Animal Care Facilty Visit
After meeting with members of an Ad Hoc Committee comprised of only members of County Council and the Humane Society, it was agreed that the county would begin to look at other animal care facilities in order to gain a greater appreciation of how such facilities are ran and to gain an informed perspective for the future. Mike went to Greenville County on October 21,2011 to view the Animal Care facility that was established by the Greenville County Council in 2007. Animal Care is a full service, open-admissions animal shelter facility that serves Greenville County residents and their pets. They work collaboratively with Greenville Humane Society, which works with the facility, to provide intake, adoption and spay/neuter services. Greenville County Animal Care Services employees focus their attention on the care and housing of all incoming animals. This includes animals that have been found as strays, including those brought in by animal control and by the public. In addition, they provide additional services for surrendered pets of Greenville County residents.
Mike toured the facility with the assistance of the dynamic Shelly Simmons, Division Manager, and discussed some of the innovations in domestic animal care facilities. Some areas discussed included: trap and release population control techniques, local and nationwide partnerships with animal rescue and animal adoption agencies (like Pilots and Paws, PetCONNECT and petfinder.com), the efficacy of spay and neutering programs, the reality of communicable canine and feline diseases (Parovirus in dogs and Panleukopedia in cats), and medical care and treatment of the animals. Mike and Shelly concluded their tour by visiting the adoption center, the medical care facility and the retail store (potentially the only local government owned and operated pet care supplies store in the country!). Thanks to Shelly and the great staff at the Animal Care facility.
