County working on guidelines to improve conditions at animal shelter

Don't look for any radical solutions or wild spending sprees to address areas of concern at the local animal shelter, a county official said.

"We will do the things to better the situation there that are within our means," Cherokee County Public Works Committee Chairman Bailey Humphries said.

Complaints from local animal shelter volunteers triggered the county's look into its procedures at the animal control shelter. The volunteers claimed county animal control officers violated state law by failing to fully sedate animals prior to euthanizing them. The county has hired veterinarians to do the euthanasia procedures until the county adopts a new policy and procedures manual for the animal shelter.

Humphries said work on the manual should be complete by the end of June.

In addition to outlining its euthanasia procedures, Humphries said the detailed manual will include a full job description for each animal shelter employee and the shelter's hours of operation. The manual also will address the hours the public can enter the shelter, which the county hopes will reduce its liability at the animal shelter.

The volunteers also said a complaint had been filed with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office over alleged wrongdoing at the animal shelter. Cherokee County Assistant Administrator Holland Belue said the county has yet to be notified of any pending investigation.

"I would think they would let us know if they were going to investigate," Belue said.