Sumner Co AC in TN is a hot mess. After the pound’s vet was caught on hidden camera heartsticking fully conscious dogs in 2007, reform was promised and the pound was put under the control of the sheriff’s department. Taxpayers spent $1.3 million to build a new facility in 2011.
The sheriff ended the volunteer program, won’t let anyone post pictures of the animals online and in fact, won’t let anyone past the lobby. If you want to save an animal, you have to look at pictures the sheriff’s office provides in the lobby. Despite all these swell reforms, killings are up and live release outcomes are down. So weird, right?
And there’s more bad news:
When taxpayers spent $1.3 million dollars on this state of the art shelter in 2011, complete with its own flushing system, concrete crews poured a flat floor— a $52 thousand dollar mistake.
As a result, urine and feces pools on the kennel floors, which should have been built sloped in order to allow debris to drain into the flushing system.
A great dane named Chief was held at the Sumner Co pound for 10 days in August following a bite. Owner Jason Corlew was on vacation but called several times to make sure his pet was ok. He says none of his calls were returned. When he picked Chief up from the pound, he was startled to see the dog’s condition:
“He comes out covered in feces, and has urine burns all over him,” recalled Corlew. “His paws, the skin was peeling off because he had been standing in feces for so long.”
Corlew estimated Chief lost about 40 pounds and also had a blood infection.
Mr. Corlew has filed a lawsuit against Sumner Co:
The lawsuit is seeking $1,000 to cover bills from the veterinarian. It is also asking the county to upgrade the facility to improve the floors so feces and urine will properly drain away from the animals.
I doubt a lawsuit will do what has clearly needed doing at the Sumner Co pound for many years – put a figurative match to the place, run the pet killers out of town on a rail and start doing the work to actually shelter animals. Taxpayers need to make their voices heard if any not-fake reform is to ever happen there.
(Thanks Clarice.)