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Animal-control director reports shelter strain, lower adoptions and higher returns
Summary
Animal Control Officer Mike McNutt told the Hardin County Fiscal Court that adoptions and rescue placements remain depressed while returns-to-owner and complaint responses have risen; the shelter’s live release rate fell short of the 90% no-kill benchmark for 2024.
Animal Control Officer Mike McNutt reported to the Hardin County Fiscal Court on Feb. 11 that the county animal shelter continues to face capacity and health challenges, with lower adoptions and more animals returned to owners.
“January, we adopted out 26. We return 16,” McNutt said, and he described rescue groups statewide and regionally as “full,” which has reduced off-site placement options. He told the court that rescue transfers have been constrained and some animals are being transported out of state when possible.
McNutt provided performance figures he said were current through January: dogs euthanized at 14% year to date; dogs adopted at 51% year to date; dogs returned to owners at 31% year to date. He said the shelter’s year-to-date live release rate was 87% and that the overall 2024 live release rate was 85%, below the 90% rate commonly cited to classify a shelter as “no kill.” "If I wouldn't put it in the backyard beside my grandson, I'm not gonna put it beside one of the citizens," McNutt said, explaining euthanasia decisions for aggressive or seriously ill animals.
McNutt said the shelter investigated 12 of 20 complaints (a figure he said was up about 45% since 2022), and described an outbreak of illness tied to an outside feral-cat population that limited trap-neuter-return (TNR) activity; he reported only one TNR surgery recorded during the period cited.
The department ran a rabies clinic in West Point that saw 63 animals (reported as 45 dogs and 17 cats); McNutt said 46 animals received rabies vaccinations and eight were microchipped at that event.
McNutt urged patience as the shelter works to increase its live-release numbers and said staffing and full rescue networks have constrained placements. He closed by noting the shelter had 500 visitors in the month seeking lost pets or adoptions and that staff performed 99 surgeries in the period reported, 46 of which were for shelter animals.
No formal action was taken on shelter operations at the meeting.
