The Walker County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center has suspended the intake of animals to allow staff to focus on the proper care of those currently at the shelter, according to local officials.
The decision was made by County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield on June 20, with no specific timeline for when more animals could be accepted into the center, said county spokesman Joe Legge.
“[Reopening is] dependent on the animals we have in the shelter,” Legge said.
At the time of suspension, 88 dogs were housed in 48 runs and 34 cats in 30 cages. The capacity of the shelter is dependent on the animals in care. If staff can double up small dogs that get along, the shelter can host a maximum of 96 dogs, but if they only receive larger dogs that are aggressive toward others, they can only hold 48. Cats are different because of the size of the cages, Legge explained.
Two years ago, the shelter’s euthanasia rate was about 50%. Whitfield pledged in 2017 to bring that number down by working with the national nonprofit Target Zero, which assessed that the rate could be brought down to 10%, according to a Times Free Press article from the time.