By Adam Pack
Jennifer Runyon, Board President of the Greenbrier County Humane Society, was present at Monday’s County Commission to give the Society’s annual report for 2022. Runyon began by saying that, “this has been a different year for all of us, which is now known as ‘puppy year;’ Typically one or two litters per year come our way, but this year almost 100 of the 522 dogs we received were puppies.” Runyon brought several other interesting facts and updates well, stating that,
• Dog surrenders are down, though they have transitioned in character from mostly owned, adult dogs to puppies.
• 955 cats were taken in this year, a number on par with previous years
• 70% of dogs in the shelter and 67% of cats were owner surrendered
• 115 dogs were brought in by ACO; and in total, 1,592 dogs and cats were cared for in 2022
• Due to support from the county, since 2009, the society has been able to facilitate and accept the surrender of 25,782 dogs and cats and a significant number of those animals were adopted.
• As of 2022, the society has not euthanized any animals for space for nine years.
• Last year, 1,775 dogs and cats were spayed and or neutered at no cost to any pet owner. This totals more than $1 million to local vets for these services. These procedures were funded without money from the county.
• 33,225 dogs and cats have been fixed to date since the society began assisting pet owners with getting their pets spayed or neutered.
Runyon finished her report with news on the society’s outreach efforts. The society recently partnered with the Kanawha Humane Society, who is able to take some of the special medical cases which the Greenbrier Humane Society is unable to properly care for. Homeless animal reduction efforts are also a part of the society’s efforts, including the Community Cat Program. In 2022, the society raised and spent $ 7,000 altering and vaccinating 135 cats and kittens, according to Runyon. She went on to give the commission a reminder of the Greenbrier County Humane Society’s motivating principle: “Our goal is to put ourselves out of business through spaying and neutering.”
In other news, the commission approved an extension of the Sheriff’s Department’s lease of the Bruce Law Firm building, and authorized the county tax deputy to set up a bank account for the receipt of funds from the upcoming opioid litigation settlement. No date or amounts have been given to the county as of yet regarding said funds. Lastly, the county opened and forwarded responses for the county’s Requests for Proposals for Outside Legal Counsel on the Quinwood Broadband project. Four firms’ bids were opened and will be sent to Region 4 Planning and Development where they will be evaluated for correctness. If deemed correctly filed and appropriate, the county will vote on which firm to accept.
The Greenbrier County Commission will meet again on Tuesday, Mar. 28, at 10 a.m. in the Greenbrier County Commission offices, in the basement of the courthouse. The public is encouraged to attend. Interested parties should call 304-647-6689 ahead, as times and dates are subject to change.
