Rutherford County fined more than $6,000 for animal shelter violations
Some of the most serious charges are "failure to provide continuous access to water" to eight dogs and "failure to provide adequate veterinary care" to dogs surrendered with parvovirus.
The dog pictured above is a stray found on September 7, 2023, per Rutherford County Animal Shelter records.
Rutherford County was fined $6,100 for violations at its animal shelter, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture (NCAGR) and Consumer Services Veterinary Division. In a letter dated Sept. 5, Animal Welfare Section (AWS) Director Patricia Norris alerted County Manager Steve Garrison of the violations and the fine.
“We are facing a crisis, not only in Rutherford County but, from our understanding, nationwide, with a massive increase in dogs and cats being abandoned and neglected by their owners. Our animal control facility and most rescue groups with whom we partner for the adoption of these dogs and cats into good homes are currently overwhelmed and at or beyond capacity to house them. There are simply more dogs and more cats who need good homes than there are folks willing to adopt them,” the county said in a release.
According to the report, AWS Animal Health Technician Inspector Joshua James conducted an inspection of the facility on July 24, August 7, and August 8, 2023. There are 20 violations of state law, records show. A large portion of the fine was for “failing to provide continuous access to water,” "failure to administer rabies vaccinations,” and “failure to provide adequate veterinary care".
Today, James Kilgo, Director of Rutherford County Animal Control and Solid Waste, issued a press release. A Linkedin profile shows he has been in the position since 2012. He said Rutherford County is working with the state oversight agency, NCAGR AWS, to address the deficiencies they found. “We are underway with a Corrective Action Plan and will continue to engage Dr. Norris and the Animal Welfare Section for their oversight, instruction and advice, as well as to mitigate the civil penalties imposed,” he wrote.
“The conditions cited are unacceptable and will and must be corrected. We have faced a near total turnover in our staff that left animal control very short-staffed for much of this year and required hiring new staff with a broad level of training and supervision to assist them in performing their jobs in caring for the animals under their care. Turnover coupled with staff operating in an aging facility and at a time the County has seen a rise in the number of animals being surrendered or abandoned to our facility and to animal rescue groups exacerbated issues at our center,” he continued.
The animal shelter has paid staff and relies on volunteers to help manage animals in a county that is over 560 sq. miles in size. County records show their budget is over $518,000. Kilgo said, “Unfortunately, we have fallen unacceptably short in record keeping in an effort to maintain the everyday operations of the facility, answering incident calls, veterinarian care, road calls and keeping the facility open and offering services to our citizens. We believe we have hired good people to assist us and who are committed to the care of animals in our charge. It is our duty and our charge to ensure we equip them with the training, the knowledge and the ability to perform their jobs.”
“Some of the most serious charges related to a dog and her puppies surrendered to our facility with an extremely dangerous and communicable Parvo virus. In the efforts to keep them quarantined in a full facility, and with not enough staff to handle our normal responsibilities, the animals were not transported for veterinarian care in a timely manner. This is not acceptable and our corrective action plan, along with the hiring of new staff and training to deal with crises of this nature, will assist our efforts to correct the identified deficiencies,” according to the release.
According to the NCAGR AWS website, the shelter has received multiple warnings and civil penalties over the years.
“The Board of Commissioners are deeply concerned by this Notice, which runs contrary to their commitment to animal welfare and animal control in Rutherford County. Plans for a new animal control facility to replace the current, aging structure have already been drawn and a contractor retained for its construction by the end of next year using grant funds in the amount of $4,167,144. Some of the deficiencies cited are the direct result of an aging structure that is no longer sufficient to meet the growing needs for animal control, which the new building is designed to correct,” the release said.
Cops & Congress by Annie Dance is committed to accuracy and service journalism.
For more information about adopting an animal or becoming a volunteer, visit the Rutherford County Animal Control Services website.
To identify and contact your state Representative and state Senator, visit the North Carolina General Assembly website.
To get more involved with animal advocacy visit the Animal Welfare Alliance of Rutherford (AWAR)’s Facebook page.
As always, please email tips and documents, CopsandCongress@gmail.com.
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About Annie Dance
Annie Dance has been a journalist for over 20 years and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a concentration in Journalism from Manhattan College. She completed 42 credits for a Master of Arts in Communication degree at Fairfield University. She has been published in local, national, and international publications, including Hearst newspapers and websites, CTInsider.com, NewsTimes.com, and others. She is the Founding Editor of Western NC Deaf Community, a public Facebook group, where she covers deaf issues and leads discussions for ways deaf people can get better access to news and information in the 19 counties of western North Carolina. She was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss as a child and is an accessibility advocate, especially for using closed captioning.
Dance grew up in Raleigh and the northeast. She served on local and state commissions in Connecticut for several years prior to moving to Rutherford County, North Carolina in 2020. She worked on local, state, and federal Republican candidates’ campaigns, including Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District. Dance has experience in government affairs, media, and public policy. She is a registered unaffiliated voter and strives for fairness, truth and accuracy.
She aims to shine a light on important issues and hold officials accountable with Cops & Congress, with a focus on police, policy and public records in the Lake Lure area of North Carolina’s 11th congressional district.