WADESBORO- Maureen Lett took over as Director at the Anson County Animal Shelter three-and-a-half years ago. The euthanasia rate for the Shelter before Lett became Director was at 96 percent. That number has dropped to just 4 percent since she’s taken over.
“I’ve worked my tail off. My staff and I have worked endlessly to save animals,” said Lett on how they’ve managed to keep the euthanasia rate so low. She adds, “I’m not about putting animals down. We’re going to save as many as we possibly can.”
Anson County Animal Shelter boasts the 23rd lowest euthanasia rate out of the 100 counties that make up North Carolina. 700 animals were brought to the Anson County Animal Shelter last year. Of those 700 animals, only 18 dogs and 10 cats were euthanized.
Lett worked previously at Carolinas HealthCare System and was there for 15 years. First, she was in the ER and then in Health Information. “I have a degree in English from UNCG,” said Lett. “My parents asked, ‘What are you going to do with a degree in English if you’re not going to teach school?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’ So I worked at the hospital as a Ward Clerk for a while,” Lett added.
Lett’s duties at Carolinas HealthCare System included patient transfers to hospitals, ordering lab tests, and things of that nature. “I was the coordinator of the circus up there at the hospital,” said Lett. “Sort of like here, I’m the coordinator of the circus at the animal shelter, I guess”
“I was volunteering here at the Shelter and then the Interim Director Evonne Burr approached me about applying for the job. I applied for it.” Lett was a volunteer for about 5-6 months before becoming Director at the Shelter.
The work Lett performed at Carolina Health System helped prepare her for role as Director at the Animal Shelter. “It’s the same. I meet the same people here as I did at the hospital in the ER,” said Lett. “There is no typical day. No day is ever the same. The Animal Shelter is like the ER, you never know what’s coming at you at any given moment.”
As the Director of the Shelter, Lett is responsible for everything that goes on there. This includes making sure the animals are safe, making sure they have supplies, and making sure the bills get paid. Let also has to oversee rabies control as well as Animal Control. “I wear many hats,” said Lett.
Anson County Animal Shelter recently received a $40,000 grant from the Petco Foundation. The Petco Foundations supports animal rescue organizations across the country and they approached Lett when they learned of the Shelter’s low euthanasia rate. $20,000 of the grant went to fixing and repairing the floors and kennels. The other half of the grant is going to go a transport vehicle in order to start trapping and releasing feral cats.
Feral cats can’t be adopted but they do provide a service for their community. “They get rid of lizards and snakes and things of that nature,” said Lett. Instead of euthanizing the cats, Lett has been taking them to Charlotte to get spade and neutered. The procedure costs $25 per cat. “We’ve done 43 so far in the community,” said Lett.
Lett couldn’t have done all this work herself. Luckily, for her, she is aided by a top notch staff. Jenny Delfino is the kennel tech and has been with the Shelter for going on two years. Jackie Ussery is the vet tech and back-up Animal Control person. She joined the team in August, 2019. William “Billy” Braden is the Animal Control Officer and has been with them since April. Misty Hogan is the part-time kennel tech.
A small army of volunteers also supports the Animal Shelter. Chief among these are the Friends of Anson County Animal Shelter, a 501(c)(3) group. People who donate to them receive a tax deduction.
“They help mostly with food. They buy 99 percent of the food we feed at the Animal Shelter. That alleviates the cost off the county,” said Lett. She adds, “My budget’s not big. We have to cover vaccines, we have to cover food, cat litter, cleaning supplies, replace water hoses and dog beds. It adds up quick.” The budget for the Anson County Animal Shelter is a little over $250,000 and that has to cover salaries, vehicle maintenance, gas, telephones, etc.
In addition to the Friends of the Anson County Animal Shelter, Lett has some regular volunteers that always come. “I have a volunteer that comes to take the feral cats to Charlotte on Tuesdays. He comes every Tuesday morning at 6 a.m. I have another volunteer, she had surgery a couple weeks ago, but she would go up on Wednesday mornings and pick the cats up for us,” said Lett
Sandy Burney and June Witherspoon come every Wednesday to clean cats for the Shelter. “We call them the ‘Cat Ladies’,” said Lett. “We have some volunteers who just donate money, and that’s fine. We have some volunteers that, if we ask, will make chicken and rice for the puppies. There’s all kinds of ways you can volunteer. Even if its just sharing a post on Facebook,” added Lett.
The Anson County Animal Shelter only takes in animals from Anson County. “We only deal with cats, dogs, and ferrets,” said Lett. “Those are the only animals we have a license for.”
The Shelter intakes animals from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. on Mondays – Thursdays. They’re open to the public on Mondays – Fridays from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. for adoptions. They’re closed in the mornings to feed and clean the animals.
Lett has some plans for this new year. “I would like to start going out in community and doing vaccination events,” said Lett. She would also, “…want to see ordinances put in to alleviate a lot of the problems we have and I really like to see everybody register their pets with microchips. It’d make it a whole lot simpler if we had a dog come in and we could scan it and call their owner. No one comes to look for their dogs here.”
“We bring in dogs everyday that no one ever comes for,” said Lett. Over the last two weeks, a litter of 13 puppies was turned in.“We got a call the other night from a neighbor. Somebody left a crate of puppies on their back deck while they went on vacation. Of the whole litter, only 3 survived,” said Lett.
“The Humane Society came last week and pulled seven dogs. We’re already filled back up,” said Lett. 90 percent of animals brought to the Shelter went to rescues last year. Four percent were euthanized and six percent were adopted.
Those looking to volunteer or adopt at the Anson County Animal Shelter can call them at (704) 994-2738, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ansoncountyanimalshelter/, or stop by in person at 7527 US Highway 74 W, Polkton, North Carolina 28135.
