Lake County Sheriff Gary Borders is expected to request Lake County once again take over the animal shelter in response to the community’s interest in turning it into a “no-kill” facility, Commissioner Leslie Campione said Wednesday.
“I have received a lot of input from people in the community who would like to see additional reforms at the shelter,” Campione said. “I want to work with the community to make that happen provided that there is support on the County Commission.”
Campione said the sheriff wants the county to be the organization that would handle a no-kill shelter.
She added that the enforcement of animal services would still remain under the sheriff while animal services could potentially come back under the county’s supervision.
Lt. John Herrell, spokesman for the LCSO, wrote in an email Wednesday afternoon that the sheriff has been in discussions with the county but he hasn’t submitted anything yet.
Commission Chairman Sean Parks said he had brief discussions with the sheriff about the request, but said Borders cited concerns about the cost of the shelter.
In Oct. 1, 2014, Borders took over operations of Animal Services at the request of the County Commission, which had been plagued by missteps and high euthanization rates at the shelter.
The head of the Animal Services division announced her resignation in March 2014, citing a tight budget and public pressure over the department’s euthanization rate. Cyndi Nason was the second director of Animal Services to resign within a year.
Nason and Marjorie Boyd both resigned amid pressure from animal activists, who claimed the shelter was putting down too many animals.
Before Nason took the position in May 2013, two internal audits — one focused on the shelter’s record keeping and the other on pet licensing laws — cited at least 45 areas for improvements.
But the public criticism was only a partial reason for the resignations, county officials previously said, pointing to funding issues that kept the county from hiring a field supervisor and rescue coordinator to help take the pressure off the director.
In July 2014, two follow-up audits on Lake County Animal Services found the shelter still had problems with cash management, record keeping, proper recording of liens and facility needs.
Borders acknowledged in 2014 that mistakes were made during Jacquelyn Johnston’s tenure as the new county’s Animal Services director, leading to adoptable pets being euthanized.
In the nine days Johnston oversaw the Animal Services, the center euthanized 147 animals, according to Herrell. On Oct. 9, 2014, sheriff’s officials learned she euthanized 18 dogs and two cats. Borders said at the time the majority of animals euthanized were sick or vicious.
Since then, the shelter has encountered other challenges.
The shelter closed its adoption activities for 10 days in June after it learned that two adult dogs and one puppy were affected with parvovirus — a life-threatening illness that affects the intestinal tract. The two adult dogs were euthanized.
A parvovirus outbreak in August 2015 resulted in 16 dogs being euthanized.
An animal expert questioned if shelter officials were taking the right measures to avoid parvo.
Commissioner Jimmy Conner said he was disturbed Campione met with the sheriff without consulting the commission first.
“She has been badgering him for close to a year about turning Animal Services over to the county,” he said. “She is not speaking for the commission. She is not the chairman. It is out of the sunshine and it is something she is doing behind the scenes And I don’t know of anyone that wants Animal Services back other than her. The sheriff has done a much better job than the county ever did.”
Conner added Campione is going rogue and it is “way out of line.”
“That is the way things are going to be in Lake County,” he said.
Campione laughed in response to Conner’s accusations.
“It is silly for Commissioner Conner to say I have gone rogue when I am responding to what people in the community have presented to the sheriff and me,” he said “I am responsive to constituents. Let’s try to lead the charge to do more.”