Florence County opens new animal control facility

EFFINGHAM — They might not know it, but many of our local animals have a reason to celebrate with the grand opening of Florence County’s new animal control facility.

The new building can comfortably hold nearly three times as many animals as the old facility, which wasn’t climate controlled, and it also features an air-evacuation system to help prevent the spread of airborne illnesses among animals, Florence County Environmental Services Supervisor Herbie Christmas said after Friday’s event.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, county councilman Dr. Morris Anderson was praised for his “dogged” determination to get the facility built.

“Morris Anderson has loved animals all of his life and has spent a great part of his life making animals well,” said former U.S. Rep. Ed Young of Florence. “He was always disturbed by the facilities we had.”

Anderson, a Florence resident, is a retired veterinarian.

“No little puppy and no little kitten is going to run up to me and say, ‘Thank you; I’m going to vote for you,’” Anderson said, but the moment should be remembered because “we have done a good thing.”

Florence County Council Chairman K.G. “Rusty” Smith also praised Anderson.

“We’ve got some — I’ll call them less than lovable — mutts at our council meetings who seem to insinuate that we’ve gone to the dogs,” but Anderson has worked “doggedly” for the new facility, Smith said.

Anderson also presented Christmas with a plaque for the new building featuring the names of donors who have given money toward a spay-and-neuter facility there.

The county has about $20,000 toward operating tables, anesthetics and other surgical equipment, but needs an additional $25,000 to start a spay-and-neuter program, Anderson said.

Spaying and neutering animals before they leave the facility will cut down on the county’s population of stray, unwanted animals, causing fewer to be euthanized, he said.

“Nobody likes to euthanize animals. I don’t want to know anybody who likes to euthanize animals. I’ll go one step further — I’d like to euthanize him,” Anderson joked to laughter from Friday’s crowd. “If you get any joy out of that, you’ve got a problem.”

Anderson and Christmas also said the county is considering a low- or no-cost spay-and-neuter program for people who normally wouldn’t take their animals to the vet.

The new facility cost $973,716, Florence County Finance Director Kevin Yokim said.

It spans about 4,600 square feet and has 76 dog pens and 86 cat cages, Christmas said. Generally, animal control officers will keep one animal to a cage to prevent problems such as fighting over food, he said.

The old facility could comfortably hold 30 dogs and 26 cats, although it was common to have six to 10 dogs in one pen, Christmas said.

Animals will be moved into the new facility starting Monday, he said.

Marcia Cooper, co-owner of Care A Lot Rescue in Florence, called the new facility “an answer to prayer.”

Kathy Stewart, owner and founder of Home Away From Home Rescue in Florence, said the new building will bring the county pound to the attention of many people who didn’t know it existed.

She also said a spay-and-neuter facility will be a plus “because a lot of people aren’t going to (have their pets spayed or neutered) by themselves, and there’s a mandatory spay-neuter law in South Carolina.”