With dogged determination

Ledger photos / CODY SOSSAMON Judy Wyles addresses county council about her concerns with conditions at the consolidated city/county animal shelter. The State Law Enforcement Division is looking into allegations of animal cruelty at the facility. Three years into her fight for more humane treatment of the animals at the local animal shelter, animal rights advocate Judy Wyles said the county still has yet to embrace her suggestions.

In fact, she told Cherokee County Council members on Monday her efforts have been met with varying degrees of "disrespect and threats."

For example, Wyles said that a derogatory term accompanied her name on one of the animal shelter computer's screen savers.

Wyles and likeminded citizens have appeared at previous council meetings to complain about the conditions at the animal shelter and offer solutions. The group convinced council members to prohibit animal control officers from performing intracardial injections, more commonly known as "heart sticks." If done improperly, the needle punctures the lung before penetrating the animal's heart. The group's complaints have prompted a State Law Enforcement Division investigation into whether animal control officers broke animal cruelty laws.

Former Humane Society director Libby Swad is among those who have lobbied for a shelter manager to be hired. This time, Wyles recommended the county hire a shelter manager, who would be responsible for seeking alternative methods to remove the animals from the shelter by either adoption, rescue or temporary foster care.

Wyles estimated it costs the county $60 for each animal that arrives at the shelter. The cost escalates the longer the animal remains at the shelter.

"Every animal we get out of the shelter on the same day it is brought in will mean a savings for the county," she said.

Wyles apparently isn't alone in her battle for better conditions at the shelter. She said local animal rights advocates have obtained 1,000 signatures on a petition urging the county to upgrade its animal shelter.

"People do care about animals," she said.

Wyles also announced that council's inaction has spurred various local animal rights groups, including the disbanded local Humane Society, to form a nonprofit organization.

"The good thing is that all of us who love animals have put things aside," she said.

Libby Swad, a former director of the county Humane Society, also urged council to hire a shelter manager.

Bailey Humphries, chairman of the Cherokee County Public Works Committee, said he has every intention of cooperating with the group.

"I told them two weeks ago that we would be doing something and we are doing something," Humphries said. "(Hiring) an animal shelter manager has not been ruled out."