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Gibson County shelter caring for about 80 dogs as volunteers, supplies fall short; new facility near completion
Summary
Sharon Werny told commissioners the county animal shelter is caring for about 80 dogs with only 16 kennels available, and staff are relying on foster homes and recent fundraisers while the new 38-kennel facility nears completion but awaits fencing and glass panels.
Sharon Werny, speaking for the county animal shelter, told the Gibson County Commissioners the facility is caring for roughly 80 dogs while operating with just 16 kennels and relying heavily on foster homes and volunteers.
"We have 80 dogs, 16 kennels," Werny said, noting that 16 dogs were in foster care. She described persistent staff turnover and an urgent need for large kennels and dog houses to handle dogs that cannot be kenneled together.
Werny said the new shelter building is nearly finished but still needs some interior glass panels and exterior perimeter fencing; Tristate Fencing was delayed because crews were reassigned to work on a governor's project. The new facility will have 38 kennels, she said, and the shelter expects to use temporary quarantine space and garage areas until more crates can be obtained.
The director also outlined recent fundraising and volunteer efforts, saying the shelter ran six adoption events in April and staged a large car show in May with strong support from three motorcycle clubs, which Werny credited with producing the biggest fundraiser she has seen in years.
Werny said the shelter plans an open house once the move is complete and asked the commissioners to consider temporarily closing the roadway between the old and new shelters during that event for safety reasons. "We would probably realistically request that the roadway between the old and the new shelter be temporarily closed just for safety reasons of the number of people we're going to have to have coming and going and dogs and things," she said.
Werny also described a successful placement of a Malinois that the Newcastle prison canine unit accepted for training after an extended assessment and transport.
The commissioners did not take formal action on shelter funding tonight; they acknowledged the report and indicated staff and commissioners would coordinate logistics for any requested temporary road closure and continue to monitor shelter needs.
