CLARKSVILLE TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Montgomery County Animal Care and Control saw a slew of challenges in 2023 with increased intakes, calls for service, and effects from the housing and population growth in Clarksville.
As MCACC fights the rising challenges, there was a dramatic rise in another portion of the annual report: 632 dogs were euthanized in 2023. That’s more than double the numbers from 2019-2021.
“It was very upsetting for the whole staff to see that in 2023,” said Dave Kaske, director of Animal Care and Control. “They work extremely hard to get animals out of here. After they (staff) leave here, they’re on their phones communicating with people they know, rescues outside of our area, trying to get animals out. It’s been a challenge over the last two years, and last year was very frustrating. Our intakes just kept going up, and up, and up.”
Trying to become no-kill shelter
According to reports, the shelter began its journey to become a “no-kill” shelter in 2018 and saw promising decreases. In 2019, 302 dogs were euthanized. That dropped to 224 in 2020 and 2021.
But in 2022, the number rose to 477 euthanized dogs. Then last year, 632 dogs were euthanized, a 109% increase from 2019.
So, why the rise in euthanasia?
“Our intakes increased 22 percent,” Kaske told Clarksville Now. “We had a lot more animals come in, and the lack of rescues being able to pull from us. We only have so many kennels to keep them in, even with having Fort Campbell as a resource. … Last year, we were averaging 14 animals a day coming into the shelter.”
According to the 2023 report, of the 632 dogs that were euthanized, 135 were for aggression and 80 were for behavior. The difference between aggression and behavior is about history, personality and even trauma.
“Aggressive is going to be something that we can’t handle,” Kaske told Clarksville Now. “In a cat, it would be almost like a feral cat, just aggressive and not something we feel safe going into a home. An aggressive dog would be something that has either attacked another dog or has a attacked a person.”
Behavior, Kaske says, is more mental in nature. In cats, it could look like refusing to use a litter box. In dogs, it could look like “kennel craze” or “kennelitis,” where the dog is bouncing off the walls and hurting itself.
The leading reason for euthanasia in dogs for 2023, was “unadoptable.” According to Kaske, unadoptable means the animal is adoptable but no one will adopt it and rescues won’t pull it. He explained that, unfortunately, a lot of those are bully breeds, and those are typically the last to get adopted.
Cat euthanasia decrease
In 2019, MCACC euthanized 539 cats. In 2020, that number dropped to 344. But it rose to 392 in 2021, then to 457 in 2022. Last year, it dropped slightly to 402.
The 2023 report said 63% were euthanized due to being either sick or injured, 23% were for being feral, and 22% for other reasons such as owner requested, behavior or being aggressive.
In comparison to 2019, cat euthanasia has seen a 25% decrease.
Adoptions continue with little difference
Adoption statistics for the last five years have seen little change, and Kaske believes it could be due to the community size.
MCACC saw an 8% decrease in adoptions from 2022 to 2023. There were various species of animals that were adopted, ranging from dogs and cats to pigs and ferrets.
An upward trend in adoptions through 2023 is the promotion of adoptable animals through local media outlets and radio stations. They also participated in several offsite Adoption Events over the spring and summer utilizing the mobile adoption trailer.
MORE: Pets of the Week
Among the challenges MCACC faced in 2023 were increased intakes, calls for service and effects from the housing and population growth. There was tremendous increase in pets being surrendered due to housing issues, with many rental properties either changing their pet policy or not allowing pets altogether.
“The community needs to get on board with being educated and getting their pets microchipped, and spayed and neutered,” Kaske said. “I’ve seen a lot of people that don’t want to get their pets spayed and neutered and they want to backyard breed their pets and then give them away on Facebook. … You have a lot of people that just have these throwaway pets. They have them until they don’t want them anymore.”
Larger facility coming, but when?
On March 22, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the long-awaited Montgomery County North Library Branch and the new MCACC facility. According to Chief County Engineer Nicholas Powell, both facilities are expected to open in the fall of 2025.
Planning for the new MCACC facility began six years ago with challenges locating property and a sale that fell through due to unforeseen circumstances. The developments led to the shared location between the library branch and the new animal shelter.
The current 7,000-square-foot facility on Spring Street can hold only 54 large dogs, and 30 smaller dogs, and has a room for cats.
The plan for the new 24,000 square foot shelter on Jordan Road includes approximately 99 kennels for dogs with cat capacity at 110. Powell said the total parking spaces shared between the Library and Animal Shelter is 182 spaces, a fairly equal split between the two facilities.
Powell said there will be three interior “get acquainted” spaces for dog adoptions and four outside areas that are fenced in for that same purpose and approximately a quarter of an acre of outdoor grassed dog run areas that will be fully protected by a 6-foot-tall fence.
Kaske says that the new shelter in comparison to the current one will have some night and day differences. Dog kennels will be three times the size of the current ones with indoor/outdoor access and overhead garage doors that will be open during the day for fresh air. Additionally, the cat cages will be fixed, a stark contrast to the mobile cages currently in use, as well as ventilated. There will also be an onsite veterinary clinic and a top-of-the-line disinfecting system.
Kaske told Clarksville Now there will be four cat rooms that can hold between three to four free-roaming cats with access to “catios,” which is a screened in, outdoor patio.
Powell said that weather permitting, construction should be complete in August 2025, with the opening in September or October.
For more, visit Montgomery County Animal Care and Control online, call 931-648-5750 or email animalcontrol@mcgtn.net.
DON’T MISS A STORY: Click here to sign up for our free daily email newsletter