Friday, January 12, 2018

Friends of the Animal Shelter open for business
Although the contract has not been signed by Newport and Cocke County, the Friends of the Animal Shelter 0n Humane Way in Newport opened its doors to the public on Thursday. The organization has a tentative verbal agreement for funding from both Newport and Cocke County for the current fiscal year. Robert Brannon, Managing Director of the Friends group, says there will be no charge to residents who drop off a dog or a cat at the shelter. Dog adoptions will be $140 but somewhat less for the adoption of cats. Spay or neutering, as well as the required inoculations, will be covered by the adoption fee. The organization is considering the employment of a veterinarian so that in-house spay and neuter services will be available, along with inoculations and needed medical care. "The manager has worked out an arrangement with a veterinarian who will come in from time to time and we will have all the animals covered and I'm more comfortable at this point until we get everything going good," Brannon said. He said if a veterinarian is hired, spay and neuter services also will be made available to residents of the community on certain days, at a reduced cost The Friends group also has re-activated it's Rolling Rescue program which sends local dogs to shelters in other areas for adoption. Many states with required spay and neuter regulations, currently have few animals available for adoption, and it is those areas that receive adoptable dogs from the local community. "I purchased two vans at $30,000 plus each, so we are taking animals now to Cleveland, Ohio and New York. So the Rolling Rescue is functional right now." While the Friends will operate the shelter, Newport and Cocke County will continue their animal control responsibilities. The Friends say they will operate the facility as a "no-kill shelter". Brannon says the shelter will not euthanize animals to create space for other animals. He says he has arranged with General Sessions Court for the shelter to obtain custody of animals that are ordered seized by the court. In the past, a seized dog might stay in the shelter for a year awaiting the disposition of the case. He says the dog will be adopted out or as an alternative, euthanized only if it is so vicious that it cannot be adopted. Currently, the shelter is open during weekdays, but plans are to add weekend hours in the future. The number for the shelter is 423-532-8475.


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