Editor’s note: This version has been edited for publication. A full version can be found on savannahnow.com.
The animals at the Chatham County Animal Control facility are living in conditions that threaten their welfare.
The purpose of this report is to inform the community of the current state of the facility. CCAC has a huge impact by providing services to collect and find homes for stray animals. It has great potential, but its the current state does not allow it to reach its full potential.
I am a full-time, tenure-track assistant professor of psychology at Armstrong Atlantic State University. I started a student group at AASU over the past year that aimed to enrich the lives of the dogs living at the CCAC. Conditions at the facility have made it difficult, if not impossible, for this group to function.
Along with my students, I have observed many inadequacies in the treatment and care of the animals there. It is imperative that the community is informed so that change can occur.
Upon visiting, one sees that it is overrun with animals and exceeds the capacity for care that is available. I have witnessed substandard conditions on more than one occasion because the shelter was understaffed in relation to the number of animals present.
Currently, there are at least 200 dogs in the facility. If we were to follow the calculation listed by the National Animal Control Association and Human Society of the United States for number of hours needed to ensure care (cleaning/feeding) of those dogs, we would find that 50 hours are needed per day to clean and feed the animals.
This calculates to about seven staff per day, just to care for dogs. This is not possible considering there are only five staff responsible for 200 dogs and the many cats on any given day.
I had the opportunity to help clean the facility on Aug. 2. This allowed me to see how impossible it is for the staff to properly care for the number of animals that they currently house. There were two of us cleaning: An animal control officer and myself. After four hours of cleaning, we were hardly close to being finished and the shelter was set to open.
When more than one dog is living in a cage for over 23 hours without spot cleaning, they end up having to reside in their own waste.
I have seen many animals (especially puppies and kittens) living in a cage full of animal waste. I have been told numerous times that it is impossible to hire more staff as the city will not fund more workers. If staff members cannot be hired, then the shelter population must decrease.
The people in control of the population are refusing to euthanize animals for space or minor health reasons. No one wants to see animals die, but suffering caused by overcrowding is more inhumane than an acceptable humane death.
The observation discussed above stands as the crux of the problems at the Chatham County Animal Control facility. They are past their capacity for care. Because of this, it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to follow guidelines or protocols. They MUST reevaluate their capacity for care.
Proper isolation areas do not exist. Areas in the canine section that were built to provide isolation for sick animals currently house a “maternity ward” for animals that come in pregnant and those that get pregnant at the facility.
Without an isolation area, it is impossible to stop the spread of disease and the dogfights that ensue when random animals are placed together. One of my volunteers, Kyle Adams, an AASU student and CCAC volunteer, reported to me that a dog was brought in after 5 p.m. and was placed into a kennel with a dog that had been at the shelter for a while. The following morning, staff found that the new dog had attacked the first dog, creating fatal injuries.
Also, the exceptionally long holding periods of dogs being held by F.A.C.T.S are inhibiting the proper movement of animals and therefore creating a backlog of space. Without animals moving out (via adoption or euthanasia) there is no room for incoming animals, thus making it impossible to house them in proper areas.
In order for my students to enter to provide enrichment, they must sit through a lecture by a CCAC volunteer, Diane Abolt, the unpaid Director of Volunteer Operations and Director of F.A.C.T.S. While this volunteer is in charge of all volunteers at the facility, there does not seem to be an official protocol for volunteers or employees.
It seems to me that there is no single protocol in place that is being followed consistently for any aspect of operations at the facility. This leads to numerous problems throughout the facility, especially problems with disease control, as diseases are easily and often spread via the humans in contact with each animal.
I have been asked to recruit more volunteers for the shelter, but I am hesitant, as I feel there should be a proper protocol in place for these activities.
The lines of authority, responsibility, and supervision at the CCAC are unclear. Chain of command is lost and those making important decisions are sometimes not employees of the shelter. My own students have expressed confusion as to who is in charge and are often confronted by volunteers.
Some animals are housed for an extended period of time before receiving vaccinations. This allows for the spread if disease. The standards of care state that all animal shelters MUST implement a vaccination protocol to protect the health of the animals.
One of the practices involves keeping animals long-term. When I first visited Animal Control, I was shocked to see that many of the animals had been at the shelter from between six months and two years.
As a Ph.D. who has been working with animals for over 15 years, I have observed behaviors in these animals that reflect anxiety, stress, depression and suffering. On many occasions, I have witnessed a dog named Ike, who has been there well over a year, pacing, circling and exhibiting obsessive behaviors in his cage.
Many animals are group housed. Intact animals of breeding age are often housed together. This has resulted in unwanted pregnancies. The pregnancy is then allowed to go to full term. This is an unacceptable and inhumane practice as it contributes to the tragedy of pet overpopulation.
Angie Koban, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of psychology at Armstrong Atlantic State University. She has a Bachelor of Science in Animal Bioscience from Penn State University, and both a Master’s and a Doctorate of Psychology, Animal Cognition, from Tufts University. angiekoban@gmail.com