SAVANNAH, Tenn.– A public meeting was held at the Hardin County courthouse to discuss the recent conditions and status of the Hardin County Animal Services Center.
Chris Sikes, director of the shelter, gave a brief overview of the status of the shelter.
In the past year, hundreds of strays were brought into the shelter, 90 that were taken in by officers and 81 that were surrendered by their owners.
There were at least 20 people in attendance all there to express how they feel about the current conditions of the shelter and how it’s being run.
“We’ll say tonight’s meeting, we don’t want to discuss personnel issues at public forums, but this is your animal shelter and we want it to be the best it can be for our citizens,” says Hardin County Mayor, Kevin Davis.
One resident says she’s been taking in cats herself and getting them neutered due to the conditions of the shelter for animals other than dogs…
“The issue comes with un-neutered cats in the county that every summer they have their kittens and the cat population in the shelter booms up to over one hundred and the only way we can even out is because our vets are so limited in the area in terms of being able to neuter, we can’t get them out,” says Patricia Cox, a concerned resident.
Other shelters that take in animals are also concerned due to the influx of calls and messages they receive from upset pet owners.
“I really would like to see it get better because it falls on us when we get the phone calls we get all the flack we hear all the people who are screaming and hollering because they call the shelter and the shelter did not respond to them they call the shelter and they left a message and they never got a call back,” says one woman who works in a different shelter.
Since there wasn’t a quorum for the meeting, a final decision couldn’t be made on the future of the shelter. The next meeting will be held on October 24th at the Hardin County Courthouse at 5 p.m.