WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Lee Co. Animal Shelter weighs budget against dogs' lives

Lee Co. Animal Shelter weighs budget against dogs' lives

LEE COUNTY, SC (WIS) - After 100 dogs were put to sleep in just 30 days, its been a tough month for the Lee County Animal Shelter.

The director says the economy has forced more families to give up their pets, and the shelter can't handle the load.

They are victims of circumstance, almost 50 of them at the Lee County Animal Shelter. Director Doris Winstead says that's way too many, since the place is designed to hold 35.

"It's getting worse," says Winstead.
    
Over the weekend four more showed up at the back door. Winstead says it's the economy.

"With the economy the way it is if you have to make a choice between if I'm going to feed the family or am I going to feed the dog, the family wins," Winstead.
    
And the dogs lose. About 100 of them were put down in just 30 days, and overcrowding is just part of the problem.

"It doesn't look good. What they've told me is they have to cut two million out of the Lee County budget. And with the animals being at the bottom of the list, I'm afraid they're going to cut us first," says Winstead.
    
To make matters worse, a Columbia company that for years donated pet food there has to scale back.

"We can't survive without the donations," says Winstead.

That's led students at nearby Robert E. Lee Academy to start a pet food and supply drive. Collection boxes will be placed there until the end of May.

But the biggest problem, Winstead says, remains the fact that not enough people are spaying and neutering their pets.
    
She says that and a lack of money means more and more of these dogs could soon face the needle. 
    
If you want to make a donation, Robert E. Lee will be holding that pet supply drive through May. Winstead says she has plenty of pets at the shelter that need good homes.

Reported by Taylor Kearns

Posted by Logan Smith