Murphy – Cherokee County commissioners want interim reports about Valley River Humane Society operations as a condition to continue the county’s $250,000 annual contribution for housing homeless dogs and cats.
The humane society operates a no-kill shelter in Marble that provides shelter under contract with Cherokee and Clay counties.
State law requires the county to fund 72 hours of an animal’s shelter. About 75% of the Valley River Humane Society’s $1.2 million budget is funded by donations, but because of its no-kill policy, the shelter is often at capacity and can’t take new drop-offs.
As far as county commissioners are concerned, that means the shelter isn’t fulfilling its end of the contract. Some are also concerned that the shelter discourages drop-in visits from people interested in adopting animals.
The Valley River Humane Society was serving Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties, with Cherokee accounting for 72% of the monthly intake of animals. Graham was adding 16%, with Clay accounting for 11%.
Graham County dropped out of the arrangement at the start of the year after the shelter and county could not agree to a funding arrangement. Valley River Humane Society Board of Directors President Don Reynolds said the departure was a net gain since Graham wasn’t covering its costs.
County commissioners included the $250,000 annual contribution in the county’s annual budget with largely the same contract as before, but with a twist.
The board wants monthly reports of all animals taken in, dog or cat, whether a stray or an “owner surrender,” where the animal come from (address, community, general area), why the animal was surrendered (stray, can no longer care for, moving, etc.) and who surrendered the animal to include their name, phone number and physical address. The board also wants data about those who attempted to surrender an animal but were turned away, and why.
Reynolds will present the new requirements to his board for consideration.
In addition to housing animals, the shelter provides veterinary care. It is required to take reasonable steps to locate and return animals at the shelter to their rightful owners.
It also can’t reasonably restrict or prevent the adoption of any eligible animal from any person seeking to adopt an animal. The shelter has reported that it attempts to ensure that animals are a good fit for someone adopting it. For example, an elderly person in a wheelchair is discouraged from adopting a young animal that requires physical activity.
The shelter is also required to “maintain sufficient capacity to house animals seized as evidence by law enforcement agencies and animals submitted to VRHS by the Cherokee County animal control officer and shall maintain such space as to facilitate quarantined animals as may be ordered by the Cherokee County health director.”