In Accomack Co, Virginia, another sad case where pets who were reportedly living in unacceptable conditions in a resident’s yard are now allegedly suffering at the pound after being “rescued”:
An Exmore man who tipped off Accomack County Animal Control officers about poor living conditions of 15 dogs at a rural Onancock residence now is asking the state to shut down the facility where they were taken.
Jim Mason submitted a petition to the state veterinarian and the commissioner of agriculture and consumer services on June 8, asking them to close the Eastern Shore Regional Animal Control Facility in Melfa because it lacks air conditioning and an outdoor exercise area, among other issues.
The dogs, several of whom have whelped litters since being seized, have been held at the pound in connection with an ongoing court case for many months. They are allegedly being denied exercise and socialization.
After receiving the petition, a state inspector visited the Eastern Shore Regional AC Facility and found a number of deficiencies, including:
[S]everal dogs and cats showed signs of discomfort due to heat and humidity and the dog run area was “extremely hot and humid” with no climate control and flies[.]
[…]
Additionally, the inspector said not all animals euthanized at the facility were sedated beforehand.
Members of the Accomack Co Board of Supervisors have also received complaints from animal advocates regarding conditions at the pound. But(t):
“The shelter is in very, very good hands,” Supervisor Robert Crockett said.
Also: all county pounds “have to” kill animals (which will undoubtedly come as a shock to the many no kill shelters operating in municipalities all over the country) and the state inspector only dinged Eastern Shore on the recent report because of pressure from pesky activists. And the offer of free air conditioning from a local SPCA is now being put on hold by the county because reasons. Seems legit.
I couldn’t find any government website listing animals for Eastern Shore and the facility’s Facebook page is out of date. The Eastern Shore page on Petfinder says:
We invite you to take a look at all our listed animals.To us, they all deserve the recognition as “featured”.
Petfinder has zero animals listed for Eastern Shore.
Very, very good hands.
(Thanks Clarice for the links.)