Johnston County Animal Control Strike Again!!!

NIKO

Hi again - just want to remind all those with big caring hearts to go to the meeting tomorrow. And to those of you who want to start trouble, name calling, bashing and all that nasty stuff, STAY HOME. This is NOT what the meeting is about. Peppercorn, Mark and the others who are giving of their time to make this a better place for our furry friends, have been working their butts off, they deserve a world of THANK YOUs.

 

what do I win if I stay home?

Just kidding, Thanks for everything!!!

 

Hey I got the Cleveland Post, good article!! :lol:

Niko!

I never met him, but I love him :cry:

 

Shelter names interim manager

By SUZETTE RODRIGUEZ STAFF REPORTER

SMITHFIELD -- Ernie Wilkinson likes a challenge.

So the Kenly businessman couldn't say no when County Manager Rick Hester called last week to ask if he would accept a part-time job as interim manager of the Johnston County Pet Adoption Center.

Wilkinson admits he had never set foot in the animal shelter until Monday. But the county manager wanted someone outside the field who could analyze the operation, then put changes into place, he said. "We've got a lot of bridge-building to do. I know that," Wilkinson said on Thursday. "We've got a lot of i's that need dotting, a lot of t's that need crossing. And we've to got build a team."

The shelter got into trouble last week when an employee mistakenly gassed a family pet. Niko, a 2-year-old German shepherd, was being held under a voluntary quarantine. His owners, Lee and Cyndi Davis, sent him to the shelter after he attacked a neighbor's puppy.

Wilkinson said he wants to turn the mishap with Niko into an opportunity for positive change. "The shelter needs help," he said. "Along with the growth in our county has come pet problems and pet opportunities. It's been playing catch-up, and it's hard to grow when you're playing catch-up."

On Tuesday, Hester announced the changes in the shelter's management.

Roger Davis, who was the director of animal services, was demoted to lead animal-control officer, and his pay was reduced to $31,463, a cut of $4,291. He had been placed on administrative leave with pay for five days while Hester looked into the shelter incident.

Two other shelter employees were suspended without pay. Chad Massengill was suspended for three days, while Bryan Bryant was suspended for two days.

Hester said the interim job would last nine months. Wilkinson will be paid $29 an hour.

In Kenly, Wilkinson and his parents operate a hardware and home-improvement store. He is a member of the Johnston County Economic Development Advisory Board and a member of the board of trustees at Johnston Memorial Hospital. He is a former mayor and councilman in Kenly and a former school board member.

"With Ernie's background in business and public service, he'll facilitate changes and find ways we can partner with people," Hester said. "This is one of the fastest-growing areas of our county's operation. We take in more than 400 dogs and cats a month -- that's more than 50,000 animals a year."

Hester said Niko died because of a lack of internal procedures and communication. The animal-control officer who took the dog to the shelter that afternoon put him temporarily in a cage for animals that were to be gassed. Then he left to answer another call.

At 7 a.m. the next day, another shelter employee came in to gas the dogs in the designated cages. "By the time the first animal-control officer got to work at 8 a.m. to finish up with Niko, it was too late," Hester said.

On Monday night, the Davises and their neighbors, Mark Munter and Maureen McMillan, attended the County Commissioners meeting. During a public comment period, Lee Davis asked how the investigation was going and encouraged the county to put procedures in place to keep such an error from happening again. He also offered to volunteer at the shelter.

McMillan said she wanted to organize a group to help animals at the shelter. "I don't want to be the enemy, I want to help," she said. "I'd like to see Johnston County be the one leading the pack in dealing with animal control."

An organizational meeting of the group, called "Habitat for Niko," is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at Gandolfo's. The restaurant is located in the Ashley Turner Building on N.C. 42 at the I-40 intersection.

"We want to get ideas from people," Lee Davis said. "This is a brainstorming session -- not a bashing -- for how we can help our four-legged friends. Everyone who is interested in seeing positive changes over at the shelter is invited."

On Thursday, Wilkinson said he was impressed that the Davises and their neighbors want to help. He plans to attend the meeting on Saturday. "If these people care enough to want to volunteer, then I want them on my team," he said.

"There's a place for them and other volunteer groups," he added.

 

Suzette is wonderful!!! She tells it like it is!! I really hope that ya'll STRESS The CO-Chamber. It can be done! It can be done!! Don't let ERnie tell you otherwise.

 

Wow what an article.

 

Habitat for Niko



Meeting Saturday 10-16-04 Meeting

First Meeting for Habitat for Niko

3:00 PM
Gandolfo’s
5638 NC Highway 42, Garner
Just west of I-40 and east of Cleveland Road

We are the family and friends of Niko the German Shepard who was wrongly put to death by Johnston County Animal Control when he was mistaken for a terrier. Niko was supposed to be held in quarantine for ten days, instead, he was gassed after only one.
Please contact habitat4niko@yahoo.com for more information.

