In 1989, Jamie Baker described Grant County’s “Animal Shelter” in the Grant County News. She wrote:

“Fifteen wet, furry faces peered between the links of the sagging chain link fence. A small
grimy pup whimpered as it lay on its side, unable to stand. Two of the dogs jumped and lashed with bared teeth at each other’s throats as the onlookers approached what resembled a chicken coop and lean-to combined.”

Some local citizens were outraged. They lobbied and raised funds for a better shelter. By 1997, the homeless dogs of Grant County came to a building.

But, that year, 1997, 528 dogs came to the Grant County Shelter. They came to a building with only eight runs. Of those, only four had access to indoors. Extra dogs and puppies went into a large chain link pen, completely open to the elements. Of the 528 dogs who came, 508 died there: 96%.

They died because there was nowhere for them to wait for someone to want them. That hopeless situation led to the beginning of the Grant County Friends of the Shelter and its first mission.

The Grant County Friends of the Shelter’s First Mission

A few people heard about the death rate of innocent pets. They knew ignoring it would be wrong. They talked to the Judge Executive and Fiscal Court members. They talked to others, too. In fact, they spoke to every civic group that would listen – the Williamstown Woman’s Club, the Grant County Kiwanis, church groups, family groups, and people they met in Walmart. And they talked to legislators.

Simultaneously, they began writing about the shelter pets and their plight in the newspaper.

People listened. People cared. In 2003, the Grant County Fiscal Court responded. A new, state-of-the-art shelter opened for Grant County’s unwanted dogs.

A Short-Lived Celebration

However, within months it was clear that the new shelter was too small and missing essential elements. There was no way to separate new animals from the healthy puppies and dogs already there. There was no way to save those trapped shelter pups from killing diseases that entered the shelter.

Many died. Many of those were puppies – puppies with very short, very sad life stories. One was named Misty. She was unforgettable, a sweet, beautiful, black and white spaniel puppy. Misty was gentle and loving, and she was healthy – until she came to the shelter. Misty was in a kennel next to an older dog. That dog exposed her to Parvo. Misty died.

So did a cute, caramel-brown puppy called Nougat. And a shiny black, funny-faced little guy named Jasper and hundreds more… all because their helpless puppy bodies met adult-strength diseases.

And there was still no place for kittens and cats in the shelter.

A Grant County – GCFOS Partnership for a Solution

Thanks largely to a local, alert, aware, and caring legislator, Rep. Royce Adams, Kentucky had budgeted funds to improve the Commonwealth’s animal shelters.

The Grant County Fiscal Court and the Grant County Friends of the Shelter co-authored a grant proposal. It was funded, and the shelter tripled in size, gaining a quarantine area, more kennels, and a small space with cages for cats.

The awarded state dollars financed a miraculous amount of space due to the County’s cleverness. Skilled inmates from the Grant County Detention Center constructed the entire expansion.

And fencing and access to green space was added. With kind volunteers, dogs could go on walks.