11/02/09 - Benton County

New Animal Shelter Breaks Ground
By: Stephanie Ryan
sryan@wbbjtv.com
7:13 p.m.
 
Controversy surrounded Benton County's old animal shelter, one that landed two employees and Mayor Jimmy Wiseman in hot water in January of 2008.  Now, county officials are planning the future of a new animal shelter, one they broke ground on Monday morning.
 
"We just need to take care of animals in a much better way than we have in the past," Jerry Brandon, an Animal Shelter Board member said.
 
According to Brandon, the new shelter will have three times the space it has now: 20 kennels, with room to expand from there.  The current shelter only has eight kennels, leaving kittens housed with puppies in tight quarters.
 
"Hopefully with more space, we won't have to euthanize as often," Shannon Dykstra, President of the Board, said.
 
Dykstra said the Environmental Protection Agency has been urging the board to move from its current location, which is directly next to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
 
"It's not a beautiful swimming pool, lake or pond," Dykstra said, pointing to water that is about 200 feet from the building, "This area contains a lot of solid fecal matter."
 
Dykstra said the chemicals that are added to the water are dangerous not just to humans, but to dogs as well.
 
Dykstra said the Animal Shelter Board that has been working on getting the shelter moved was formed after eight dogs were found dead in the shelter, along with 25 other animals who were so ill they had to be euthanized.
 
"When you walked into the first room, you saw dead puppies, some that were breaking with parvo.  There was vomit and feces everywhere," Dykstra said.
 
"You couldn't walk through there without tears streaming down your face, to know what they might be going through," Dykstra said.
 
Those condidtions led to the drug charges nearly two years ago for two employees, who current workers said stayed in an office next to the shelter and never checked on dogs.  The conditions also led to misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty for Mayor Jimmy Wiseman, because the shelter was a county-run facility.
 
To prevent animals from ending up in the same condition, Brandon said each week, a board member checks on the shelter unnanounced.  He also said the county's first trained animal control officer was licensed in September.
 
The new shelter will cost the county $150,000.  Despite the county's difficulty making ends meet with the budget, both Brandon and Dykstra believe the money is well-spent.
 
"Having a decent facility, we can only grow and do better things with the animals from here," Dykstra said.
 
Board members hope to be moved into the shelter by next December.