Animal Control coping with full shelter

dogs-safe-2341928
dogs-safe-2341928

Berrien County Animal Control is hoping to get some relief from overcrowding at its shelter in Benton Township as the sheriff and prosecutor talk about how to handle dogs that belong to individuals caught up in the court system. Animal shelter manager Ashley Herr tells us when someone is charged with a crime, their pet can wind up at Animal Control. There’s too many of them right now.

“We are packed to the brim with animals, honestly,” Herr said. “Cats, dogs, we’ve got a crazy number of bunnies right now. We’re very full.”

Herr says there are about 70 dogs at the shelter now, and many of them belong to criminal defendants.

“About three fourths of them are abuse, neglect, abandonment, all those sorts of legal charges in the works with their owners as well as the dogs, that sort of thing. And there’s dangerous dogs here as well. So, it’s just a matter of waiting for the courts to do a ruling to tell us exactly if the dogs go back to the owners, if they’ll stay with us, or what will happen with them.”

Herr says the dogs can’t be adopted out in the meantime. Ideally, she says it would be nice to have a limit on how long such dogs can be kept at the shelter. Right now, some are there for six months or longer. She tells us Sheriff Paul Bailey has made some headway on finding a solution in meetings with commissioners and the prosecutor. Meanwhile, you can help by adopting a dog or cat. Also, if you need to rehome a pet, Herr asks that you look at methods other than dropping them off at Animal Control.