PRINCETON —
Cleaning and painting were underway Tuesday at the Mercer County Animal Shelter to prepare the facility for new dogs and puppies in need of homes.
The shelter has been closed to canines since December 2011 after a Virginia Tech veterinarian tested a puppy that had died at the facility and discovered that distemper was the culprit. Personnel and volunteers worked to find homes or rescue organizations for the remaining dogs after they had been kept in quarantine and checked by a veterinarian.
“Friday (Jan. 13) we got out the last of the dogs,” Shelter Director Stacy Shampo said. The one last dog, a pit bull, had to be euthanized because it kept acting aggressively.
“We got out that last dog, but it still wanted to attack and go after every dog and cat,” Shampo said. “We had multiple concerns that it would be unsafe for the community. We don’t want anybody’s companion animals to be attacked or killed by that pit bull, and we were also concerned for the safety of people.”
Personnel are now cleaning and painting the shelter’s kennels and dog runs.
“Since late Friday evening once we got the dogs out, we started the disinfecting process,” Shampo said Tuesday. “And we are in the process of repainting the shelter. The employees, everybody, have come together and we’ve gotten a tremendous amount of work done as of today. We’re still in the process of getting things disinfected and painted in order to get reopened to the public and start taking dogs.”
The quarantine and the clean up in its aftermath have not affected cats.
“We are still accepting cats and allowing people to come view our cats and do adoptions, and we will be announcing our reopening date for the dogs,” Shampo said.
The shelter’s personnel had hoped to reopen the shelter to dogs sooner, but relocating the last canines that were present when the quarantine began took longer than expected, she said.
A date had not been set Tuesday, but one will be announced.
“I don’t know exactly when right now because they’re still painting, and stripping and waxing all the floors. We will announce an opening as soon as they get finished,” said County Commissioner Mike Vinciguerra. “I’ve been up there, and it looks good. You don’t realize how many small rooms there are to clean and paint until you see it.”
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Related Photos
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Staff photo by Jon Bolt Clean... Mercer County Animal Shelter employee Mickey Burkes repaints the dog runs at the shelter Tuesday.
Discussion
January 18, 2012
Personnel begin cleaning, painting Mercer County Animal Shelter
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