EDWARDSVILLE — Dogs are on their way to finding “forever” home.
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Every dog at Madison County Animal Care and Control was pulled by a rescue on Monday.
“Unfortunately this won’t last long, but this is the first time Madison County has ever had an empty kennel,” Animal Control Manager Katherine Conder said.
Conder said local rescue groups such as Metro East Humane Society and Partners for Pets as well as a rescue group from Iowa removed 13 dogs from the facility. Rescue groups work with Animal Control to find potential adopters.
“I didn’t think it was possible,” County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler said. “To have no dogs in the shelter, even for a day.”
Prenzler said three years ago when he took office the number of animals euthanized that were brought into Animal Control was far too high.
“Nearly two-thirds of all dogs and cats brought into animal control were euthanized,” Prenzler said. Now we are a ‘no-kill’ facility. The county worked hard to get to this status and because of local rescue groups, we are succeeding.
“We wouldn’t be able to reach the numbers we have without their help.”
Prenzler also praised Conder’s work. He said her efforts since taking on the manager's role in 2017 helped the county reach its no-kill goal.
In order to be “no-kill,” there must a 90 percent save rate for cats and dogs. The county currently has a 95 percent save rate for dogs and 100 percent for cats.
Prenzler said Prior to 2017, the statistics for the “saved” animals were not available online. However, the public can now see the numbers of rescued dogs and cats weekly.
“Anyone can go online and check the numbers,” Prenzler said. “The public can track our progress.”
