Stanly’s animal shelter installs AstroTurf for animal play area

Employees and members of the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office worked last week to improve the play area for animals at the county’s animal shelter.

Along with county commissioners Trent Hatley and Bill Lawhon, Sheriff Jeff Crisco, deputies and animal technicians helped install AstroTurf for the play area.

On the sheriff’s office Facebook page, a post thanked Hatley for arranging the donation of the turf to the shelter.

Crisco said the area was used to allow animals a required 15 minutes per day to be outside and stretch their legs. He added the area was a place for people wanting to adopt a pet to spend time with them.

Animals before they can be adopted, Crisco said, “have to be tested around other dogs and people to make sure it’s not aggressive, it won’t bite or anything of that nature.”

A new state inspector said in July the area could not be used because it did not have enough space, Crisco said. The reason, he added, was due to possible spread of the parvovirus.

“She showed some deficiencies and we started making corrections,” Crisco said.

When the inspector returned in August, the play area was still a deficiency. The sheriff noted inspectors check 177 areas of a shelter, and on the last inspection, the play area was the only deficiency noted.

Crisco said he felt Stanly County Animal Protective Services, which came under criticism last year at a commissioners’ meeting, is going in the right direction.

“Every month, since we’ve taken over, we’ve increased our live release rate. Last month, it was 100 percent,” Crisco said. “We try our very best to get every animal either returned to its rightful owner or we get it adopted out or it gets into a rescue (shelter) to be adopted.”

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