Richland County's animal control department under scrutiny
By Mike Cox

While the Richland County Council struggled to resolve the RTA issue, another politically-charged problem rose to the surface. The county animal shelter, operated by Critter Cabin, has recently generated emails, phone calls, and letters to editors of local newspapers.

Accusations of gross neglect have been made toward Richland's animal control department. Stories of animals wading in waste, maggots on dogs, and dead bodies left in the kennel have surfaced in the last month.

County Administrator Milton Pope said some of the allegations surfaced because of legitimate problems. One stray picked up recently had maggots and was taken to a vet when this was discovered. The septic system has backed up several times. Pope said the county gets the system pumped and cleaned every two weeks to prevent further incidents. A county animal care officer has also been assigned to the facility to oversee the operation.

Problems surfaced when the county decided all animal adoptions should go through Project Pet, primarily to ease confusion and make sure anyone wanting to adopt an animal was allowed to.

Richland County has pictures of all animals in the shelter on the county website; Richlandonline.com. Anyone who sees a potential pet on the website can contact the county to see the animal in person.

Critter Cabin is a private company and its services are leased by Richland County, so it is not obligated to open the doors to anyone who wanders in wanting to look into adoption. By coordinating through Project Pet, the county felt it could guarantee anyone an appointment and the ability to see a specific animal.

A misunderstanding by some of the pet adoption groups caused some of the turmoil; others feel the facility is below humane standards. Pope feels the county facility, while not ideal, is acceptable as a temporary holding facility. The local Humane Society has inspected the facility on scheduled and unscheduled visits, and determined the shelter to be adequate for temporary animal care.

The current situation goes back to 2003, when the Columbia animal shelter was renovated. After the work was completed, the city quit allowing Richland County to use the facility. Critter Cabin was contracted to provide a temporary place for strays. The county has issued a Request For Proposal on two occasions in the last three years, but received no applicants.

At this time, the county council is gathering information to determine whether to continue to lease space from private providers, partner with the city on a renovation due 11/07, or build a separate county shelter.

A local group has offered a property owned by Dr. Clyde Jordan as an alternative to Critter Cabin. The proposed cost would be 65% less than the current lease amount. However, that doesn't include staff. Richland County is currently doing a cost analysis to determine whether this is a better option.

The Richland County Council will make the final decision, and funding will be the determining factor. Tension always runs high where allocation of tax money is involved and there are as many opinions about how funds should be allocated as there are voters.