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Animal care in Robertson County going astray
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 11:28 PM EDT
The national nonprofit agency Animal League Defense Fund claims it filed suit against Robertson and Estill counties, Wednesday, for "failing to provide basic, humane conditions for stray dogs and cats, as mandated by Kentucky’s Humane Shelter Law."
The suit against Robertson County was filed on a complaint from resident Toni Penrod claiming the holding facility for Robertson County strays "is a primitive wooden shack where dogs endure searing heat in summer and freezing temperatures in the winter and lie amidst their own excrement on dirt floors that flood during rainstorms."
It also complains Robertson County has no facility for stray cats and does not allow the dog catcher to retain cats.
Though he said he has not received a copy of the suit, Robertson County Judge-Executive Billy Allison addressed some of the claims.
"Our county attorney has been telling us to expect something like it, but I have seen nothing today. The cats part is true, we don't pick up cats, but Blue (Randy McBride) does the best he can with what he has to work with for the dogs. He really cares and has really tried to find homes for the dogs. He even gives them baths and flea dips because the dogs he picks up are usually filthy and covered with fleas and ticks," Allison said.
According to his understanding of the rules, the county is required to care for strays for a short period of time so residents may retrieve lost pets, before the dogs can be taken elsewhere or euthanized.
"We do that. We have an arrangement with Bracken County Animal Shelter and from what I have been told, at least 80 percent of the dogs Blue has taken there are adopted out. They have a very good adoption program there," Allison said.
The Robertson shelter building is a shed, but it is divided into pens so the dogs are sheltered and separated by gender, are provided with water and food, and McBride has created another shelter area under a shade tree, Allison said.
"We don't have the hot water in the building that they require, but we do what we can." he said.
According to ALDF, "the Humane Shelter Law sets minimum standards that counties must meet in caring for their homeless animals, including operating (or contracting with other counties operating) animal shelters that provide for basic care, food and water, shelter, public access, and humane euthanasia. Counties must also have a program allowing lost dogs and cats to be reunited with their families and potentially adopted when they are abandoned."
Funding and being turned down on grant requests for a better facility are part of the problem, Allison said.
"We don't have a lot of money to spend on it but we have been trying," Allison said.
According to ALDF, the suits will be handled by ALDF Board Chairperson and Louisville attorney Katie Brophy.
For more on ALDF go to http://www.aldf.org.
Contact Wendy Mitchell at wendy.mitchell@lee.net or call 606-564-9091, ext. 276.
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