Running the Athens County Dog
Shelter in Athens, Ohio is no
easy task for the shelter's
two full-time staff members.
Understaffed and overworked,
County Dog Warden Jamie Perry
and The Kennel Keeper and
Shelter Supervisor Sherry
Armstrong share in the
responsibility of giving care
to the stray animals.

Last year at the
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Running the Athens County Dog
Shelter in Athens, Ohio is no
easy task for the shelter's
two full-time staff members.
Understaffed and overworked,
County Dog Warden Jamie Perry
and The Kennel Keeper and
Shelter Supervisor Sherry
Armstrong share in the
responsibility of giving care
to the stray animals.

Last year at the shelter, 168
dogs were adopted, 28 dogs
were reclaimed by owners, and
1,133 dogs were euthanized.
'This year is just the
opposite,' says Perry. This
year, on average, the shelter
is adopting two dogs a day,
says Perry, and euthanizing
far fewer.

The recent injury of Assistant
Dog Warden Rodney Rutter, who
had worked at the shelter for
18 years, prompted the
shelter, run by Athens County
Commissioner, to seek a
replacement for Rutter. Going
on his third week on the job,
Les Mohney has now filled the
Assistant Dog Warden position
as a part-time employee.
After his training is
completed, Mohney will become
the shelter's third full-time
employee.

Although definitely not an
event to look forward to,
euthanasia is a reality that
the staff has to face. Dogs
are kept in the shelter for
the state-sanctioned three-day
grace period, meant to give
owners a chance to find their
lost pets. After the first
three days, dogs are put up
for adoption for an average of
10 to 14 days, or until the
shelter runs out of space.
With 36 inside kennels, the
space runs out quickly, and
Perry and Armstrong are left
to decide which dogs are 'not
adoptable,' and therefore need
to be put to sleep. 'I've had
people call me all kinds of
shit, such as the Adolf Hitler
of the dog world,' says Perry.
'I don't want to sound cruel
or mean, but they're just a
waste product.'

The shelter's gas chamber is
the preferred means of
disposal. The chamber
disperses carbon monoxide gas
and kills the animal within
minutes. Disposing of the
bodies can be done either by
the in-house incinerator, or
by placing the bodies in the
local landfill. Set at three
thousand degrees Fahrenheit,
the incinerator takes eight
hours to burn seven hundred
pounds. 'At three thousand
degrees for eight hours,
you're talking some serious
money,' says Perry. Placing
bodies in the landfill is
'easiest for us, and most cost
effective for the county. We
do bag the bodies [before
placing them in the landfill],
which is a little bit
better.'

Since working at the shelter,
both Armstrong and Perry have
adopted many dogs, and only
being on the job for three
weeks, Mohney will most likely
soon follow. Perry currently
has 13 adopted dogs living in
his home, and Armstrong has
12. 'Nobody heard their silent
screams before, those silent
screams coming through those
eyes,' said Armstrong.
Armstrong, Perry and Mohney
all have a strong bond with
animals. Since being hired,
'I wake up in the middle of
the night and worry about the
dogs,' says Mohney. But,
Armstrong chimes in with
hard-hitting reality, 'You
can't save them all, can you?'

Category Entertainment

Tags dog, puppy, puppies, shelter, animal, rights, canine, cat, stray