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When I
came to work for The Ledger Independent almost six years ago, I was a
reporter covering Bracken and Robertson Counties. One of the first issues that came up was a lawsuit by Randy
Skaggs, founder of
The Trixie Foundation, and other animal welfare organizations against
70 Kentucky counties for failing to comply with the state statutes on
animal shelters.
At that
time, all five Buffalo Trace counties were named in the suit. Having covered the
issue, I can say that Skaggs' lawsuit had a very
positive effect in Bracken County.
When I
began covering Bracken County, the dog shelter consisted of some cages
made from pallets and fencing at the home of the then dog warden Joe Kiskaden.
Feeling
pressure from both the lawsuit and from local residents, the fiscal
court reluctantly voted to build a new dog shelter on county property
outside Brooksville. The county spent over $43,500 to construct
the shelter in 2001.
Upon
completion of the shelter, Skaggs said that although other counties
were making improvements "when you look at what Bracken County considered its 'dog pound' a year ago--and now look at the brand new,
clean and modern facility--there surely is no other county in the
entire state that has accomplished so much in one year's time."
Public
complaints also led to the hiring of a new dog warden, James Moore.
Originally hired as a part-time dog warden, Moore is now retired and
works full-time at the shelter.
Mason
County was later dropped from the suit, when it was discovered that
the county did in fact have a shelter and full-time dog warden.
Despite that, the Mason County shelter is certainly not a model
shelter. Hours when the public can visit the shelter are
extremely limited and relatively few animals are adopted out.
The good
news in Mason County is that a humane society is being organized.
Skaggs
also shined a spotlight on Fleming County's shelter, which was inside
a barn on the dog warden's property. Fleming County residents who discovered where the shelter was and visited it described the
conditions as deplorable.
Former
dog warden Eddie Jolly said of the 722 dogs he picked up in 2000,
about 10 were adopted or picked up by their owners.
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Fleming
County has since contracted with Mason County for shelter services. Fleming still has its own dog warden, Andy Allen, but the dogs are
taken to Mason County Animal Shelter for housing for five days prior
to being euthanized if not adopted. The majority are still euthanized.
The bad
news is, nothing has changed in Lewis County where Judge-Executive
Steve Applegate made a promise when he ran for office that a new
shelter would be built under his leadership.
Lewis
County did apply for a state grant, but when it was not received the
county made no more moves toward building a shelter. Not
receiving a grant is an inadequate excuse for not building a shelter.
Bracken County didn't have a grant to build a shelter. In fact, after
reviewing the grant requirements, Bracken chose not to apply
because the strings that were attached would have cost the county too
much money in the future.
Lewis
County Dog Warden Billy Bowles has three cages on his property to
house dogs, and he is not qualified to euthanize animals. In the
past, Lewis County and other counties used gunshot as a method if
euthanasia. However, in 2004, the legislature outlawed this
cruel method. With little room to house animals and no way to
euthanize them, it sounds as though Bowles' hands are tied.
Without a proper facility and training, there is little he can do.
Yes, a
new shelter would cost money--about $50,000, probably. However,
Lewis County is obligated under state law to provide an animal
shelter. Despite Bowles' efforts, a few kennels cannot be
confused with a shelter.
Robertson County does have a shelter near the county road barn, but
there is some debate within the county as to whether it is adequate.
And, like Lewis County, Robertson was using gunshot as a method of
euthanasia until is was made illegal by the legislature. It is
unclear what Robertson County Dog Warden Randy McBride is now doing
with unwanted animals.
The
Trixie Foundation lawsuit was dismissed in April 2001, by Franklin
Circuit Court Judge Robert L. Crittenden for having been brought in
the wrong venue. It is unfortunate when members of the public
must file lawsuits to get their local governments to comply with state
law, but apparently that is sometimes what it takes. Since the
suit was dismissed there has been little or no movement to improve
public animal shelters in the area.
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