Animal shelter reopens
Staff tries to recover after two-week shutdown
Print
Email
Save
Reprints
Twitter
Share
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
HAMMOND — Mark Johnson recently moved to Hammond from Sedona, Ariz., and thought a cat would be a good addition to the two dogs and horse at his new home.
Johnson was the first person to adopt a pet from the Tangipahoa Parish Animal Control shelter when it reopened to the public at noon Wednesday. The facility had been closed since its entire animal population was euthanized on Aug. 4 because of an unknown disease.
Johnson, who had not heard of the shelter quarantine imposed after the incident, said he came in response to pictures of cats from the shelter he had viewed on Petfinder.com, a national pet adoption Web site.
Instead, he was shown the only cats available for adoption on Wednesday, two 3-month-old kittens whose former owner gave them up to the shelter earlier in the day.
As Johnson cuddled the brown tabby, he could not choose between her and her feistier black sister.
“It’s just two of them. This is the hard part,” Johnson said.
In the end and after an hour of light-hearted salesmanship from the shelter staff, he adopted both.
Lynette Howes, of Ponchatoula, had heard of the mass euthanasia and did not like the idea of giving up her two collie mix puppies to the shelter. But Howes said she already has 14 former stray dogs that she cares for and can’t afford to keep any more animals.
“I did what I had to do,” she said. “I just prayed for the best.”
After two weeks of sometimes intense criticism over the mass euthanasia, shelter operations quickly became routine again in its first hour of public operations.
“It’s going extremely well,” said Donald Dotey, the shelter’s interim director. “It’s not quite back to normal, but it’s better than expected.”
The two kittens adopted by Johnson and the two puppies given up by Howes were all the animals that arrived at the shelter during the first hour.
But certain differences were apparent on Wednesday as well.
A tan tent was set up outside to serve as a temporary quarantine area for new arrivals, enabling animals to be examined before deciding on their kennel placements, said Jeff McKneely, the parish’s assistant finance director, who was on hand for the first public opening.
During the two-week closure, the cat and dog rooms had been repainted, McKneely said. The floor of the indoor dog kennel had been resealed and painted as well.
The parish also nearly completed work on enclosing an area on the back of the building that will serve as an examination and euthanizing room, McKneely said.
Paid for with a $30,000 grant from the state and the Humane Society of the United States, the construction of the room began a month ago and should conclude this week, McKneely said.
The parish also will construct a sheltered outdoor kennel area during the next few months in the yard on the north side of the shelter. Once constructed, these outdoor kennels will become the quarantine area, and only animals ready for adoption will be kept in the indoor facility, McKneely said.
McKneely said he did not know how many kennels it would have because the addition is still being designed.
The Tangipahoa Parish Council is scheduled to vote Monday night on applying for a $32,000 noncompetitive state grant to pay for the expansion project, McKneely said.
Johnson was the first person to adopt a pet from the Tangipahoa Parish Animal Control shelter when it reopened to the public at noon Wednesday. The facility had been closed since its entire animal population was euthanized on Aug. 4 because of an unknown disease.
Johnson, who had not heard of the shelter quarantine imposed after the incident, said he came in response to pictures of cats from the shelter he had viewed on Petfinder.com, a national pet adoption Web site.
Instead, he was shown the only cats available for adoption on Wednesday, two 3-month-old kittens whose former owner gave them up to the shelter earlier in the day.
As Johnson cuddled the brown tabby, he could not choose between her and her feistier black sister.
“It’s just two of them. This is the hard part,” Johnson said.
In the end and after an hour of light-hearted salesmanship from the shelter staff, he adopted both.
Lynette Howes, of Ponchatoula, had heard of the mass euthanasia and did not like the idea of giving up her two collie mix puppies to the shelter. But Howes said she already has 14 former stray dogs that she cares for and can’t afford to keep any more animals.
“I did what I had to do,” she said. “I just prayed for the best.”
After two weeks of sometimes intense criticism over the mass euthanasia, shelter operations quickly became routine again in its first hour of public operations.
“It’s going extremely well,” said Donald Dotey, the shelter’s interim director. “It’s not quite back to normal, but it’s better than expected.”
The two kittens adopted by Johnson and the two puppies given up by Howes were all the animals that arrived at the shelter during the first hour.
But certain differences were apparent on Wednesday as well.
A tan tent was set up outside to serve as a temporary quarantine area for new arrivals, enabling animals to be examined before deciding on their kennel placements, said Jeff McKneely, the parish’s assistant finance director, who was on hand for the first public opening.
During the two-week closure, the cat and dog rooms had been repainted, McKneely said. The floor of the indoor dog kennel had been resealed and painted as well.
The parish also nearly completed work on enclosing an area on the back of the building that will serve as an examination and euthanizing room, McKneely said.
Paid for with a $30,000 grant from the state and the Humane Society of the United States, the construction of the room began a month ago and should conclude this week, McKneely said.
The parish also will construct a sheltered outdoor kennel area during the next few months in the yard on the north side of the shelter. Once constructed, these outdoor kennels will become the quarantine area, and only animals ready for adoption will be kept in the indoor facility, McKneely said.
McKneely said he did not know how many kennels it would have because the addition is still being designed.
The Tangipahoa Parish Council is scheduled to vote Monday night on applying for a $32,000 noncompetitive state grant to pay for the expansion project, McKneely said.
 | ||||
| Most Popular | Most Emailed | Hot Topics | ||
