Shelter volunteers describe crowded kennels, new building and plans for low-cost spay/neuter

Sharon Wernie, speaking for the local animal shelter, told the Gibson County Board of Commissioners the shelter is operating at capacity and is preparing to move into a new building whose contractor is targeting mid-May to July completion.

Wernie said the shelter currently houses 33 cats and 45 dogs and that recent partnerships — including a connection arranged by Dr. Sarah Stewart — reduced the cat population through transfers to northern shelters. She said TIF funding allowed the shelter to include a small medical room in the new facility and that volunteers hope to offer at least one low-cost spay/neuter clinic within the first 12 months after moving in.

Wernie asked for help from volunteers to paint and prepare the building before animals are moved in and said she will request specific additional county funding if needed; she said the shelter's operating costs so far have been covered by ARPA, TIF funds and private donors. "So soon as they're out, then we start doing the work that we volunteers have decided to do to cut the costs," Wernie said. "We've got some pretty exciting things that are in the works right now."

Why it matters: a new facility with on-site medical capacity could let the shelter reduce intake pressures and expand low-cost sterilization services, which the speaker and county staff said could help address feral cat populations and improve local animal welfare outcomes.

Follow-up: Wernie said she will present a specific county funding request to commissioners in coming weeks if the final construction costs exceed currently available funds. The shelter also asked for volunteer labor to prepare the building.