Maybe the Most Resourceful Director in KY (Montgomery County Animal Shelter)

Adam, the ACO/dog warden/shelter director (and part-time deputy at the jail), just might be the most resourceful director in Kentucky. We visited Montgomery County Animal Shelter in Mount Sterling, Kentucky in fall of 2024.

Adam has been the director for about a year. As he says, he’s going at it full-on. He’s already forged partnerships with multiple local businesses, including Tractor Supply, Neogen, and the Kentucky Humane Society, plus he’s already registered and/or begun working with Shelters United, Gateway Area Humane Society, Petsmart Charities, Merck Animal Health, Home Again Pet Rescuer, Petsense by Tractor Supply, and Bissell Pet Foundation (and now us!).

Adam got the local high school tennis team to donate tennis balls, a local trainer to come in once a week to work with the dogs (probono), and is working on a grant for a TNR program through Give Them 10. Adam even collected the uneaten bagged veggies from the school system’s summer food distribution program to mix in with the dogs’ food.

As Adam said, “It’s already a no, unless I ask. I’m not afraid to hear no.” He sees partnerships as critical in rural areas like Montgomery County. In his words, “I’ll lean on you, you lean on me, and neither of us has to sleep with our heads in the mud.”

I’m not sure Montgomery County Animal Shelter knows what has hit them. Until May 2023, the shelter had extremely high euthanasia rates. At that point, a new administration under Jailer Ian Roberts and new Judge Executive, Chris Haddix basically cleaned house. They hired Jed Staton full-time and Adam part-time (he was still full-time at the jail). In 2023, for the first time, the shelter became a ‘no-kill shelter’.

In April of 2024, Adam and Jed switched roles; Adam went full-time at the shelter and part-time at the jail, and his boss did the reverse. Adam is working long hours, continuing to change the story here. Besides Adam, there are two part-time secretaries/kennel techs, so he’s basically been on call ‘since April.’

When we visited, the shelter was in the process of hiring another part-time ACO who will build and manage a volunteer program. The shelter utilizes inmates to do the cleaning and some of the care and socializing of the dogs. Many shelters do not allow volunteers if they have inmates at the shelter, which seriously limits a shelter’s ability to engage with the public, but MCAS has a design/campus that will allow the two groups to avoid contact, and Adam is confident it’s possible to have volunteers working at the same time as the inmates.

Adam plans to have the volunteers focus on what he calls the ‘PEE Program.’ PEE stands for Playgroups, Exercise, and Enrichment. The shelter has multiple large play yards. PEE is just what the 50 dogs currently at the shelter need to reduce their stress level and increase their adoptability.

Right now, the average length of stay is around six months, but it can be longer. Two of their dogs have been there for over a year. Almost all of the dogs leave the shelter through adoptions, but Adam also works with rescues.

The biggest challenge for MCAS is the lack of affordable spay/neuter. Adam juggles appointments at multiple area vets trying to get animals fixed, but many do leave unaltered. They are given a voucher and the shelter follows up to make sure the appointments are made. All animals are vaccinated and dewormed on intake. They leave microchipped and receive their rabies shot when they are spayed/neutered.

One smart practice they have is not allowing people to walk through the kennels to ‘pick’ a dog. Strangers walking through the kennels is a stressful experience for the dogs, and many dogs do not ‘show well’. Some lunge and jump and bark, looking for attention. Others hide in the back of their kennels. They are all different dogs once taken out of their kennels. We see this at almost every shelter we visit.

Instead, MCAS has a large-screen TV in the lobby that cycles through pictures and information about all its dogs. The dogs already have a ‘puppy profile,’ and potential adopters fill out a ‘people profile,’ and then staff can do the matchmaking work. Potential matches can be introduced in the play yards or lobby.

MCAS handles 600-700 animals a year. Adam has gotten a great start building partnerships and restoring relationships ‘plank by plank’ that were burnt during the previous administrations. Hopefully, his community will recognize the change and will support Adam and the shelter’s work by volunteering and adopting.

I encourage you to follow the Montgomery County Animal Shelter Facebook page to see the great things that are happening (and maybe find an idea you might be able to emulate or a resource you haven’t heard about).

Until each one has a home,

Cara

If you want to learn more, be sure to subscribe to our email list to get the latest stories and solutions delivered to your inbox. And help us spread the word by sharing this post with others. Visit our website to learn more.

You can also help raise awareness by following/commenting/sharing our content on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok.

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 share a presentation of the ideas in the book and facilitate conversations about how we can work together to find solutions for our shelters. If you have a dog-hearted group that would like to connect, contact 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.