The photo of a man hoisting a scared dog into a container for gassing is disturbing. Imagine how readers reacted when that photo appeared large and in color on the Salisbury Post’s front page on May 9, 1993.
Readers were shocked. But after they got over being mad at the Post for displaying the photo so prominently ó on Mother’s Day, of all days ó they redirected their concerns to the problem behind the story that went with it, “Rowan’s dirty little secret.”
This is a good time to revisit what happened in the early 1990s. The legislature is considering bills on the most humane way to kill the animals no one wants. The lethal injection vs. gas debate also surfaced locally in the 1990s, but the issue that drew the most attention was the condition of the Rowan County Animal Shelter, then on National Guard Road near the airport.
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That was the dirty little secret ó the county’s animal shelter, out of sight and out of mind.
In 1993, the county regularly held 100 animals in a shelter designed to hold 60. The building was so sad, dilapidated and crowded, some visitors left in tears.
As many as 20 animals could be crowded in a run that measured 5-by-20 feet.
By year’s end the number of animals that had to be killed at the shelter ó to make room for more unwanted animals ó was more than 4,000.
Emily Ford’s story about the shelter and Wes Miller’s photos opened the public’s eyes. Together, they were a wake-up call.
An anonymous couple donated $100,000 for a new shelter, and Meet the Challenge fundraisers brought in about $65,000. That included, for example, $705 from Boy Scout Jason Kirtley, who sold Christmas ornaments made from dog treats. The community was aware and involved.
Commissioners matched the anonymous gift with $100,000 in the 1993-94 budget but knew that would not be enough.
Tim Russell, then county manager, wanted a facility that would last. “It’s alarming how many unwanted animals are given to the county. It’s really sad,” Russell said at one meeting. “Will a $263,000 facility serve the needs of Rowan County, or will we outgrow it?”
In the end ó after taking heat for not acting more quickly, and after voters rejected a bond referendum for a new shelter ó Rowan County built a $320,000 shelter on Julian Road. The new shelter was hailed as spacious for its 30 indoor-outdoor runs, a room for bathing animals and another for educating new pet owners.
Talk about “build it and they will come.” Animal lovers weren’t the only ones eager to have a bigger shelter. So were the people wanting to get rid of their dogs and cats. The day before the shelter opened in June 1995, someone tried to drop off a dog during the open house celebration.
In its first 12 days, the shelter took in 378 animals, and the numbers have continued to climb.
Last year, the county euthanized nearly 5,500 animals.
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Sixteen years later, Rowan may have outgrown its animal shelter again. The spay and neuter clinic people hoped for in 1993 never happened. There aren’t enough runs to separate sick animals from well ones.
Activists are more concerned right now about euthanasia methods ó gas vs. lethal injection. Proposed state legislation could require shelters to give each animal a lethal shot rather than gas.
The Post will explore the euthanasia issue next month. Meanwhile, I hope we’ll think about doing more for animals ó in the shelter and in the community ó before they face execution.
The midst of a recession is a bad time to talk about expanding services for animals. So many humans are in need. But these things take time. However the euthanasia question is answered, I hope the heightened concern over animal death will spill over into more regard for animal life.
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Elizabeth Cook is editor of the Salisbury Post.