Dogs and cats have been under the care of the Animal Welfare League for only six weeks and is working out some kinks.

Linda Mullins, president of the Animal Welfare League, said if county residents have complaints about the shelter, she would be more than happy to talk to the residents about their questions and concerns.

In fact, after talking to several people who complained on previous occasions, she said, those who complained are now volunteering at the shelter.

One reader Mullins would like to talk to called and voiced her opinion to the Times-Union Friday. The reader said the shelter is severely overcrowded, animal diarrhea was everywhere, most of the cats and kittens looked ill, and the facility appeared to be understaffed.

The reader also said she had been to the shelter on another occasion and the smell was unbearable.

A surprise Times-Union survey of the shelter Monday found the staff to be in the middle of cleaning the building. AWL staff were washing down the floors. Paper in the cages was being changed. The only odor found was the normal smell of cats and dogs. No diarrhea was prevalent in any of the cages.

Mullins addressed each of the reader's concerns.

She said over the weekend several animals were dropped off at the shelter. Staff members had to work over the weekend and dogs had to be placed in foster homes. A couple of animals had to be put to sleep because they were severely ill.

"That was a very unfortunate situation," Mullins said. "We cannot dictate how many are brought in at a time."

The animal control officer is controlled by the county, Mullins said, and the AWL must accept all the animals Officer Jerry Clase brings in.

"We've had 14 or 15 brought in at a time," she said. "We don't put animals to sleep unless they're really sick."

Mullins said one solution to people's complaints may be to limit the time when visitors may look around at the animals.

"There may be times when we say, 'You can't go back there,'" she said.

However, Mullins said, one reason people are allowed easy and free access to the animals is so the animals would be more likely to be adopted.

She also said because they work with many animals, people cannot expect the shelter to be spick-and-span every time. Over the past weekend, a litter of pups was brought in, two dogs were dropped off, Clase brought in several animals, some of the paid staff called in sick, and other situations occurred which may contribute to the shelter being in chaos at times.

A cat virus was also rampant in the last two weeks, Mullins said, but that can be expected at times wherever animals are housed. The virus resulted in respiratory infections, or head colds.

"We've almost become an infirmary out there," she said.

Mullins said they couldn't justify putting all the cats to sleep because of what amounted to just a head cold.

If the reader wants to help remedy such situations, Mullins suggested the reader volunteer.

"Maybe she'd like to pitch in and help. I'd like to talk to her," she said. "We're working around the clock. We care. We care about these animals. We care about whether these animals get homes or not. This job we're doing out there is a big job. The lives of animals are at stake.

"We're doing the best job that we can do out there." [[In-content Ad]]