanted animals in the Allen County Shelter. We both understand the shelter can be, at times, very, very busy and we both understand that animal control can be a full-time position. But balancing that full-time position with the other full-time position as animal shelter director it just cant be done not properly, at least.

Hobdy has considered splitting the two roles, but nothing concrete has so far been planned.

Marsh could not be reached for comment.

For more than a year, the board members have tried to work with the county to make the shelter functional and practical, Barman said. Problems at the shelter include not only a lack of direction; but it also has irregular operating hours, with employees arriving late and leaving early; and inconsistent cleaning standards.

In the shelters daily operation, there is a lack of accountability all around, Barman said. Its a business as well. Just because it has unwanted animals in it doesnt mean it should be less a business than anything else.

Now, the humane society is calling it quits.

It will be its own entity, focusing on its own spay-and-neuter program and new programs, such as Home for the Holidays, which will recycle used doghouses and fencing to benefit dog owners who cannot afford such supplies.

Hobdy said since the humane society has declared its intentions, an anonymous donor contributed $15,000 to the animal shelters spay-and-neuter program.

The organizations contributions to the shelter include hours of volunteer labor, a $1,500 storage building and 12 currently unused kennel beds, costing about $600 to $700 each, according to Barman.

Well miss their contributions, Hobdy said. That will hurt, but were just going to have to look for some other avenues.

And for now, he said, Marsh will remain in his current capacity as animal shelter director with extra duties on the side.

Im not saying its right, Hobdy said. Theres a difference of opinion. Theres 18,000 people in this county and Ive got to have somebody there who can deal with the concerns of all of them. Contrary to what others may think, right now that seems to be working for us because Im very confident in Jimmys ability to deal with the public. I am very satisfied with his performance. Were utilizing him where we think we need the most help right now.  Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700