Residents urge Ashe County to fund new animal shelter after repeated state inspection violations

Tammy Tenori, a founder of Friends of Ashe County Animal Shelter, told the Ashe County Board of Commissioners that the county's animal-control facility is "in serious jeopardy" after repeated Department of Agriculture inspection violations and ongoing maintenance problems. She asked commissioners to approve and budget for architectural design plans this fiscal year so a new shelter could be funded in a following year.

The Tenoris and animal-control volunteers said the building has broken windows and poor weather stripping, rusted and sharp kennel edges, inadequate heating and cooling, and an outdoor exercise area the Department of Agriculture deems unacceptable. Tenori said those conditions leave animals kenneled "24/7" and increase disease risk. She said the shelter housed 1,044 animals in 2023, 950 in 2024 and 480 from January through May of this year.

Dar Joseph Tenori, co-founder and former Raleigh city attorney, asked commissioners to reserve square footage in the planned new agriculture building to allow future construction of a shelter, and to authorize design work now rather than waiting to fund full construction. "It doesn't necessarily have to be monies to totally upfit a new shelter," he said, but setting aside space would speed future work and reduce costs.

Volunteer Deborah Spies urged changing the shelter from open admission to managed admission so staff could schedule surrenders and better handle incoming animals, while still responding to emergencies and strays. She listed immediate building needs including sealed doors, repairs to crumbling cement, patched peeling paint, awning/outer pens that must be connected for safe time outside, refrigeration for rabies samples and vaccines, and at least a small backup generator so staff have water and lights during outages. "How do you clean and take care of animals with no water?" she asked.

Resident Amanda Horton said she had learned 27 cats were euthanized in one day and described that outcome as "extreme" if the county cannot house and socialize animals for rescue and adoption.

Multiple commissioners acknowledged the concerns during and after public comment. Commissioners said the shelter had been discussed earlier in their budget work sessions and that they were "cognizant" of the request to find short-term fixes while developing a long-term plan. Commissioners noted budget constraints and the need to identify funding before committing to construction.

The public comment period closed with commissioners saying staff would follow up and that the issue would be put on future agendas for further discussion and possible budget consideration.

The speakers asked commissioners to tour the shelter; volunteers said they would provide inspection reports and lists of repairs. No formal motion or vote on shelter funding was made during this meeting.

Ending: Commissioners thanked volunteers for speaking and said staff (county manager and animal-control leadership) would be asked to report back with options and cost estimates for both temporary repairs and design work for a future facility.