Citizen dog-walkers will again be allowed at the Jackson County Animal Shelter on Mondays, removing an acrimonious bone of contention between volunteers and the county.

Friends of the Animals volunteers have been up in arms for the past year after county officials closed the shelter on Mondays to volunteers. The shelter already was closed to the public on Mondays.

Along with banning volunteers on Mondays, there was a ban on volunteer transport of animals and conducting certain duties at the shelter. County officials cited liability issues and a need to allow staff training and veterinary procedures to take place one day per week and time for county staff to conduct a feasibility study to determine the costs of running the shelter, built in 1961, and its eventual replacement.

Volunteers protested ongoing changes — in particular, dogs being left in kennels for long stretches — and began attending weekly Jackson County Board of Commissioners meetings to voice concerns.

In June, they presented a 1,200-signature petition urging the reversal of policy changes, but county officials stood their ground.

On Friday, Feb. 23, FOTAS Executive Director Sky Loos emailed volunteers a newsletter announcing that several of last year’s changes were rescinded. Starting Monday, March 4, shelter volunteers can return to walk dogs and to socialize dogs and cats, the first day of each week.

Previously known as Friends of the Animal Shelter or “FOTAS”, the organization “dropped the S” in December. According to Loos, the name change to Friends of the Animals broadened it to a more regional focus versus only serving the county shelter — its original mission since 1991.

Volunteers can sign up for either of two Monday dog-walking shifts — from noon to 2 p.m. or 2 to 4 p.m.

Volunteers will also be able to sign up to socialize and spend time with “evidence” cats, the newsletter stated, although kennel cleaning and other cleaning duties will remain with shelter staff, not FOTAS volunteers.

Evidence cats are those taken by law enforcement when a crime has been committed and the animals are connected to the case in some way, such as in instances of animal hoarding or other abuse. Overall, the shelter has not been accepting stray cats in recent months and is reviewing its policy pertaining to accepting cats going forward.

FOTAS volunteer Tony Davis said he wasn’t sure what prompted the change, after a year of “no Mondays,” but he expressed relief.

“I think all of the volunteers are very pleased, on behalf of the dogs, that Monday volunteer activity will be returning and that they’re also now expanding the fostering program back, which is a very good thing,” Davis said.

“I don’t know what precipitated it, but I am not complaining. It will be good for the dogs, and it will be good for volunteer morale to get past this and look forward to how we can all make the shelter better. I do think volunteer morale has really declined during the last couple of years.”

Stacy Brubaker, director of health and human services for the county, said county officials had never ruled out the possibility of allowing volunteers back on Mondays when the time was right.

“It has always been part of the plan as we have continued to work through all the challenges and program changes,” Brubaker said.

“We are now ready to have dog-walkers back on Mondays as we continue to move forward and appreciate their patience,” she added.

County resident Joe DeFranco, who volunteers at the shelter several days per week, said he was hopeful the changes would ease kennel stress for dogs and ease some of the pressures on shelter staff.

“It seems to be a trend to me, reversals in their policies lately. I don’t know what their logic is anymore than anybody else, I only know that the result is the animals are going to be treated better and they’re gonna benefit from it,” DeFranco said, noting that he was hopeful to see more off-site adoption efforts to reduce shelter capacity.

“We have a stellar all-star cleaning crew who are so dedicated. They work so hard, and they care about the animals so much. I hope that their work will be alleviated a little bit and I hope they’ll have time to be with the dogs a little bit more. … Overall, this change is a win-win situation for the county and for the animals. A big breath of relief for sure,” DeFranco said.

For information on volunteering, visit fotas.org.

Jackson County commissioners discussed replacement and future operations of the county’s dilapidated, outdated animal shelter at a Thursday staff meeting.

County staff have conducted a feasibility study for much of the past year, determining operating costs and eventual facility replacement.

Options discussed Thursday ranged from asking voters to approve a 15-cent tax (per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value) to house dogs and cats, and provide higher-than-existing levels of service, as well as opting for a scaled-down “dogs only” operation.

The shelter in recent months has made changes and stopped accepting cats, other than “evidence cats,” seized by law enforcement, due to capacity.

All told, County Administrator Danny Jordan presented information about four capital projects, including a future jail, Jackson County Courthouse annex, a Pandemic Response Center at the Expo and the animal shelter.

Preliminary conceptual designs for a new animal shelter, from 2022, show a new shelter would cost $14 million.

Currently, the 2024-25 budget for the shelter is just under $2.7 million. The 15-cent tax would generate between $3 million and $3.5 million per year, which would allow the shelter to facilitate dogs and cats.

Jordan suggested the county could maximize use of existing resources and shelter capacity by funding programs to encourage pet owners to keep their pets. He also proposed local municipalities, which rely on county animal services to house animals seized by law enforcement, to begin paying for the service.

Jordan said he anticipated some support from Friends of the Animals, but funding for the coming year, if any, had yet to be determined.

Jordan noted, “They haven’t said no, but they haven’t said yes.”