Our goal is to create a non-profit, grass roots organization in memory of Niko so that this grave error never happens again.

This first meeting will be to come together as an animal loving community and discuss our goals for a better organized, improved animal shelter.

Please come and submit your ideas! Stop by to show support!

 

good luck at the meeting Saturday

 

no kill shelter

So then what would happen to the dogs who are deemed to aggressive to be adopted? What would happen to the sickly dogs who required extensive medical treatment? Would they be euthanized or left to rot?

 

LARGER SHELTER

katie please don't ask those questions.you'll just be a trouble maker like all the rest who have their own opinion.and don't come to the meeting either because if you do mark will tell the sheriffs department to arrest you. they DO have security you know ,in case any of these terrorist with different opinions show up. just livin the dream; don't bother them.

 

Re: no kill shelter

Ok Katie it's like this.
If our dream comes true in the future we will have a no kill shelter however that's not going happen tomorrow. As you asked if there was an animal that needs medical attention we/ the new shelter that is being reformed would supply it. No animal would be left to "rot".
If it would be more humane to give an animal a needle then so be it with all my tears. Also Katie I welcome your opinion unlike someone who hides behind the name guest. Who also threatens an old fashioned but woopin.
We are in the immediate future looking to make the shelter better for the animals.If you want be part of the cure by all means come down and lets here what you have to say.
As I have said before to everyone this is only about making the shelter a better place for the animals, dogs,cats and even the venomous snakes they have there.
This is done because I love all animals and don't want see any of them suffer again. As an animal loving community we are joining forces to make sure this never happens again.
So Katie I hope this answers your questions about what we have in mind.
In a nut shell no more suffering for the animals.
Good luck and if you want help we will see you Saturday.

 

Peppercorn for presidant. Peppercorn loves you.

 

Niko

DITTO

 

(Thank you woof. and Woof Jr. or whatever)

Katie, Guest AW, and company - I myself to do want to see any dogs being put down. I do not have all the answers. If a dog is deemed to aggressive then perhaps they would need to be put down but I would like to think that maybe some could be retrained. I fully understand that this is a very naive statement. I know that not every dog is lovable, (yes, I read Cujo). I understand that some will probably have to be put to sleep.

As far as sick animals... it would depend on if they can be cured. If they have worms - then we can easily fix that. If they are puppies with parvo virus, then it might be better to put them to sleep, so they do not suffer. That is one of the reasons I would like to see a vet available or on staff at the pound. He/She would know about all this stuff and perhaps we could increase the saved animal rate.

The North Shore AnimaL League is a huge no kill shelter that house about 300-400 animals. They have an excellent adoption rate. I have read up on their history and they started out as a group of people just like us. since, they have turn into one of the largest no-kill shelters in the world. they have some terrific programs. We are not up to stuff like this yet. Maybe "Habitat for Niko" will never get so far as to help so many, but we can pave the way. And we can hope for the best for all our four legged friends.

Oh, and I do not have rose colored glasses on, either AW.

Did you folks catch the part where the gentleman who is looking into shelter reform will be at the meeting on Saturday? It would be terrific if we could get a nice turn out and show our support for Niko and shelter reform. Thanks!

 

Anybody wanna go hunting next weekend?

 

butt whipping

mark, i always put aw on my responses and i've read all 40 pages of these posts.who has threatened anyone with a butt whuppin. i don't think you'll have any problems with anyone on saturday and i really don't think a deputy needs to be there to keep trouble from breaking out.hope you have a good turn out and good luck.

 

Re: no kill shelter

Well then your dreams are my dreams; I just ask this question because I have seen other groups have all the good intentions in the world as far as a no-kill group is concerned, but they have no intentions of dealing with the situations I mentioned before: aggressive animals beyond reform, sick animals beyond treatment, etc. Having no intention of dealing with these situations is far worse to these animals than death-- is it not?


Sorry I won't be attending your meeting; I don't even live in your area. I was just reading online about your state of affairs. I hope your meeting is productive for all parties involved.

 

shelter conditions

I am shocked; I have visited this shelter several times unannounced and it was clean and orderly upon each visit.

 

Am I mistaken Katie, didn't you first write that you dont live in the area, and then in your last post, you said you've been there many times and it has been clean.

 

So "katie" your a pathetic liar who just got caught in your own stupid lie/

Your obviously just trying to stir up trouble. You better come up with another fake name to say ****, becaue now nobody is going to believe you. Enlightened person!