| The Burke County Sheriff's Office Animal Control Division is
staffed with four deputies having full powers of arrest, and an animal control
coordinator. In February of 2001, the county of Burke purchased the Animal
Shelter facility on Kirksey Drive from the city of Morganton. Burke animal
control deputies are stationed in this building along with Morganton animal
control officers. Animal Control is inundated with calls concerning stray and
vicious animals. In a recent audit of the telephone system, an average of fifty
telephone calls per day were received, with approximately seventy-five percent
of those calls requiring a service call by an officer. |
| An animal control deputy's work day
is very tedious and has numerous variables. It may consist of setting up cage
traps to snare stray dogs and cats; picking up a litter of unwanted puppies
from an abandoned house; retrieving stray animals and transporting them to the
shelter; speaking with citizens about a neighbor's vicious pet; interviewing
persons who have been bitten by an animal; or investigating reports of cruelty
to animals and taking charges against the perpetrator. |
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| Unfortunately, the afternoon culminates with the euthanasia
of vicious animals and animals deemed "non-adoptable." Approximately fifteen to
twenty animals are euthanized daily at the animal shelter. The Burke County
Sheriff's Office Animal Control Division has undergone extensive training in
euthanasia methods and is now certified to administer lethal injections,
thereby eliminating the standard "gas chamber" that many animal control
facilities use. |
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The Animal Control Division stresses
the need for the public to have their pets spayed or neutered. They also
advocate for the adoption of dogs and cats and work closely with the non-profit
organization "Burke County Friends for Animals." This organization is
pro-adoption oriented and attempts to find homes for unwanted animals. They may
be contacted at (828) 433-1115. Their website, which has information and photos
of adoptable dogs and cats, may be accessed at:
http://www.petfinder.org/shelters/NC11.html
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| The Animal Shelter can be reached at (828) 438-5465, or via
e-mail at animal@burkesheriff.org.
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| Note: The Animal Control Division does not handle wildlife
calls (i.e. skunks, deer, raccoon, etc.) unless a person or domesticated animal
has been bitten by the wild animal. To report a problem with a wild animal,
please contact North Carolina Wildlife at 1-(800)-662-7137. |
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