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Pittsylvania County’s animal shelter in Dry Fork is well off the beaten path — unless you’re following one of the county’s garbage trucks. The shelter building shares space with the operations office at the county’s “sanitary landfill.”
The animal shelter is open weekdays for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon — and other hours “by appointment.”
Given just those two facts, it’s no wonder Pittsylvania County’s shelter has the Dan River Region’s highest euthanasia rate — 84 percent in 2007.
If we didn’t know any better, we’d say the county wasn’t really trying.
To its credit, the Board of Supervisors has agreed to meet with members of the Animal Welfare League. That’s a sign of progress, a good first step toward making the county’s animal shelter a place where lost and adoptable animals have a real second chance.
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“It’s time for a change in the county’s animal-control policies,” league member Bill Fox told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
Some of those changes might involve spending money, but if the Animal Welfare League is able to marshal volunteers to work with the county’s staff at the current shelter, the animals’ lives — and prospects — will be greatly enhanced.
For example, the Animal Welfare League would like the shelter open for at least two hours on Saturdays and guarantee access and staffing during posted hours. Those seem like reasonable requests that could help people track down their missing dogs and give the other dogs at the shelter a chance to be adopted.
The league would also like no-charge transfers of dogs to state-approved rescue organizations. That simple change alone could save a lot of dogs.
But those changes won’t address the underlying problem of too many dogs and cats continuously breeding new generations of unwanted dogs and cats. Until people do a better job of controlling the number of new animals created, there will always be many more adoptable animals than there are families willing and able to give them good homes.
The next best thing the county can do is to give the animals in its shelter the best possible chance. The upcoming meeting is a good start. Let’s hope they do more than just talk.
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Reader Reactions
Strong animal humane supporter, but with people out of work, little money to pay bills, buy food and get high priced medical care, here are a group of Foxes and Hawkins going to the Pittsylvania Board of Stupes with their hands out asking for taxpayer’s money for dogs and cats. Is this another Hawkins’ scheme to fleece the public? The Appomattox County Board showed the way recently by ignoring his attempt to get support for such.
I too have received a ticket, but it was in the Blairs area. I did not have the same experience. This was with a woman! I’m pretty sure!!
Same experience here Gas….except for the ticket…lol
How many times have I said that the Animal Control Officers need to be under the Sheriff’s dept so that the shelter can be privatized or someone can be hired full time to deal with the shelter and adoptions?
Oh and they enforce the solid waste codes and other stuff!
The Animal Control Officers there (there are only 3 for the biggest county in Virginia) do not have time to answer calls, enforce laws, pick up animals, assist the game wardens, enforce the solid waste code, oh and by the way, take care of a shelter which entails adoptions, euthanasia, cleaning, feeding, etc…
The county has gotten a free ride by not paying the ACO’s hardly anything, and they are short handed…..and expecting them to do so much. Not to mention, they are the only on call agency that dont drive vehicles home, like the other county agencies that do and are not even on call!!
The ACO’s need to be put under a law enforcment agency, because they are viewed by many as law officers, not law officers, slash pound caretakers.
Now people are finally noticing something and they aer doing something about it!! Do the right thing BOS. I’m sure the Sheriff wouldnt mind putting them under his command!!
The Board always talk about how they want to save the county taxpayers money while providing them services. Well, this is a no brainer then. The ACO’s get law enforcment training so they can also help the Sheriff’s dept when they are short handed….which all county residents know about that..lol. The County currently lets other dept’s carry their vehicles home and are not subject to be called out, yet ACO’s are….how’s that saving money???? They are the last dept you should take vehicles from!
The citizens will have to wait for something bad to happen where having the vehicles would have prevented it and the the Board will say, well, well, well….maybe we should not have taken their emergency vehicles, like the Sheriff’s have and need! I dont work there and have no vested interest, I just like to keep up with this stuff and am just amazed how they do things there in Chatham.
Oh well, this is just my opinion and I am venting.
It’s time for a change!!
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