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Those concerned about the welfare of animals at the McCracken County Humane Society got to tell county commissioners Monday night about their feelings on the matter during the Fiscal Court’s workshop at the McCracken County Courthouse. Christie Bell says she’s not trying to create “a witch hunt” against the Humane Society’s director, Shirley Grimes. She just concerned about what is really going with the animals and wants to see records pertaining to euthanasia at the humane society. She also made a comment about the derogatory remarks that were mentioned on her Facebook page about the humane society when she was told by officials that she was not allowed to take any more pictures, something Bell had done once in an effort to get the animals adopted. “Then I called back on Monday, and I … walked back in there to see which ones were adopted, which ones weren’t so I could say this one found its home, and when I could set up to go in there again,” Bell said. “And Delana from the humane society told me that Shirley told me I can’t go back in there. Hence, that afternoon I wrote you a letter Mr. Newberry (Judge-Executive Van Newberry). That’s the only reason. It’s all about the animals. Dogs, cats, birds, whatever it is.” Bell says something needs to be done to about the humane society so the animals will be treated better and get the services they need. Bell also said she is willing to start a no-kill shelter in McCracken County if the county has the land or building to start one. Donna Groves, who serves as treasurer at the Project Hope No-Kill Humane Society in Metropolis, says what’s going on with the animals at the McCracken County Humane Society is not good enough because things can be better. Groves says she was pretty amazed to read in the paper Sunday that the McCracken County Humane Society is now admitting to killing any animals because they have claimed for years that they don’t put any animals down except in extreme cases. “The thing is they didn’t tell anybody that the extreme cases happened about 30 times a week out there,” Groves said. “But by telling that lie, a lot of the public has bought into that, and that’s how they’ve been able to maintain the amount of public support that they have kept out there that they have to this date.” Another concern Groves has is the lack of effort toward getting animals adopted from the humane society. She says with it only being open weekdays from 9 am to 3:30 pm, those hours are not very accommodating for anyone and getting an animal a home is not their priority. Citing Grimes’ contention that she didn’t know about petfinder.com, Groves said, “I hope you get the significance of that. It’s like a cop that’s never heard of the Top Ten Most Wanted List.” While Groves said she is happy to hear that Grimes finally has someone working on it for McCracken County but questioned why it’s taking so long. “What’s the holdup? Meanwhile, more animals are dying.” Prior to their comments, Jeff Brown, animal control director for Paducah-McCracken County, told commissioners and Newberry that after looking into what’s been going on at the humane society, he suggests doing standardized vet checks on the animals and utilize area rescue groups to help with adoptions and other things. Commissioner Ronnie Freeman also brought up the idea of possibly finding a way for the humane society to be open a half-day on Saturday for those wanting to adopt a pet, something the crowd in attendance applauded Freeman for suggesting. The fiscal court is expected to discuss more about this issue at its next workshop on April 11.

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