We ask the Wexford County Commissioners to put the Animal Control Department back in the hands of an Animal Control Committee as it was in the past instead of being managed by the Sheriff's Department.
Although the Michigan Dept. of Agriculture has found violations with the shelter, many past issues at the shelter have not been investigated or disciplined by the Sheriff's Department including: heart sticking, stray hold violations, not vetting pets, not weighing animals before performing euthanasia, not maintaining accurate records and more.
In addition, current needs of the animals and requests of taxpayers are not being met by the County: volunteers are being limited, proposals from non-profit groups to run the shelter are being ignored, volunteers who have offered to help them with fundraisers are being turned away, the shelter was in effect "closed" for two weeks due to an employee's vacation, and other policies and events that the taxpayers don't deem to be in the best interests of the care of the animals at the shelter or how their taxes are being spent.
The cat photos above were from a mass cat killing that happened in May of 2013 even though the shelter was not full. The shelter didn't reach out to any rescue groups or shelters to take in the cats, had them photographed for adoption hours before they were killed and also had an an additional adoption day scheduled for that holiday weekend. Still, the cats ended up dead. This is one of many reasons the residents of Wexford County want the management of the shelter to be in the hands of an Animal Control Committee instead of the Sheriff's Department.
Tell Wexford County to appoint the management of the shelter to be in the hands of an Animal Control Committee that is made up of Wexford County residents who are concerned about the Animal Shelter and the welfare of the cats and dogs who are housed there.
