Coweta County commissioners at the April 21 meeting heard from Sharpsburg resident Michelle Humphries on the subject of conditions at the shelter and the plight of some of the animals there. Commissioners also heard from animal shelter director, Warden Bill McKenzie on improvements made recently at the facility. Commissioners said they would continue to look at ways to improve conditions at the shelter.

Referencing an April 20 email to the board, Humphries noted the circumstances of two dogs recently rescued from the animal shelter.

“The Shih Tzu was brought in as a stray and as you can see from the before picture he was in terrible shape,” the email said. “No one at the shelter had any intention of getting him groomed before he was available for adoption eight days later. This dog could not sit down, lay down and could only urinate on himself because of the severe matting.”

Again referencing the email, Humphries spoke of a cat she said was rescued from the shelter. The cat required surgery and had been kept in a pet carrier for several days awaiting euthanasia. She questioned commissioners as to whether they believed that such cases constituted humane treatment. She suggested the adoption of policies on vaccinations, spaying/neutering and, referencing the Georgia Animal Protection Act, humane treatment.

Commission Chairman Paul Poole responding to Humphries said he had visited the animal shelter several times. He acknowledged that some things do happen, and suggested that shelter staff do a good job and that they do care for the animals in their charge.

Also attending the April 21 meeting, McKenzie said that improvements have been made recently, such as a better cleaning protocol, a procedure for more comprehensive health-related interactions between animals and visitors and instituting a program that began March 21 to have animals vaccinated. He said the shelter had made arrangements with a vet to administer the shots. The vet comes in three times per week, McKenzie said.

Addressing other changes at the shelter, McKenzie said an additional septic line has been installed using inmate labor, additional flaps have been added in dog-run areas to reduce utility costs and staff is keeping better track on animals using a kennel card with a photo of the animal.

“We do make mistakes but it is not because we want to,” McKenzie said, adding that improved procedures come at a cost to the shelter’s $400,000 budget. “At the current rate we’ll exceed our budget by $200,000-300,000 and it’s going for the care of the animals at the facility.”

McKenzie said the new procedures will be reviewed in six months, adding that he hopes to begin de-worming soon, something that is not done on a regular basis.

He said a U.S. Humane Society representative had recently visited the shelter for a quick visit and reported that the shelter was run in a good manner, though some things could be done differently with increased funding.

“I wish we had a no-kill shelter. We have reduced the number of euthanasias. Quite honestly that is an awful job. I’d love to find a way not to have to do that,” McKenzie said, concluding his remarks. “We’ve made improvements but we haven’t gotten all the way there. Running a shelter is harder than running the prison.”

Commissioners noted Humphries’ concerns and the comments of McKenzie. Toward the end of the discussion, Poole and Commissioner Randolph Collins reiterated the board’s concern for the animals at the shelter, with Poole, clearly emotional, noting that board members were among those who loved animals. Collins added several of his dogs had been adopted at the shelter.

Collins said advances had been made at the shelter, adding his position that the commission can only allocate funds to the shelter up to a point. Collins said if faced with allocating funds for animals or people he would have to side with providing the funding for the people.

“We’re limited to what we can do,” he said, then focusing his comment on Humphries’ presentation. “We’ll take her suggestions and look at them. This board is willing to do whatever needs to be done,” he said.

Humphries responded by saying there were ways to bring a resolution to some of the issues at the shelter without additional funding by the county.

Noting the previous statements of others concerned with conditions at the shelter, Collins said it would be helpful if those groups met and came to the commission to present their suggestions.