LA GRANGE, Ky. (WDRB) — Dangerous and overcrowded are just a few words used to describe the Oldham County Animal Sanctuary.
“Right now it’s very embarrassing to have people in this facility,” said Polly Helton, County Oldham Animal Control Director.
Helton said the condition of the shelter has been deteriorating for some time and while maintenance is being done and animal control officers are doing a thorough cleaning, the facility needs more permanent solutions.
Wire fills gaps in kennel doors and holds together others that have broken away from the concrete in which they were once mounted.
“We just kind of rigged it because we need the kennel space,” Helton said.
Paint the cracks in the mold-covered walls in the lobby and its hallways.
“Or it’s [shelter] built, it’s kind of like a bowl, so it’s flooded all the time, allowing mold to grow,” Helton said.
Several rooms also serve more than one purpose in the shelter. The break room is also the animal examination room. The cat room is a storage room in a garage.
“People don’t just expect you to hold the dogs now, they expect you to hold them and take care of them,” Helton said.
“At the time when he [the shelter] was built, it was probably great, the population was smaller,” Helton said. “We have passed it.
The shelter has 20 kennels for large dogs and more stacked on top for smaller dogs. But Helton said the shelter avoids using the best kennels because they are unsanitary.
“Urine and feces can drip onto dogs,” Helton said of the best kennels. “It’s concrete but it’s still going down.”
Last year, Helton said the shelter confiscated about 180 dogs. When animal control runs out of kennels, he works with the Humane Society of Oldham County and Adopt Me Bluegrass Pet Rescue.
The shelter also accommodates cats, which Helton said animal control did not originally do, so an appropriate space for cats was not built.
Helton said the Oldham County Executive Judge and some magistrates are in favor of a new shelter. There have been talks of building one for nearly three years. Additionally, Helton said an architect had drawn up plans and an empty lot next to the shelter had undergone soil testing. But Helton said a few magistrates have not pledged to fund the project.
“Some are definitely against it and some are like, well, give us more numbers, give us more information.”
The estimated cost of the project is around $6 million from start to finish, according to Helton.
Helton admits that while expensive, shelters require more than people realize.
The wire is used to secure and close off a gap in the door of a kennel at the County Oldham Animal Shelter.
“With animal shelters, the coating you put on things costs more, it’s not just like you’re going to build a house,” Helton said. “Your HVAC system, it costs because each individual area needs to be ventilated separately so you don’t spread disease, the liner so urine and feces don’t decay like what’s happening in kennels now, so there’s a lot of extra spending on things you don’t think about.”
Helton said animal control officers have been able to run the facility with what she has, she hopes funding will come sooner rather than later.
“It’s not a safe situation,” Helton said.
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