Humane Society Responds To PAW Charges Society Executive Director Calls Accusations Surprising

The Greenville Humane Society said accusations of abuse and neglect at its shelter are not based in fact.

PAW, or People For Animal Welfare, a local animal welfare group, brought the charges at Monday's Greenville City Council meeting.

Representatives for PAW asked the council not to renew the city's $125,000 contract with the Humane Society.

PAW alleges that the Humane Society has mistreated animals. Their charges include animals being kept in filthy kennels and putting aggressive and docile animals in the same cages.

"We and all of my colleagues believe in the concept of a humane society. We would just like to see this particular humane society operate in an effective manner," said PAW member Leslie Armstrong.

Humane Society Executive Director Judy Outlaw said PAW's claims have no factual basis. Outlaw says any problems are the result of a 60-year-old facility that is in the process of being replaced.

"Everything will be brand new and fantastic for the animals that come through our door," Outlaw said. "We're doing the best we can for the animals that come in. Last year it was 23,500 animals that came through our back door."

PAW's allegations have sparked interest from Greenville County officials.  "We've done some investigation on our own with our animal control officers and we're anxious to work with the city as they go forward with an investigation to ensure all animals in Greenville are treated humanely," said Greenville County Administrator Joe Kernell.

Kernell said that no evidence of animal abuse had been found at the Humane Society.  Meanwhile the city is looking at its contract with the society for a different reason--its age. The current contract is 15 years old and has never been renegotiated.  "If our contract is not renewed and we go somewhere else for the service it would certainly have an impact on the Humane Society," Greenville City Manager Jim Bourey said at Monday's meeting.

Meanwhile, Outlaw insists the Humane Society is taking good care of the county's wayward pets.  "We're doing the best we can for the animals, (treating them) the way (they) need to be treated right now at the Greenville Humane Society working under the conditions we're having to work under."  http://www.thecarolinachannel.com/news/3421362/detail.html
If Greenville, NC has that many animals going through that shelter there are much larger problems than simply dirty cages.  What is the number of dogs and  cats being killed at the shelter?

Building a new shelter without addressing the intake numbers will not be an  improvement for those dogs and cats that there simply are no homes for.  They  will be dead nonetheless.

Even a new shelter won't address where all these homeless dogs and cats are  expected to go in a community with an overburdened rescue community and a  shortage or good responsible homes.   Community advocates need to support the upcoming 2005 NC Pet Protection Act  which will develop a state wide spay/neuter fund to address the issues of  animal overpopulation in community's like Greenville.

Shelters throughout the state of North Carolina face the same problems as  those in Greenville.  By all standards Greenville is NOT even a large community -  especially to be producing over 20,000 homeless pets a year.    The problem becomes even larger for North Carolina's larger cities like  Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham.  Rocky Mount has taken to transporting dogs to  shelters in the northeast in an act of desperation to solving that community's  overpopulation problems.

You start fixing shelters in community's like Greenville by addressing the  issues of spay/neutering, breeding licensing and ending the use of gas chambers  as a quick solution to the community's surplus homeless pet numbers.  

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Huckleberry
Hound

This wonderful pup is just amazing. He has tolerated a lifetime on the chain without allowing it to make him mean... and he loves people. Gentle and sweet, he stayed in the yard on that chain -- unless it stormed or he heard gunshots. Then he would come into the house, and settle down for the comfort of his people.

They found HIS BEHAVIOR difficult to manage!??

They dropped him off at a local kill shelter... saying they'd tried to find him a home.

With or without another chain?

PLEASE HELP HUCK! We need to sponsor him or find an adoptive home where the only chains are on the wheels of the car in the wintertime...

Puppy Max is home safe, although it nearly took an act of Congress to accomplish that! Read his story here.