AR-News: (GA - US) The public pays when dog's best friend becomes his enemy

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The public pays when dog’s best friend becomes his worst enemy 
  Kevin Liles 
kevinliles at hartcom.net

 
  By Kevin Liles

Staff writer


It may be a losing battle, but 22-year-old Nicole Johnson is fighting on the front lines as hard as she can.

Director of the Northeast Georgia Animal Shelter in Lavonia, Johnson said the enemy is irresponsible pet owners.

“This is a problem that will never go away,” she said. “When you first start, you think you’re making a difference. And I’m sure we’re making a dent, but we’re never going to win.”

Such is the life of an animal shelter director.

“The burnout rate for people in my position is about a year or a year and a half,” she said.

Johnson has directed the shelter, which can house up to 150 animals, since December, 2002. More than 1,800 animals have been euthanized there on her watch.

At least 900 pounds of animals are put down each week, she said. And though it would seem to get easier with time, it only gets harder.

“I was numb to (euthanizing) to begin with,” she said. “I wish I could come in here and just put down two animals a week, but that isn’t going to happen.”

The shelter, which operates on a $100,000 budget, opened in 1998. It is jointly funded by Franklin and Hart counties.

Of the animals taken to the shelter, 40 percent come from Hart County and the remaining 60 percent come from Franklin County.

Spaying and neutering dogs and cats is essential to controlling the problem – unwanted pets. 

“Unless you are a licensed breeder, you cannot be a responsible pet owner and not spay or neuter your dog or cat,” Johnson said.

The numbers are staggering.

Johnson said that a cat, its mate and all of its offspring can produce 11,801 in five years if all go without spaying or neutering. That number counts two kittens per litter.

Operating the shelter can also be a problem. Johnson said her biggest challenge is staffing. Turnover is high because of low pay and the chores that come with the job, such as cleaning out cages.

There are two full-time workers aside from Johnson, one of whom started Monday. Johnson has a couple of part-time workers and always needs volunteers, she said.

As a publicly funded operation, the shelter cannot turn any animal away.

Last week, a man brought two dogs back to the shelter that he adopted several days earlier. He said that the dogs howled all night and “did not act right.”

The dogs – both mixed labs – seemed normal.

“I hate it when this happens,” Johnson said.

People drop off animals – ranging from mice and chickens to rabbits – for a number of reasons.

“One family had a dog for 13 years, and they dropped it off here when they went on vacation,” said Sherry Atkinson, a shelter volunteer. “They just didn’t want to take the dog with them. I couldn’t believe it.”

Johnson said she uses volunteers to interact with the animals. Otherwise, the only time the animals see the outside of their cages is when they are cleaned.

People who adopt an animal from the shelter are required to have it spayed or neutered within 30 days.

Johnson said other shelters in surrounding counties have a much higher adoption rate than Lavonia’s shelter.

“We put down 80 percent of the animals we took in last year,” Johnson said. Another shelter nearby adopted 45 percent of its animals, she said.

“I don’t know why, but we’ll keep trying and doing the best we can,” Johnson said.

kevinliles at hartcom.net