Discarded
animals problem in Randolph
By
J.D. Walker
Staff Writer, The Courier-Tribune
ASHEBORO
- Randolph County Animal Shelter handles thhousands of abandoned, stray animals
each year. Rarely do officials catch the people involved in the act of discarding
unwanted pets. That's
why they are adamant about prosecuting a recent case of animal abandonment discovered
by off-duty Asheboro police officers. Candice
Kidd, 41, 589 Loflin Pond Road, Asheboro, is charged with animal abandonment and
failure to have proper rabies vaccinations for her animals. Her case is still
pending in court. "This
is such a major problem in our area," said Gray Furgurson, the animal control
officer involved with the case. Scott
Davis, manager of the Randolph County animal shelter, said he knows of only one
other case that his department has taken to court. The case involved a woman who
was charged earlier this year with animal abuse in relation to three dogs, two
of which starved to death. On
June 10, she was fined, ordered to pay court costs, ordered to pay restitution
to the animal shelter, perform 100 hours of community service, forbidden to have
animals for two years and put on three years probation. Furgurson
said animal abuse and abandonment are terrible problems in Randolph County. Every
other call of the 10 or more calls she receives each day involve complaints about
abandoned animals. On
Friday, Furgurson received a call from Sgt. Frank Voncannon of the Asheboro City
Police. Voncannon lives on Balsam Street, a dead-end road in the city. While off
duty, he heard an unfamiliar vehicle on the road outside his house and went out
to investigate. In
his front yard, he discovered a mother cat and her six kittens. Voncannon told
Furgurson there was no vehicle in sight. But
nearby, Officer Arthur Milligan, who also lives in the neighborhood, was taking
a walk and observed what happened. When the driver of the car turned around in
the dead end road and headed back out, Milligan stepped out in front of the car
to flag the driver down. Furgurson
said Milligan told her he confronted the driver about the cats. The female driving
the car denied any knowledge of the incident and sped off in the vehicle. "Fortunately,
being police officers, they are trained in what to do in these cases and they
got the license number," said Furgurson. Furgurson
said she went Friday to the address listed for the vehicle, not knowing what to
expect. "The
woman (Kidd) was as nice as she could be," said Furgurson. "She confessed
and said her conscience had really been bothering her." Furgurson
said Kidd's excuse is one she hears often. People don't want to take the animals
to the shelter, knowing they will probably be put to sleep. "People
tell me they want to give the animals a chance," said Furgurson. "I
ask them, 'A chance to do what? Die?' " Furgurson
said abandoned animals are subject to attack from other pets in the area. They
wander out on roads only to be hit by cars and die in a ditch. They contract diseases,
said Furgurson, or die slowly and cruelly of starvation. Davis
said it is true that most of the 6,000-plus animals that come to the shelter are
put to death. But at least, it is a humane death. A
small percent of the animals received at the shelter are adopted out. Adoption
rates are low because of county restrictions, said Davis. "We
are primarily a disease-control facility," said Davis. His
department's main concern is controlling rabies outbreaks. Randolph County has
seen an upswing in the number of reported rabies cases this year, said Davis.
For 2000-01, there were only three reported cases of rabies. So far this year,
there have been 14 cases. The year ends on June 30. Only
those animals that animal shelter officials know are free of rabies are available
for adoption, said Davis. The shelter does not have the facilities or the finances
to vaccinate every animal it receives and hold it for the required 30 days to
ensure it is rabies free. The
cat and kittens in this case are being held at the shelter as evidence. Davis
said he is not at liberty to say what will become of the animals. "It's
up to the judge at this point," he said. "He could let the owner have
them back. He could release them to the shelter. We will have to wait on his decision
to make the final determination on what happens to them."
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