Q

: What are the conditions at the city pound?

 

 

A

: Like many municipal animal shelter agencies, the Brookhaven city pound is underfunded to do the job it are tasked to do.

According to information from multiple animal advocacy agencies, animal shelters provide care and treatment to animals needing protection, attempt to find

homes for homeless animals and reunite lost pets with their families. When necessary, animal shelters provide a humane death for homeless or un-adoptable animals.

There are different categories of animal shelters, including: municipal animal control agencies, run by city or county governments; private, non-profit agencies overseen by a board of directors; and private, non-profit agencies with a government contract to provide animal control services, according to a publication written for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Today’s shelters range from single rooms with multiple cages to state-of-the-art facilities with amenities that might rival some hotels, according to the ASPCA.

The Brookhaven city pound is more like the former, as are most city pounds, with 16 pens under one roofed structure not enclosed by walls. Municipal agencies are funded by the government and often have non-profit arms to help close the gap between costs and funding.

The Brookhaven Animal Rescue League is one of those arms. Animal Control Officers Roxanne Norton and Peter Rabbit go above the standard call of duty typical of pound workers by attempting to treat, rehabilitate, train or adopt out the animals they receive. Norton said most pounds do not and most likely cannot afford to make such efforts.

Norton used to buy medications to treat the impounded dogs herself, including medicine to treat fleas, ticks, worms and mange. The Brookhaven Animal Rescue League helps a lot, Norton said, by donating the de-wormer and the dip for her.

City pound workers are usually an example of well-meaning people doing the best they can with what they have, and city officials have commented on the extraordinary efforts made by Brookhaven’s animal control officers. Norton said her superior, Police Chief Bobby Bell, has made attempts to get something done at the pound, which is in need of repairs and could use upgrading. Unfortunately, Norton said, it isn’t very likely that the pound will see an influx of cash anytime soon, as it takes a backseat to other priorities of city funding.

The non-profit and community arms of assistance come in here. BARL and several other close animal shelter agencies take adoptable dogs from the pound when the organization can and donate supplies like medicine, as their resources allow. Concerned members of the community can help pick up the slack by donating items to the city pound, such as medicines, food and other pet care items.

As Lincoln County does not have a pound, the city pound is tasked with a large area to serve. While facilities are not ideal, officers and officials do what they can for the animals, and community support would be welcomed.

To find out more about options to assist the city pound in its efforts to rehabilitate, shelter and care for the animals of Lincoln County and Brookhaven, visit the AC50 Roxanne/ AC51 Peter Rabbit Facebook page.