Johnson County animal shelter ordered to give up its license, stop taking in new pets
Kansas officials are working to strip a Mission animal rescue of its license.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture issued an updated order of revocation late Tuesday ordering Unleashed Pet Rescue to surrender its license. Officials updated their previous order after more information about the shelter came to light, said department spokeswoman Heather Lansdowne.
According to its website, Unleashed works to find homes for animals that previously lived in high-kill facilities. The organization says it is a nonprofit that relies entirely on community donations.
Late last week, Kansas officials issued an emergency order halting the rescue from taking new animals. Unleashed can continue business operations for 15 days after the order or until a hearing has been held.
Generally, Lansdowne said the department takes administrative action because a facility has repeatedly put animals’ health and welfare at risk.
The pet rescue, she said, has had “quite a few” health inspections over the last few years. Facilities without violations or complaints typically have inspections every 18 months.
Unleashed referred questions to attorney Court T. Kennedy, who said the organization will be appealing the revocation and requesting a hearing. He declined to comment further on allegations regarding the condition of the shelter.
The rescue has 15 days since the revocation order to request a hearing. Once scheduled, it would be conducted by the Kansas Office of Administrative Hearings.
On Tuesday, Unleashed urged patrons on Facebook to send donations immediately to “keep our doors open.” The shelter didn’t mention the license revocation order, but said it is experiencing a financial emergency that has forced them to lay off workers and take in less animals.
“If our shelter is unable to remain open due to lack of funding, that’s nearly 5,000 animals that will die just this year alone,” Unleashed wrote.
“With every other shelter and rescue in the KC area at capacity or over, there would be no place that could absorb that number of animals we help,” the post continued. “There is no other place for them to go.”
