What is the future of Rockingham County’s animal shelter?

By Heather Smith

Published: September 6, 2008

About 50 people gathered earlier this summer by the concrete building that has served as Rockingham County’s animal shelter for 25 years. Volunteers made paper chains that hung in long loops on the chain-link fence, one ring for every shelter animal euthanized in the past year.

Shelter Director Caroline Sanders said she intended the candlelight vigil to be a memorial for lives lost. It was emotional for her and the collection of people, most of whom have volunteered at the shelter or worked with the Animal Protection Society of Rockingham County, the Rockingham County Humane Society and other local animal rights groups. Sanders said a woman approached her that night with something important to say.

“She said she couldn’t stay because it was too emotional for her, but she wanted to drop off a donation for the shelter,” Sanders said.

The woman was gone before Sanders looked at the check. It was for $500.

Rockingham County pays Reidsville Veterinary Hospital to operate the shelter. As reported earlier this spring, RVH does not separate its shelter and business budgets. County Manager Tom Robinson said the county has never required RVH to report how it uses taxpayer money.

Debbie Boone, RVH operations manager, said county money does not pay for all of its expenses. Boone said county funds are supposed to pay for food, utilities, rent, medical care and Sanders’ salary.

Though Sanders was hired last year, the public has asked RVH to install heating, air conditioning and sanitation measures required by state law for years.

After an outbreak of parvovirus in February, Boone was asked if RVH would install barriers to prevent cross contamination between kennels.

“I don’t think so,” she said then. “We’re about to move into a new home in about a year and the shelter’s about to move into a new home, so I don’t think we will.”

Past conditions at the shelter alarmed volunteers and visitors. Dogs were not protected from extremes in temperature. Some remembered puppies frozen to the concrete floor in winter or dogs slowly perishing from heat in summer.

The more vocal petitioned the county numerous times for a government-operated shelter, but their cause was among several for the county. When residents railed against conditions at the shelter, county administration cited financial crunches as the area lost industry.

When others questioned the quality of care RVH provided to shelter animals, it cited the county’s contract. The veterinary hospital is paid to hold strays and owner surrenders for three days before euthanizing them. Any work to promote adoption, make animals comfortable or educate the public about spay-and-neuter programs is up to RVH’s discretion.

Slowly, conditions improved. More than a year ago, the county commissioners agreed to remove the gas chamber used to euthanize shelter animals and replace it with more humane lethal injections. In 2007, RVH hired Sanders as the shelter’s first director. The NCDA required RVH to install barriers between kennels, and air-conditioning units were donated after some animals may have died of heat exhaustion.

The Rockingham County shelter was inspected several times by the N.C. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Welfare Section. According to reports online, the NCDA inspector had not failed the shelter until February’s parvovirus outbreak brought media attention to the problems.

Dr. Lee Hunter, state veterinarian for the NCDA Animal Welfare Section, was asked why the shelter passed inspection six times before the inspector disapproved conditions.

“I can’t tell you why they were not observed,” Hunter said. “Many times it depends on the situation when inspectors visit shelters.”

Hunter said inspectors must be present to see violations happening before failing a shelter. Temperature is a concern, but a shelter cannot be disapproved for being too hot unless the inspector is there to observe it. Lack of barriers between kennels, insufficient employee-to-animal ratio, lack of a common play area for dogs — all required by law — were corrected within the past six months.

Adam Lindsey, Rockingham County Budget and Performance manager, said the public should see several things happen in September as the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee begins to move on its plans.

Lindsey said once solid construction plans are in place, the county can decide how much money the commissioners authorize. The county will shoulder a majority of the cost, but not all. It and the committee are placing hope in the generosity of county animal lovers to contribute.

The committee recently announced that it hired Julie Swanner to be the fundraising campaign director.

“Right now, we’re trying to put a brand or an image together to make it easier to pitch to business owners,” Lindsey said.

Plans by the N.C. Department of Transportation to widen N.C. 87 means RVH and the shelter will be demolished to make way. The shelter advisory committee’s early goal was to have the shelter completed and open by next July, though work on it and the wider road may be delayed.

“We asked when was the earliest they expected to start. Some said 2010 at the earliest, but that could change,” Lindsey said. “I think it’ll be a best-case scenario.”

Lindsey said RVH is eager to end its contract with the county to operate the shelter.

Early estimates of the unapproved design are about $1.5 million for a 10,000-square-foot building. The design incorporates state requirements for animal housing and isolation areas and other features the committee believes would promote adoption. Lindsey said several bonding rooms and an outdoor play area are ideal but subject to the project budget.

“The bottom line is, if the money is not there, we have to scale back somewhere and that’s where it’s had to be,” he said.

How much money needs to be raised is still undecided.

Said Lindsey, “Though we joke that we need as much as we can possibly get …We’ll build a shelter with all the features if we can, but they’re a secondary concern. The building will maximize sustainability and controlling operations cost, but it will definitely be built with an eye toward later expansion.”

The annual operations budget is a little easier, Lindsey said, and the county plans to partner with other agencies for volunteer workers and services.

Once the contract with RVH expires, the $119,324 paid annually to the business will fund the county shelter. Though Boone said that amount is far below what RVH puts into running the shelter, Lindsey was optimistic.

“My guess is no, it won’t, but my hope is we’ll find other revenue streams, too,” he said. “I can’t comment on Reidsville Veterinary, but the county has the utmost commitment to using this money wisely.”

The committee plans for three full-time positions, a possible part-time worker, and a reliance on a strong volunteer force to help with adoptions. Though Lindsey said many other business models suggest several more for a shelter, the county simply cannot afford it.