LEWISBURG, W.Va. (WVDN) – At the regular Greenbrier County Commission on March 13, the Greenbrier Humane Society gave its annual report and presentation.
The Humane Society receives funding from the Commission.
Humane Society President Jennifer Runyon called 2022 the “puppy year,” stating the Greenbrier County Animal Shelter received an unusual number of puppies. Nearly 100 out of their total 522 dogs surrendered or found on streets of area communities were puppies, she said.
“The 955 cats we handled were about normal numbers for us,” said Runyon. She explained that owner surrender as well as “found loose” pets are taken in by the shelter, and this is the ninth year of the shelter’s moratorium on euthanasia for space consideration.
However, she noted, that the shelter still administers euthanasia in other instances, such as in cases of animals with dangerous temperament.
Runyon told the Commission that money from the county is not used for the spay/neuter program; the program is financed through grants and donations. The spay/neuter program allows vouchers to be given to pet owners who can use them to get the surgery done by a local veterinarian with the Greenbrier Humane Society footing the bill.
Runyon told the Commission that a misunderstanding of what expenses are exactly covered by the voucher has occurred in the past, but now, when the voucher is picked up from the shelter, pet owners are given a clear account of what the voucher covers. The shelter, located on Rt. 60, provides a list of area veterinarians and a verbal caution to ask what services that vet requires in addition to a spay/neuter. Sometimes the vet may require blood work or vaccines and the cost for those is not included in the voucher payment.
In addition to housing lost or unwanted pets and providing spay/neuter vouchers, Runyon also said that the shelter also provides bags of pet food to area food banks, so that they can be shared with the customers of those food banks or pantries.
Other business of the County Commission meeting was the establishment of a special revolving Opioid Litigation Fund account to accept the expected money from the case settlements. This account will be managed by the county sheriff’s office.
Also, four law firms applied and sent bids for the Quinwood Broadband project, and their communications will be reviewed by Region 4 for completeness. McNees, Wallace and Nurick of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Shewman, McClusky, Slicer of Charleston; Spillman Thomas and Battle of Charleston and Morgantown; and Steptoe and Johnson of Charleston were the four respondents.
The Commission approved signing a new lease for the Bruce Law Firm building for the sheriff’s department to use in 2023, the county attorney will work out the details.
In regular business, there were eight estates closed for the fiduciary, and also the minutes for the first meeting of the board of equalization and review in February were accepted.
