A decision to close an area of the Texarkana Animal Care and Adoption Center sparked rumors Thursday of a mass euthanization-up to 75 percent of animals-among people on social media.
Charles Lokey, the shelter's director, said he wants to close the downstairs area because conditions are inhumane for the animals housed there. Issues include crumbling walls, broken air-conditioning units, falling ceiling tiles, hanging insulation and faulty electrical wiring.
"Since I've come here, I only try to utilize it in emergency situations. The reason I have tried to limit its use is because it was in such bad shape through years of no maintenance and nothing being done. We did have two big air-conditioning units down there, and we were able to keep it somewhat decent as far as climate goes, but those air units, as of the other day, they're done. They're old. I've been told they're so obsolete, they don't even think they can get parts for them anymore," Lokey said.
Lokey did call on animal rescue groups to come and get the animals because of limited space, which is an ongoing issue at the shelter even when the downstairs area was in use.
"How this all got blown out of proportion is I called some rescuers and I told them I have a lot of animals and I need help getting them out. The adoption numbers haven't been great, and I have animals steadily rolling in all the time.
"The air was out down there. There's a lot of stuff that needs to be done, and I needed to get room, and somebody took that and said I was euthanizing everything in the shelter, and I never said that," Lokey said.
The rumor found its way to Texarkana, Ark., Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell, who received a call from her son, Josh Davis, a Texarkana, Texas, City Council member.
"My son called me. People were complaining to him saying, 'Why aren't you doing something,' but of course, we are an Arkansas entity. I think the way my son read it is those (animals) down here in this area were going to be euthanized about 30 animals. We're euthanizing 30 animals? No," Penney-Bell said.
The euthanization rate at the animal shelter fluctuates and is reported weekly in the Gazette. In the Pet of the Week that ran July 19, the shelter reported 35 euthanizations and 12 adoptions for the week, and on July 12 it reported 40 euthanizations and only 10 adoptions.
"The truth of the matter is we do euthanize here. We have to. I don't like it," Lokey said. "There are some animals down there now, and we're moving them out and up, but I found myself with my back against the wall. When I have animals coming in and very few going out, where else do I go?"
"This isn't something that just happened. It's been years in the making. That building was like that when I came here," Lokey said. "We have the old part of the building and the new part. The new part is in good shape. We've got it fixed and in good shape. The old section, what we call the downstairs it's beyond redemption."
Penney-Bell would like to see the downstairs area redeemed.
"The first thing we need to do right now is get the air conditioning going," she said, noting that a repairman would be looking at the units Thursday. "They're sending someone out to see if they can't get that taken care of today or tomorrow. I'm here in a blazer. I've been down there twice. I've toured every animal's holding cell. They're clean. They're healthy. They're not abused."
Making repairs to the shelter is an issue city officials will discuss in the coming weeks, according to Penney-Bell.
"Nobody has put this forward as far as I know prior to now, but I have talked with the city manager. We're hoping that maybe even next week we can have a meeting. Now, it's going to take more than one meeting. I haven't seen a plan for anything. Nobody has put forward a plan and said 'OK, these are our needs.' Let's prioritize what we need right now. We have to talk about the immediate problem right now, then what's next. Immediate problem, then next in line until we get these problems solved," she said.
The animal shelter, which requested $450,000, had its budget cut to $427,000 this year.
"We're on a very tight budget," Lokey said. "Every department is on a tight budget."
Mimi Campbell, director of Muttley Crew German Shepherd Rescue, visits the animal shelter at least every other week taking videos and pictures of animals for social media with the purpose of getting them adopted. She weighed in on the condition of the downstairs area of the shelter.
"The building is horrendous," Campbell said.
She had a take on how the rumors about a mass euthanization were started.
"People are going to talk, and it's usually either they're bitter about something or they just don't understand something. Our shelter is a kill shelter. It's an open admission shelter. That means when somebody walks through the door with an animal, they have to take it.
"They can't say, 'No, we're full today.' Those animals have to go somewhere, and unless they're adopted, rescued or reclaimed it's either out alive or out the back in a bag," Campbell said. "I do get tired of the naysayers, but at this point, people talking about it is good, because there's got to be change. I'm tired of people sugarcoating what happens at the shelter. If you're going to point a finger, point it at yourself or the people around you that aren't spaying and neutering their pets."
Lokey has been dedicated to making improvements at the shelter for the time he's been employed there, including improving the drainage system, increasing security, implementing new cleaning procedures, painting and revamping the cat room.
"I think Charles Lokey is doing a good job," Campbell said. "He knows what he's doing. He has experience. Decisions have been made to put people in that position in the past that were not based on ability. Now, we have somebody that knows what they're doing. He cares about what he's doing, and as far as I'm concerned, out of all the directors I've had dealings with there, he knows the most about running a shelter."
Nonprofit organization Friends of the Shelter is helping with spay and neuter fees for animals adopted right now. Adopters will still be responsible for the adoption fees, which are $40 for dogs and $20 for cats.