Spencer County hires interim animal control officer after public outcry over shelter handling

Spencer County Fiscal Court voted on March 16 to hire an interim animal control officer after an emotional public-comment period that focused on the county shelter's handling of an injured dog.

The court voted, on a motion by Magistrate Travis seconded by Magistrate Beaverson, to hire "James" as interim Animal Control Officer at $14.00 per hour. The vote was recorded as unanimous. Court business earlier that evening had included lengthy public remarks from residents pressing for accountability and changes to hiring and shelter procedures.

Several residents directly criticized the county's handling of a March 1 euthanasia. Resident Tommy Lewis, who identified himself as the dog's owner, said his family had been deeply affected: "my wife cried every night and my little boy cried every day for the dog," he told the court. Magistrates offered condolences; Magistrate J. Moody said he was "sorry" and described the reaction as heartfelt.

Sue Eades, who said she had applied for the county Animal Control Officer position, told the court she believed she had been passed over because of her gender and said those "in leadership were like pit bulls," an allegation she linked to comments made during the hiring process. Magistrate Travis denied having used that language and said he would not have called her that: "I would have never called her a pit bull, because I wasn't like that," he said.

The court considered but did not adopt a written Spencer County Animal Control memorandum (effective March 3, 2020) that had been circulated to define stepped procedures for evaluating injured animals, documenting conditions, attempting owner contact and consulting veterinarians before authorizing euthanasia. Magistrate Beaverson moved to adopt the policy but, after additional questions and a request for the full standard operating procedures from Mr. Melvin Gore, the motion and second were withdrawn so members could review the SOPs.

Judge Executive John Riley and other magistrates acknowledged the emotional intensity of the issue and said the county would seek clearer procedures and documentation going forward. The court then moved into an executive session and, after returning, approved the interim hire. The court recorded that any euthanasia authorized by the Animal Control Director or Judge Executive would be performed by injection under veterinary supervision and that fiscal limits for treatment would be established as policy-level decisions.

Next steps: the court left the written memorandum under review and asked for Mr. Gore's standard operating procedures to be placed on a future agenda; the interim officer is to serve while the court reviews policy and staffing.

(Reporting note: quotes and attributions are taken from the March 16, 2020 Spencer County Fiscal Court transcript and recorded motions.)