Knox County animal shelter reports 34 intakes in December; 23 adoptions and 11 owner-request euthanasias

Brian, the animal shelter representative, presented the shelter’s monthly statistics for December 2025 at the Jan. 15 commission meeting. He said 34 dogs entered the shelter in December: 20 owner surrenders and 14 strays. A total of 44 dogs left the shelter during the month: 23 adoptions, 11 euthanasias (he said all 11 euthanasias were at owners' request for aggression or medical reasons), seven returned to owners and three were sent to rescues.

"As of yesterday, Wednesday, January 14, we had 7 dogs at the shelter, and all 7 of those dogs are available for adoption," Brian told the commissioners.

Brian reported that online dog-tag sales rose substantially in 2025 compared with 2024; he said roughly half of tag renewals so far have been completed online this year. The shelter issues citations for failure to confine; Brian said five citations were issued in December, three by Deputy Brian Weiser and two by Brian himself.

On licensing fees, Brian said a permanent dog license currently costs $200; late fees (if a license is purchased late) are applied as a per-year fee in addition to the permanent fee. Commissioners asked for a breakdown of online versus in-person revenue and asked county financial staff to provide detailed financials for where fee revenue is directed.

The shelter’s report included no formal requests for funding or policy changes at the meeting; commissioners thanked Brian for the update.