I know many of the veterinarians do not want anything to do with the shelter; for whatever reason. Whoever with the number of feral cats that come to the shelter each day… the vet would have to come several times a day just for them; they have no way to house feral cats. And no place to hold them for long periods (not even hours at that rate), during puppy an kitten season, sometimes 30 or more cats a day are euthanized.I know the Humane Society offered both sheriffs
the option of HS paying for P.O.S.T certification. I am quite sure the director of the shelter disagreed also with us being turned over to the Sheriff’s Office; it would have taken away from the shelter budget. I offered to pay for my own POST certification a year into my job and was denied. But when you need a warrant it is an act of congress in this town to get one when you’re not post certified and even harder to get corporation from either agency to help with anything involving warrants and animals.I spoke to one of our judges to try to get an inspection warrant, and was told no because I was only an officer of the court “no warrants for animal control officers” The sheriff’s department is very helpful in there endeavors with us, but most have no idea of the animal ordinances of Lowndes county. A thought could also be the sheriff’s department could create a certain position as an Agriculture Deputy, I know several counties that have them and it works out rather well. Either way, I hope the issues at hand get handled first. Perhaps Lowndes County one day will be willing to get rid of the stigma of ”dog catcher” and actually have certified Humane Law Enforcement Officers.
-Susan Leavens
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