Dog shelter kennel keeper Sherry Armstrong retracted her resignation yesterday after talks with county commissioners and the county dog warden.
Armstrong, who resigned last Tuesday, said she would try the job again despite past disagreements with the volunteer group called Friends of the Athens County Dog Shelter.
I thought I did a good job
she said. I really liked what I was doing it's just that they made it so difficult.
Armstrong said members of the Friends group have disapproved of the shelter's established rescue guidelines, which keeps dogs in the shelter for at least a week so they have a greater chance of being adopted.
Friends group members work with separate rescue groups who accept dogs from different areas and attempt to find them homes. When the volunteer group takes dogs to rescue groups early, however, the shelter loses $65 in adoption costs that the shelter could earn.
Perry said if the rescuers paid the full $65 charge to adopt each dog, he would have no problem allowing them to rescue dogs at any time. But both Armstrong and Athens County Dog Warden Jamie Perry emphasized that the dog shelter funds itself.
I'm trying to strike a balance between what's good for the shelter and what's good for the dogs but they're obviously all about the dogs
Armstrong said. That's where the problem lies.
Commissioner Mark Sullivan agreed with the pair that Athens residents should have a chance to adopt well-behaved dogs before they are taken to outside rescue organizations.
What people don't understand is that we're often picking up sick
diseased
unhealthy dogs
Commissioner Bill Theisen said.
Hired in mid-2007, Armstrong is credited with helping reduce dog euthanasia by around 75 percent so far this year and registering the shelter for a donation of 7,000 pounds of dog food and bones from the group Homeward Bound.
They can go around and say and do whatever they want. I don't care
Perry said. I know we're doing a good job
and I know we're doing the best we can.
Commissioners also changed Assistant County Dog Warden Les Mohney from a temporary to permanent employee yesterday. When the shelter is well staffed, Perry said around 50 licenses are sold per day between the auditor's office and the shelter.
In other business, commissioners approved $15,000 to install new cameras in the next few weeks at the Athens County Courthouse. The cameras will replace old equipment inside the courthouse and purchase a new camera outside to cover Court and Washington streets following a bomb threat at the end of March. The new technology will feature an increased recording history and the ability to pan, tilt and zoom footage after recorded.
Commissioners increased the allocation from the $11,614 originally requested to account for new software to link the cameras to the county's 911 network.
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