An animal shelter is under attack from animal lovers who say what goes on there is disturbing. The facility is in Duplin County, and some of the descriptions are unsettling.
Kim Loyd went to the Duplin County pound to adopt a dog, only to be sickened by what she saw inside the building.
"I am appalled by the procedures and some of the conditions I have seen here," says Loyd.
Loyd's accusations appear to have merit. The facilities dog warden wouldn't talk on camera, but he told us 25 dogs were killed in the pound's gas chamber-- all at once--a few hours before we arrived.
We asked, "Even if they are heathy, they are put down?"
The warden replied, "Yes, we have no room."
An animal rights group says this is inhumane, and illegal. They say when the animals are gassed together, they attack each other viciously as they take their last breaths.
Loyd says she is "Appalled that in this day and age there is a facility like this in the county I live in."
There are other complaints.
"I have witnessed them hose down a cage with the dogs still in it," says Loyd. "One of the times it was a little puppy, and when I picked him up he was soaking wet."
Cats in rabbit cages, makeshift water dishesand limited operating hours. The conditions all upset animal lovers.
The pound is only open one hour a day during the week, meaning if a dog or cat is brought in on a Friday afternoon, you only have one hour on Monday and one hour on Tuesday to adopt them before they are put down.
County Manager, Fred Eldridge, concedes something needs to change.
"Is it an ideal situation? No," Eldridge admits. "Do I think it is one that needs improvement? Yes."
But for now, Loyd says she loses sleep at night thinking about the animals.
Loyd is doing what she can to save as many as he can. She's now adopted three dogs that otherwise would have met an unspeakable end.
Reported By Nicole Konkal
Photogaphy by Ryan Koresko
For additional information visit: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Statutes/GeneralStatutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_130A/GS_130A-192.html
