By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

It just doesn't make economic sense to keep the Fayette County Animal Shelter open on Saturdays anymore, county commissioners decided last week.

“If you apply a solid dollars and sense viewpoint to this, the result us not good enough to continue to spend the money for such little activity,” said commission Chairman Harold Bost before the group unanimously voted to end the two-year practice of opening for half days on Saturdays.

The Saturday hours were tried at the request of animal shelter and advocacy spokesmen who pushed the idea in hopes that it would e easier for families to adopt animals on weekends than during the week.

But it hasn't worked out that way, said Bill Newman, director of the shelter. “It hasn't turned out like we thought it would,” Newman told commissioners during their work session last week. “And it has hurt us in terms of manpower.”

He asked commissioners for more personnel during their just completed budget writing process, but was turned down. Newman said that with current staffing, the Saturday hours are making it difficult to keep someone on call for off-hours emergencies, plus staff the shelter during week days.

Bost pointed out that during the first six months that the shelter opened on 25 consecutive Saturdays, there were only 21 adoptions and only 22 reclamations of lost animals, an average of less than one of each.

“We are always in a financial pinch,” he said.