Animal cruelty calls up dramatically at county's Canine Adoption Center

Ben Conley, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
·2 min read
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Nov. 1—MORGANTOWN — Monongalia County Canine Adoption Center Director Dana Johnson said the center has already taken in more animals this year than it did in all of 2021.

The numbers, she explained, are heading in the wrong direction—dramatically so in the case of animal cruelty calls.

Johnson said she's not sure if the amount of animal abuse is on actually on the rise, if there are more people willing to speak out if they suspect animals are being mistreated—or both.

"I work very closely with the prosecutors at the justice center. Unfortunately, it seems like our humane and cruelty cases are increasing greatly. So far this year, they've gone up about 38 %, and that's huge. That's huge, " Johnson said during a recent report to Morgantown City Council.

Johnson added "Our euthanasia rates have come down regularly every year for about the last 10 years, except for this year. Everything has just changed."

The center took in 1, 333 dogs and cats in 2021. That's up from 1, 116 in 2020.

Of the 1, 333 dogs and cats taken in last year, 864 were either reunited with their owners or adopted—469 were euthanized. More than 400 of the euthanized animals were cats.

Johnson said the entire county has "a cat problem, " noting the shelter routinely takes in anywhere from five to more than 20 cats daily between May and November.

"Euthanasia is something that nobody wants to talk about, but it's the reality and it's hard, " she said, explaining the shelter is down considerably from a high of nearly 2, 000 animals euthanized in 2007.

"We're making leaps and bounds, slowly. It's baby steps ... It's the kind of thing that takes time, education and awareness, " she said, adding, "Now we have a spay and neuter clinic, which is going to be amazing for the entire county and our numbers."

The center is a county facility. It employs six dog wardens, two of whom are on-shift 24-hours a day through the week. There is one warden on-call to handle emergency calls over the weekend.

The county has individual contracts through which the wardens operate within the municipalities. For the 2022-'23 fiscal year, Morgantown is paying $32, 667.10 for the service. That number is based off a $151.94 per call rate multiplied by the 215 calls handled within the city the year prior. Westover is paying $2, 279.10, Granville is paying $2, 127.16 and Star City $303.88.

The Monongalia County K-9 Adoption Center has dogs ($125) and cats ($85) available for adoption at 106 Lockside Road.

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