County Shelter Fills With Animals

Shonna Harvey, right, former director of the Washington County Animal Shelter, speaks Sept. 19 with consultant Lib Horn in one of the kennels at the newly constructed shelter in Fayetteville. Harvey said County Judge Marilyn Edward forced her to submit her resignation Nov. 16.
Shonna Harvey, right, former director of the Washington County Animal Shelter, speaks Sept. 19 with consultant Lib Horn in one of the kennels at the newly constructed shelter in Fayetteville. Harvey said County Judge Marilyn Edward forced her to submit her resignation Nov. 16.

— The Washington County Animal Shelter filled with animals and lost its director during its first two months.

Shonna Harvey submitted her resignation Nov. 16.

County Judge Marilyn Edwards hired Harvey in May with input from members of the county’s Animal Concerns Advisory Board.

“It was an involuntary resignation,” Harvey said Wednesday. “I was asked by Judge Edwards to resign. I want it to be a point that I did not abandon my staff or the animals. I did not walk away.”

Edwards wouldn’t comment about the reason for Harvey’s resignation, county attorney George Butler said Monday.

The county built the shelter after Fayetteville officials said in 2010 they could no longer keep animals found outside the city at its shelter.

The advisory board helped Edwards develop a plan for building the shelter, estimating the number of staff members needed and preparing a 2012 budget.

Members of the Quorum Court earlier this month got a glimpse of some of the shelter’s challenges.

Harvey developed a 2013 budget for the Quorum Court Budget Committee’s review Nov. 1. Her budget included requests to increase staffing, contract a full-time veterinarian instead of part-time, buy a vehicle and buy more supplies, such as pet food.

Harvey’s pitch was difficult to justify to the Quorum Court because the shelter had been open 47 days. She asked for three more kennel supervisors to offset the overtime her staff was incurring.

The kennel supervisors care for the animals and supervise inmate labor from the nearby Washington County Detention Center, she said.

Harvey told the committee staffing the shelter on the weekends was difficult. She also explained an employee was designated to split time as a veterinarian technician and kennel supervisor. That employee was working full-time as a technician, she said.

The committee approved one additional employee, no vehicle and enough money to contract a part-time veterinarian. Members of the committee told Harvey the county owns several vehicles she could use rather than buy a new one.

The committee reduced Harvey’s $602,904 budget request to $466,509. The shelter’s 2012 budget is $322,939.

Claudette Cardwell, chairwoman of the advisory board, said she didn’t think Harvey had enough information to warrant her request.

“I recommended we get just one (employee),” she said. “At this time, we don’t have enough data to justify three. If it’s managed correctly, it will work just fine.”

Cardwell said the shelter took in 354 animals from Sept. 17 to Nov. 16. Of those, 56 were adopted, 18 reclaimed, 20 fostered, 75 to shelters in other states, and 37 euthanized.

Most of the animals that were euthanized were sick, Cardwell said.

“During the time I was there, I’m very proud no animals were euthanized for space reasons,” Harvey said Wednesday.

The shelter’s office manager, Angela Ledger, will run the day-to-day activities until a director is hired, Butler said Monday.

Cardwell said Ledger and Harvey were the final candidates considered for shelter director.

She said Ledger has a background in veterinary management, while Harvey worked for the Humane Society of the Ozarks.

“It was a tight choice,” she said. “We thought Shonna would be better because of her background with the humane society, but Angela was qualified too. Ultimately, the judge made the final decision.”

Ledger said she doesn’t know how long she’ll hold the temporary position, but she’s interested in the job.

“I love what I do and I would definitely take on that position,” she said.

Ledger said managing the population of the shelter has been the biggest challenge.

She said she hopes to do more community outreach to publicize the facility.

“We need more people coming in to see that we have great animals,” she said. “I wish we had no animals here, but we’re sending a lot out the door. If we can keep chugging along, I think we’ll be OK.”

County officials and volunteers continue to push for public awareness about the services, including adoptions, microchip implantation and spay and neuter services.

The Animal League of Washington County recently established a program to reunite pets with their owners, Cardwell said.

She said volunteers photograph animals thought to be “pre-owned” and post the photos in small towns.

Cardwell said training new people and developing a daily operational “rythm” are the biggest challenges the shelter faces.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office provided the shelter with two state inmates and six work release inmates.

“The inmates have been wonderful,” Harvey said Nov. 15. “They do all the heavy cleaning and a variety of other duties. In the morning, they walk them in our outdoor runs and groom them.”

Sheriff Tim Helder told the budget committee he planned to put eight prisoners at the shelter but could only provide two because of fewer state inmates at the jail.

Harvey told the committee she and Edwards found female inmates at the Northwest Arkansas Community Corrections Centers.

Cardwell said the shelter was built so it could expand, but that won’t happen for at least several years.

“The first six months of any new shelter are always the busiest,” she said. “It’s new and it’s the first time the county has had a shelter.”

Justine Middleton, superintendent of the Fayetteville shelter, said in the two months since the county shelter opened, the city took in 42 percent fewer animals than the same time last year. Middleton said the shelter reduced its euthanasia rate by 79 percent and increased adoptions by 23 percent compared to the same two months last year.

Up Next

Budget Meeting

What: Quorum Court Committee of the Whole reviews all departmental budgets

When: 5:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Courthouse, 280 N. College Ave., Fayetteville

The city shelter took in 5,138 animals last year, adopted or transported 3,211 and euthanized 1,831. The euthanasia rate for 2011 was 35.6 percent, which was down 8.6 percent from 2009.

“I can’t wholly attribute it to the county shelter because we’ve really been working our rescue contacts this year,” she said. “It’s easier being able to divert some of what we get in to the county. We definitely have some breathing room now.”

Last year, the Fayetteville Animal Shelter euthanized 35.6 percent of the animals, down 8.6 percent since 2009.

From mid-September to the end of October, Cardwell said the county shelter generated $3,685 in revenue from contracts with cities and adoption fees.

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