The Bad Air Sponge

Wytheville Enterprise Staff
Wytheville Enterprise: News >
04:01 PM
By NATE HUBBARD/Staff

Before there was Spirit, there was Sherry Helsel.
Helsel, an animal pound and shelter inspector with the Virginia Office of Veterinary Services, conducted an unannounced inspection of the Wythe County Animal Shelter on Sept. 27 – just more than a week before Spirit, an owner-surrendered puppy, was found in the pound with a broken leg.
And the results were not good.
The shelter was cited for six violations ranging from poor sanitation to inadequate veterinary care. The vehicle used to transport animals picked up by the county was also cited for one area of non-compliance concerning a lack of appropriate animal enclosures.
Although the inspection occurred before Spirit was found, the letter written to Wythe County Administrator Cellell Dalton documenting the results was dated Oct. 11 – five days after Spirit’s discovery and one day after Dalton and Assistant County Administrator Stephen Bear held a meeting with about 15 people concerned about Spirit’s treatment.
In her report, Helsel demanded a written response from the county documenting that the operational issues had been immediately addressed and that a plan had been initiated to correct the structural deficiencies of the building.
Helsel was not available for additional comment.
Marion Horsley, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees the veterinary office, elaborated on some of the inspection details.
“Any non-compliance is a problem,” she said.
But Horsley said it’s common for shelters to have a few areas of concern. She emphasized that a satisfactory response from the county is the only action the state office is seeking at this time.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Horsley said that Helsel had not yet received a response from the county, but Dalton said in an e-mail message sent early Wednesday morning that a reply had been made.
Helsel’s letter stipulated that the response would be due by Nov. 15.
“The point here is we’ve identified a problem and it needs to be fixed,” Horsley said. “Nobody is looking at punishment here, we just want compliance.”
Horsley added that the contents of the county’s response would determine the state’s next course of action.
If the answer is detailed, with specific steps outlined to correct the problems, the state inspector will not immediately return to the shelter. However, if Helsel finds the county’s reply vague or inadequate the inspector may return to re-check the facility to see if changes actually have been implemented.
Although Horsley said that most shelters don’t receive perfect inspection reports, some of the issues at Wythe County’s building documented on Helsel’s report were disturbing.
“Sanitation efforts are focused mainly on the floor of the dog runs and center walkway,” Helsel wrote in the inspection report. “There is an accumulation of animal waste, hair, and debris behind the runs, further up the walls and gates, and throughout the facility. A fairly strong odor of urine was also present.”
Cleaning efforts also left behind problematic conditions.
“The animals and housing areas were wet, including puddles of water on the floors,” the inspector wrote as another area of non-compliance. “Animals must not be sprayed directly or indirectly with water while cleaning, and the enclosures should be dry before returning the animal.”
Other issues cited included poor lighting and cracks in the floors and walls that hinder disinfection efforts.
Most troubling in light of the discovery of Spirit just shortly after the inspection were issues concerning insufficient veterinary care at the shelter.
“Adequate veterinary care is not provided to stabilize animals that are ill or injured,” Helsel documented. “At the time of inspection, a dog was maintained in the pound with an untreated eye condition, and discussions revealed that funding for veterinary care is not available for these animals.”
In addition, an area of the shelter supposed to be an isolation space for animals with contagious illnesses was found to be used for multiple purposes “including additional housing for the general population as the main area becomes full.”
In concluding paragraphs to her report, Helsel also questioned the understanding that the shelter’s personnel has of the applicable laws.
“My discussions with ACO [Animal Control Officer] Arlan Dunford and the custodian, Holly Vernon, revealed some deficiency in the general area of the laws, regulations, and directives that apply to the pound facility and transport vehicle,” Helsel reported.
Dalton did not return multiple phone messages seeking comment on the inspection or the county’s response, but he did provide some details on the shelter through e-mail.
“I’ve written the State Vet rep a letter responding to each item in her letter and the animal control personnel have been instructed on how to take corrective actions,” one of Dalton’s e-mail messages stated.
In a second message sent later Wednesday morning, Dalton elaborated that the county is in the process of determining specific upgrades to the facility.
“We have begun looking at improvements to [the] shelter, have visited other shelters, etc to see what improvements are best,” he wrote.
The Wythe County building employs three full-time staff members – Dunford, Vernon and code enforcement officer Danny Blanchett – and also accepts animals from Bland County.
According to numbers provided by Dalton, the county’s budget for fiscal year 2008 includes $143,806 for the shelter and compensation given to Dunford and Vernon. Salary, benefits, vehicle and clothing costs associated with Blanchett’s position add another $50,000, bringing the county’s total yearly costs close to $200,000.
In 2006, the shelter processed 939 dogs, of which 148 were reclaimed by owners, 229 adopted, 261 transferred and 266 euthanized.
The remaining 35 were still in the shelter at the end of the year.
The 939 dogs came to the shelter from multiple sources: 418 were strays, 10 seized, 281 surrendered by owners, 103 brought from the town of Wytheville, 118 brought from Bland County and nine already in the shelter that were initially brought in during 2005.
As the county works with the state to address the problems at the shelter, an online petition calling for the “immediate dismissal from their jobs all those responsible for the needless suffering of [Spirit]” continues to swell with signatures.
Spirit had to have his left hind leg amputated a week after he was found untreated at the shelter.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, 533 people had included their name on the petition. Represented in that group were people from 34 states, Washington, D.C., Canada and Jamaica.
Concern about Spirit’s treatment had even skipped across the Atlantic Ocean as four petition signers identified themselves as United Kingdom residents. Also adding an international flair to the petition were signers from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Bilbao, a city in Spain.
Nearly 250 of the petitioners identified themselves as being from Virginia.
John Witt, a Wythe County resident who found Spirit injured at the shelter and started the petition, also said that he has e-mailed all the members of the Board of Supervisors about the incident and the inspection report.
He said that none of the supervisors have replied to his e-mail.
Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or nhubbard@wythenews.com.