The supervisor of Nash County’s animal shelter has been fired after a report revealed some animals were left with no water, dirty litter boxes and a lack of medical care at the facility.
Nash County Manager Stacie Shatzer confirmed that the Pet Connection Center’s supervisor, Matthew Ingram, was terminated from his position amid the report’s release, which indicated three animals were euthanized before a required minimum 72-hour period.
Among other violations, the report accuses Ingram of not being truthful with a state investigator. It also states the shelter failed to clean enclosures and did not give some animals proper veterinary care, resulting in $6,700 in fines.
Ingram could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday.
When WRAL News asked about the reason for the conditions, Shatzer replied, “I can’t answer that. At this point, all I can say is it’s been revealed to us and so all we can do is act on it and that’s what we’re doing.”
In an effort to boost public trust, the shelter hosted an adoption event Saturday to recruit shelter staff and help animals find homes.
Lillian Cline left Nash County’s Pet Connection Center with a new addition to her family, a rescue dog named Blondie.
“I think she might fit in very well at our house,” Cline said.
Cline was among the dozens who visited the shelter during the rescue event, which offered free adoptions.
County officials said the event was also a chance to engage with the public and boost transparency following the report released earlier this week from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that outlined a slew of animal care violations.
“We have taken some disciplinary action, we’ve made some changes in leadership. We hope to move forward in a positive direction,” Shatzer told WRAL.
County officials also held on-site interviews Saturday for people interested in working at the shelter. A staffing shortage is one of the main challenges facing the facility, according to those overseeing the Pet Connection Center.
“We are very short staffed. We’re working very hard to receive applications, get people in here,” said Chris Cary, who oversees the shelter’s administrative operations. “I have met with the state inspector and have come up with a corrective action plan that we are going to conduct and move forward. The state has offered to work by our side and get us in the right direction.”
For the first time since the report was released, Nash County officials gave WRAL News a tour of the two-year-old facility.
“We need help. We need the community’s support,” Shatzer said. “Most all of us do have pets at home. We know how we care for them and how we want them to be cared for. We hold their care in our utmost priority.”
Shortly after adopting Blondie, Cline expressed her satisfaction with the Pet Connection Center.
“All the literature, all the paperwork is very clear about what the expectations are … she’s already been seen by a vet,” Cline said. “Sometimes things happen and the transparency, doing the report, managing things, I think that’s to be commended.”
Nash County has just under 60 days to either pay the fines or appeal the penalties.
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