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With much sadness and a heavy heart, the Lawrence
County Humane Society is announcing effective May 1, 2023, the Open Arms
Animal Shelter will no longer be the shelter for the Lawrence County
Fiscal Court.
You may wonder why we made this decision. In
February, we found out the County had set up a shelter in the voting
building at the entrance to the county garage on Highway 32. The County
did not tell us. We heard it from a cashier at Walmart. We contacted the
Judge’s office for clarification and were told by the Assistant Judge
Executive it was for overflow when the Open Arms shelter was full.
We set up a meeting with Judge Carter to discuss
and at that meeting, we were told we didn’t know how to run a shelter,
we were always full and couldn’t take animals when animal control wanted
to bring them, we had been a problem since the day we opened our doors
and that all we do is ask for money on Facebook.
At that time, Animal Control had brought us 2
hounds with broken pelvises, a pregnant dog almost hairless from mange
who vet said not to treat until pups were born and weaned, a dog with
nerve damage to his head, 2 dogs with ringworm and mange which are
contagious conditions meaning they could not leave until cleared. All
of these took a month or more to clear so they could leave the shelter,
not to mention more vet bills.
Judge Carter asked us to write a proposal to
address his concerns. We had a second meeting with him and presented a
proposal for the county to help fund the cat shelter, giving the county
access to TNR grant money and room to accommodate more cats, and we
would go on our own with the dogs. We told the county at that time we
had room at the shelter for dogs and cats and it seemed like the county
was willing to work together.
Since the last meeting, there has been little
communication. Any communication has been on our end. We have contacted
the County Judge and the Animal Control Officer several times and told
them we had room available. We received no response or an OK. Early on,
the county brought us 3 hounds which had been in their shelter for a
month and no animals have been brought to us since. We were told if we
don’t bring animals to you, we aren’t paying you, even though we have
taken several animals from the citizens of Lawrence County after they
called us saying they got no response from the County or County told
them they were full.
We have provided animal sheltering services to the
Lawrence County Fiscal Court for 29 years. During this time, we have
worked with several County Judge Executives, Animal Control Officers and
Magistrates. For the past 29 years, we have received $1833.34 dollars a
month with which we were expected to operate the shelter, pay the bills,
employ workers and do maintenance on the buildings and property. In
2022, it took almost $130,000 to operate the shelter and this would have
not been possible had we not received the support of our local
community, rescue partners and individuals from all over the country.
Thank you for always supporting us and trusting us to take care of the
unwanted animals in this county.
During these 29 years, we received an average of
six hundred animals per year. That is approximately 17,000 animals that
were treated humanely and given another chance for a better life. We
not only helped the animals in this county but we also helped many
people. We helped individuals with veterinarian bills and helped spay
and neuter personal pets where people were not able pay for these
services. There was barely enough to keep the shelter running and many
times we as individuals helped our citizens.
We are very lucky to have as one of our volunteers,
Bev Pack, who has tirelessly advocated for the people and cats of
Lawrence County. In 2016, she wrote for the first grant to help the cats
and people in the county. 1318 cats have been spayed or neutered through
the voucher program. These vouchers are for individuals that have cats
in Lawrence County. 904 Trap and Release cats have been fixed and
relocated to places where they are fed and now live in safety, including
30-40 cats residing at the shelter. Bev Pack continues to apply for
grants to help the animals of Lawrence County. We thank her for all she
has accomplished.
We are still a functioning shelter with animals in
our care. It is in our best interest to move on from this partnership
due to lack of respect and communication. We will continue to take
animals from Lawrence County citizens.
We will need to make up the $1833.34 a month we
will no longer receive from the County. We appreciate everyone’s past
support and hope you will continue to stand with us and support us so we
can continue to help the voiceless animals of Lawrence County. If you
need to reach us, please call the shelter 8-3 Mon-Fri at 606-673-4509 or
contact us through mail at Open Arms Animal Shelter, PO Box 1331, Louisa
KY 41230.
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