Community Invested in Pendleton County Shelter

John has been the shelter director and ACO for Pendleton County (KY) Animal Shelter for seven and a half years. When he retired after 22 years as a Firefighter/paramedic, his wife Bonnie told him he needed to find something to do, so he took a job working at the shelter part-time. When the director position opened up, he stepped into the role.

Now Bonnie volunteers at the shelter, and John joked that when he’s at home, she’s the boss, but when they’re at the shelter, he gets to be the boss.

The only other full-time employee at the shelter is Taryn, who has been the shelter manager for three years. The shelter is blessed to have what I call a ‘super-volunteer’- the key volunteer who does just about everything and knows the shelter, the staff, the dogs, and the community. At Pendleton, that volunteer is Barb who is the rescue coordinator, social media director, volunteer coordinator, person-who-can-be-depended-on-for-anything, and advocate for the shelter. Every shelter has someone like Barb if they’re lucky.

Barb has been helping at Pendleton for six and a half years. She first met John when she called Animal Control because her neighbor’s goats were in her yard, going after her dogs and leaving yard raisins for her dogs to eat (yes, you read that right). After multiple calls, John brought the trailer and rounded up the goats, and Barb offered to come help at the shelter.

John says that working as a paramedic was actually easier – at least the patients could tell him what was wrong and where it hurt. Dogs are different and it’s more challenging to sort out how he can help them. It’s a stressful job; you never know what is coming. He’s been injured far more times in this job than as a firefighter. People can use words, but dogs communicate with bites.

One thing I loved about this shelter is that they allowed kids to volunteer. Three young people, sisters of Taryn, were helping at the shelter when we arrived, but lots of other kids, especially homeschooled kids, volunteer regularly. The shelter utilizes a liability waiver, and the kids love to help at the shelter. (We’ll put that waiver in our resource guide in case anyone wants to see it.)

Walking through the kennels we met plenty of nice dogs. The dogs were calm and less stressed than the average shelter dogs, which speaks to the amount of attention and the number of toys they are given on a daily basis (they had baskets and baskets of toys!).

The longest resident is Hobo, who was an especially chunky guy with a lot of energy for being an eight-year-old. He accosted the kids volunteering with kisses (and tackled Nancy as she tried to get his picture). Hobo is affectionate and adorable, but he has lingered at the shelter, likely due to his size/age, but possibly because he has a large tumor hanging off his side. Assessing it and removing it is not within the regular medical budget for Pendleton County. In Kentucky, the county fiscal court dictates the budget. The current budget does not have much room for anything beyond basic veterinary care and spay/neuter. The staff vaccinates the dogs and microchips and treats them for worms and fleas/ticks, but they do not test or give heartworm preventatives. They are blessed to have a local Humane Society that assists the shelter.

UPDATE: We gave Pendleton Co an Instagrant to pay for the cost of Hobo’s surgery to remove the tumor.

Pendleton has excellent rescue partners, like Adopt A Pit in Dayton, Ohio. Barb has worked to expand their rescue connections and knows who to call for whatever the situation. The shelter also has a foster-to-adopt program. Several of their dogs were currently out on foster to adopt, and four left through rescue just hours before we got there, so there were a few empty kennels.

For many years, Pendleton has not euthanized for any reasons other than behavioral or medical, but convincing the community of that is an ongoing challenge. When John picks up a dog, he repeatedly has to assure people that the shelter will not ‘kill’ that dog. That’s the last thing they want to do, but it’s the first question people ask (not just in Pendleton County).

The biggest challenge for this shelter is veterinary access. John has to drive dogs an hour away to find low-cost spay/neuter and that clinic will only alter two dogs a week for them. The shelter cannot always adopt out spayed/neutered dogs, so they offer a voucher for owners to use at the same clinic or to offset the cost for a spay/neuter and rabies at their own vet.

Pendleton is a small county of only 15 thousand people. But they are figuring this out. Their community understands the importance of taking care of the animals and responds to requests for donations of needed supplies like bleach and paper towels.

The most exciting news is that the Humane Society of Northern Kentucky, with additional funding from the county, is building a new shelter. The current shelter is at the end of a dead-end road, sandwiched between a road with truck traffic and a drop-off into a ravine, so there is no ‘walking the dogs.’ The new shelter is located on a quiet piece of property with space for trails. It’s still awaiting water and electric access, and HVAC. It is bright and spacious with Meet and Greet spaces and dedicated rooms for grooming, laundry, medical, and intake assessment. In addition to 22 kennels, there are two puppy kennels and two quarantine kennels.

Pendleton County has so much to be proud of—in a state that often struggles to offer humane care, it is ahead of the curve. We drove all over this county, and while it is not a wealthy county, it is finding a way to take care of its animals. Pendleton County cares.

While at Pendleton, we heard a new idea that is especially good for rural shelters. Bonnie mentioned that when they find antlers (any animal with antlers sheds them every year), they bring them home, use their table saw to cut the antlers up and give them to the shelter dogs to chew. Dogs love antlers, and buying antlers is crazy expensive, but if you are in a rural community (or a deer hunter), you come upon antlers regularly. Donate them to your local shelter!

John’s wife Bonnie used to work as a 911 dispatcher, so they are used to this 25/7, 8-days-a-week life. “This is what we know,” she said when I asked her how she handles life with John. They are devoted to serving their county.

If you’d like to support the work of John, Bonnie, Taryn, and Barb, please consider shopping their Amazon wishlist.

NOTE: We are currently on a 12-day shelter tour visiting 13 shelters and rescues in VA, NC, TN, and GA. I hope you’ll follow along on social media (links below) as we share live videos, pictures, and updates.

Until each one has a home,

Cara

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Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues was published in January of 2025. It is filled with stories and ideas to help everyone be part of the solution. You can buy a hardback or paperback copy for yourself and/or buy a copy for a shelter or rescue through our website. It is also available on Amazon in paperback and ebook. We are looking for opportunities to give presentations of the ideas explored in the book and lead discussions of how we work together to find new solutions. If you have a dog-hearted group that might like to meet in person or via zoom, contact cara (Cara@wwldo.org).

To see our Emmy-nominated, award-winning short documentary, Amber’s Halfway Home, click here.

For more information on any of our projects, to talk about rescue in your neck of the woods, or partner with us, please email cara@WWLDO.org.