City receives $10K donation for animal shelters
Published 6:00 am Thursday, January 23, 2025
Bowling Green city officials, representatives of the Humane Society of the United States and Kentucky Secretary of the State Michael Adams join together at City Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, as the Humane Society donates $10,000 to the City of Bowling Green for the purchase of more than 50 outdoor dog houses for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their pets. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Employees of the City of Bowling Green’s Neighborhood and Community Services team up on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, to build over 50 cedar dog houses purchased through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their outdoor pets. The donation comes after city commissioners last month approved changes to the city code to require adequate housing for pets kept outside in city limits. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Brad Schargorodski joins his coworkers at the City of Bowling Green’s Neighborhood and Community Services on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, to help build over 50 cedar dog houses purchased through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their outdoor pets. The donation comes after city commissioners last month approved changes to the city code to require adequate housing for pets kept outside in city limits. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Pam Boomse joins her coworkers at the City of Bowling Green’s Neighborhood and Community Services on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, to help build over 50 cedar dog houses purchased through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their outdoor pets. The donation comes after city commissioners last month approved changes to the city code to require adequate housing for pets kept outside in city limits. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Telia Butler (right) and Brad Schargorodski (left) and other members of the City of Bowling Green’s Neighborhood and Community Services team up on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, to help build over 50 cedar dog houses purchased through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their outdoor pets. The donation comes after city commissioners last month approved changes to the city code to require adequate housing for pets kept outside in city limits. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Scott Hunt (left) and McKenna Tabor (right) and other members of the City of Bowling Green’s Neighborhood and Community Services team up on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, to help build over 50 cedar dog houses purchased through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their outdoor pets. The donation comes after city commissioners last month approved changes to the city code to require adequate housing for pets kept outside in city limits. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Employees of the City of Bowling Green’s Neighborhood and Community Services team up on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, to build over 50 cedar dog houses purchased through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their outdoor pets. The donation comes after city commissioners last month approved changes to the city code to require adequate housing for pets kept outside in city limits. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Telia Butler (left) and Pam Boomse (right) and other members of the City of Bowling Green’s Neighborhood and Community Services team up on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, to help build over 50 cedar dog houses purchased through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their outdoor pets. The donation comes after city commissioners last month approved changes to the city code to require adequate housing for pets kept outside in city limits. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Telia Butler (left) and Pam Boomse (right) and other members of the City of Bowling Green’s Neighborhood and Community Services team up on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, to help build over 50 cedar dog houses purchased through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their outdoor pets. The donation comes after city commissioners last month approved changes to the city code to require adequate housing for pets kept outside in city limits. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Brad Schargorodski, the City of Bowling Green’s code compliance and animal protection manager, speaks about the 50 outdoor dog houses he and his coworkers were able to purchase and construct for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their pets through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States as representatives of the Humane Society of the United States and Kentucky Secretary of the State Michael Adams join together at City Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, to present the $10,000 check. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Todd Blevins, Kentucky State Director of the Humane Society of the United States, speaks about the $10,000 donation from the Humane Society to the City of Bowling Green for the purchase of more than 50 outdoor dog houses for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their pets during a check presentation at City Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Kentucky Secretary of the State Michael Adams speaks about the $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States to the City of Bowling Green for the purchase of more than 50 outdoor dog houses for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their pets during a check presentation at City Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Bowling Green city officials, representatives of the Humane Society of the United States and Kentucky Secretary of the State Michael Adams join together at City Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, as the Humane Society donates $10,000 to the City of Bowling Green for the purchase of more than 50 outdoor dog houses for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their pets. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Bowling Green Police Chief Michael Delaney and Bowling Green City Commissioner Sue Parrigin check out one of the more than 50 outdoor dog houses the City purchased for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their pets through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States following a check presentation at City Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
One of the more than 50 outdoor dog houses the City of Bowling Green purchased for local residents seeking assistance in providing adequate shelter for their pets through a $10,000 donation from the Humane Society of the United States sits constructed at City Hall during a check presentation on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
“These are way better than what Snoopy had.”
This is how Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams described a set of dog houses that will be coming to some residents of the City of Bowling Green after the city’s Code Compliance & Animal Protection Division received a $10,000 donation from the Kentucky Chapter of the Humane Society of the U.S. to provide animal shelters to pet owners in the city’s financially-disadvantaged population.
“Our aim is to protect, not control,” Division Manager Brad Schargorodski said during a Wednesday morning ceremony. “To protect people from animals sometimes, but it’s also to protect animals, unfortunately, from people sometimes, but also from the elements.”
Bowling Green city commissioners last fall approved an amendment to the city’s code of ordinances that mandates “adequate shelter” be provided for all pets within city limits.
For pet owners who are unable to provide this shelter themselves, the city is putting this money toward 60 dog houses that will be assembled and dropped off at houses free of charge to owners.
Personnel from the city’s Neighborhood and Community Services department last Friday afternoon constructed several of the shelters in NCS’ community room. Schargorodski told the Daily News then that lack of shelter – adequate or otherwise – is a pressing issue in the city.
“A lot of the people that we interact with might have an animal that’s almost in a mud pit and it’s just out in the backyard, it’s exposed to the elements,” he said. “It’s just sad to see.”
Todd Blevins, Kentucky state director for HSUS, said Wednesday that Bowling Green was chosen for the donation due to a few factors, including the ordinance change, the city’s focus on animal protection and its status as what he called a city “on the rise.”
“Bowling Green was an easy decision when we decided that this is where we were going to donate,” Blevins said.
He added that the donation is a win for pets in Bowling Green and for pet owners.
“I firmly believe that there are pet owners out there that don’t want to subject their dog to this kind of condition,” he said. “They just may not have the means to make it happen.”
Adams said during the ceremony that Kentucky stands near the bottom nationwide in animal welfare rankings.
“We’re on the wrong side of all sorts of statistics,” Adams said. “We’re in the top five with domestic abuse. We’re the top five with child abuse. We have a long way to go as a commonwealth, but it starts with steps like this.”
He praised the work of the city in changing the laws, and voiced support for the Kentucky General Assembly for adding neglect of animals to the definition of animal torture.
“We have a long way to go, but fortunately, it starts with the steps, and this is a great step,” he said.
About Jack Dobbs
Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.
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