Shelter board working to clean up mess

It may be a little bit early to pass judgment in regards to the new era of the Knox-Whitley Animal Shelter, but at least things seem to be headed in the right direction.

Not only did the shelter get a sizeable donation from Williamsburg resident Ron Cooper this week, who also agreed to match donations of up to another $2,000 total through the month of December, KWAS Board President Barb Storms had some positive things to report on Friday when she said she took advantage of a snow day in the Whitley County School System to put in some extra time at the shelter.

“I took one of my sick days to come down and clean up a little, but it’s worth it and very rewarding,” she said. “We have had a really good day today (Friday), being that we’ve had three adoptions today alone.
“We had two puppies and a kitten and I think someone is here to pick out a kitten as well,” she added. “We have also had a lot of phone calls regarding puppies and I would assume that is normal during the holidays.”

Storms said that throughout the past week, board members have been down on a regular basis to try and get the shelter in the shape they feel it should be in. Storms said she wanted to thank those that had volunteered their time.

“We have all been down here scooping poop and working hard,” Storms said, with a chuckle.
As for the search for a new director, she also said there was a light at the end of the tunnel and that the board would be getting some extra help in determining who the new director will be.

“Dr. Michael Culver has agreed to volunteer his time to help us review some resumes,” she said. “We have four really great resumes in particular that we are excited about and they are people who have some management experience, so we are looking forward to that.”

As for Cooper and his donation, the Williamsburg man said he couldn’t think of a better way to help out his community when searching for a group to donate to.

“This is a good shelter and the people mean well,” he said. “I had a good year financially and I was looking to give some money to charity, so I called Devonna Durham personally and told her what I wanted to do.

“I had dealt with her before on some matters and I really feel confident that she will handle the money well,” he added. “Also, hopefully this will encourage other people looking to do the same thing with some extra money to help the shelter out, plus it is a tax write-off. I just think they have had some bad press lately and it’s important for people to feel good about this organization.”

Cooper also wanted to point out to anyone expecting a Christmas gift from him, they may as well chalk it up to charity, so to speak.

“What I also decided to do is that instead of buying people some meaningless gift, I am going to donate that money to the shelter as well in their honor,” he added. “I just think it’s a good thing to do.”

The KWAS also announced that they have lowered the adoption rates for the month of December to $20 each for kittens or two for $35, and $35 for dogs or two for $50. This fee does include a certificate for spay or neutering.

Durham said the hope in lowering the prices is to give some loving animals a good home for the holidays.

“We went ahead and lowered those for the month because there is a lot of animals down there and we want them to find a home,” she said. “Hopefully this will help those that want a pet, but couldn’t afford it at the other rates.”