Special hours for Oak Ridge Animal Shelter added following outcry
Local friends of animals came out in force to the Oak Ridge City Council's Dec. 12 meeting to tell officials that dogs and cats are staying in the animal shelter sometimes more than a year, largely because of the city government keeping the shelter closed to the public for the past two years and a process that keeps potential adopters away.
Their calls to reopen the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter and make it easier for people to adopt pets apparently had some impact. On Thursday, the Oak Ridge Police Department, which oversees the shelter, announced that the shelter would be open for several hours on four upcoming days. No appointments will need to be made to see the animals, the ORPD post to Facebook stated, and the parking lot will be open. Plus, adoption fees will remain at half-price, $55 each.
The ORPD stated it is looking at adding more dates next year.
Schedule for visiting cats, dogs
The animal shelter, 395 Belgrade Road, will be open 2-4 p.m. Dec. 20, 21 and 28. It also was open several hours on Saturday. People with questions can call the shelter at (865) 425-3423.
Crowd turns out for City Council meeting
Almost every seat in the Municipal Building courtroom was filled at last Monday's City Council meeting, and at least half of the audience appeared to be there for one issue: the animal shelter. A call for people to show up in support of the shelter had been posted to Facebook. Six supporters spoke publicly about the need to reopen the shelter, each receiving applause from the audience.
Jeannie Parker, formerly of Friends of the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, called what was happening to the dogs and cats inside the shelter cruel and inhumane. She said some had been there more than a year while potential adopters were going elsewhere to find pets because people couldn't get into the shelter without first calling to leave a message that sometimes was not returned, filling out an application to see an animal and then having to schedule a time to go see a dog or cat accompanied by a shelter employee.
The dogs are in three-by-five-foot cages and the cats are in small cages inside a small room, Parker said. She called attention to two dogs, Pathos and Tater. According to shelter information on Facebook, Tater has been at the shelter since October 2021, and Pathos since January of this year.
"We've got to figure out a way to be able to open up the animal shelter," said City Council member Chuck Hope, who has two large dogs that were adopted from the shelter. He said his wife is passionate about the subject of animals, so he knows a lot about what's being said on social media about the shelter and the process of adopting.
"I want to make sure all opportunities are explored," he said.
In response, City Manager Mark Watson said, "We'll fix it."
Police Capt. Matthew Tedford said the department was "exploring" the idea of extending hours one day a week and being open one Saturday a month, with no restrictions, which would mean people would not have to fill out an application or schedule a time to visit with dogs and cats. He said staff also would work with another department to update the shelter website and increase its presence on social media.
Tedford said an employee shortage is a problem. The animal shelter has five employees budgeted: a shelter supervisor, shelter attendants and animal control officers, according to Telford. Currently the shelter has three employees with another expected to be working by January, and one vacancy. The city is advertising for a shelter attendant.
"We have a lot of work to do and couldn't do it without the volunteers," he said.
Amy Wright-Starkey, a former shelter volunteer and founder of Helping Paws Animal Network, said she'd seen the local shelter go from a high-kill one to a no-kill one, and was concerned it was backsliding rather than going forward. She said she'd been told several reasons for keeping the shelter closed to the public, including that having fewer people in the shelter was better for the animals, which she said was not true because of the animals needing socialization.
Replying to some of the comments, Watson said animal shelters in the region have a myriad of different hours and some require appointments. Tedford said the last report submitted to council noted only 16 animals had been euthanized at the shelter, and those instances were for reasons other than the shelter being full.
Council member Derrick Hammond said that in two years the city hasn't come up with a solution to the problems at the shelter.
The members of the audience who spoke about the shelter noted they didn't have any problems with the shelter staff.
The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Contact her by email at dsmith@oakridger.com. Follow her on Twitter @ridgernewsed.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Special hours for Oak Ridge Animal Shelter added following outcry
