A woman who visited the local animal shelter Thursday morning found the shelter closed, but was alarmed to find a dead dog inside the fence and a litter of puppies outside the facility.
Lindsey Maestri, who had come to the shelter searching for a missing cat, said she found a disturbing sight. “I found a dead dog inside the fence, and then I found 10-11 puppies in a turned-over trash can. It was definitely upsetting.”
While it is not known what caused the dog's death, the puppies had apparently been dumped outside the facility.
The shelter’s hours are Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m, but Smithville Mayor Jimmy Poss said the employee scheduled to be on duty Thursday was sick, and could not make it to work.
Poss said the shelter’s two employees, David and Monica Summers, can not always be at the shelter in the best of circumstances, because they are also responsible for answering call regarding stray animals.
He said after-hours calls also affect their schedule. “They got called out last night because a dog had bitten a boy,” the mayor said.
Maestri said she contacted the Joe Black Effort, a local "no kill" animal rescue group, when she found the dead animal and the abandoned puppies.
“Its alarming, disturbing, disgusting, and shameful to our town,” said Emmaly Bennett, vice president of the Joe Black Effort. “These dogs are clearly not being taken care of properly. I just got a call a week ago from a man who picked up a stray in the housing projects and he had been trying to contact the animal shelter here since 9 a.m. that morning, and at about 3 p.m. he contacted us because no one would answer the phone from 9a.m. until 3 p.m. Then I called Jimmy Poss, and he went and picked up the dog himself and brought it here to the animal shelter,” Bennett said.
Poss said the animals are fed and watered daily, and denies claims that the city is not attempting to properly care for them.
“It's not what Joe Black is saying,” Poss said. “People drop dogs over here. Sometimes the dogs are sick. Some have Parvo. We can't help it. Just like these eleven puppies brought here today. I can't stop people from doing that. We do have an issue, but anybody who wants these dogs, we'll give the dogs to them. That's our policy,” the mayor said.
Bennett said anyone who wants to help should contact the Joe Black Effort. “You can call us at 615-464-5683 or 615-215-7289. If you can foster a dog, we can provide food and crates for them to sleep in,” she said.