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LANETT —  In a work session before Monday’s regular meeting of the Lanett City Council, Chattahoochee Humane Society (CHS) Board Chairman Dantz Frazer asked members of the council to consider additional help with funding to cover the cost of emergencies such as one now being dealt with by the local animal shelter.

Earlier this year, the council agreed to a funding increase for the humane society to help cover the cost of a recent expansion to the shelter. This increased Lanett’s kennel space from four dogs to sixteen. That has been a manageable number in the past but does not begin to cover the cost of a situation that occurred on May 20.

A total of 24 dogs in emaciated condition were taken to the shelter from a Lanett home. A woman living on South 9th Street was doing her best to care for the dogs but was completely overwhelmed by circumstances. She is disabled and living on a limited income. She couldn’t afford to pay her utility bill and was living without electricity or running water. She loved animals and was trying to care for the dogs the best way she could. The dogs had made their way into her home through an opening in the house. Many of the dogs were puppies being raised in litters.

When the police department learned of this situation, they contacted the humane society for assistance in handling it. They, in turn, contacted the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuskegee University.

The woman was charged with felony cruelty to animals, and the dogs were taken from her. The animals were in an advanced state of malnutrition and dehydration when the police and the Tuskegee medical team arrived.

“It was amazing to watch what they did,” Frazer said. “The street was blocked off, and they had tables set up in front of the house. The dogs were in really bad shape, but they were able to save all but one of them. They did great work to do that.”

One dog that was too far gone was euthanized, but 24 of that big group were taken to the local shelter, creating a new problem of overcrowded kennels.

The kennels were already at capacity when the big group of dogs was brought in. The kennels can hold up to 50 dogs under normal circumstances. There are more than 70 there now.

“We are struggling with this,” Frazer said. “We have dogs that are doubled up and tripled up in the kennels. We have close to 30 puppies.”

Frazer told the council that there is an urgent need to get control of these situations. “I’ve been told we have another similar situation just around the corner,” he said. “We need to lower the costs of taking care of animals. Do we need to limit the number of animals people can have? Can we issue citations to people who abuse their animals? We need to slow down the intake dilemma we are dealing with. It’s absolutely overwhelming.”

Frazer said that his heart goes out to the woman who got caught up in that situation. She’s on disability, lives alone and has a very low income. Her house is in an advanced state of disrepair, and she can’t afford to fix it. The dogs were entering a hole in the back of her home, and she was doing her best to take care of them.

City Attorney Stanley Gray said that current state law addresses some of this but there are gaps that are not being addressed.

Frazer said it was his understanding that the state legislature is considering new penalties, such as banning metal chains to leash dogs.

Frazer added that an overpopulation of dogs has created a problem for the community, and there are not enough resources to handle it.

Under current law, the shelter has to have an animal for at least seven days before it can be spayed or neutered. In many cases, an owner will reclaim their dog within that timeframe.

Frazer said he is grateful for the assistance they are receiving from the Holland M. Ware Charitable Foundation, which covers the cost of spaying or neutering up to 14 animals each month.

“That can save us between $30,000 to $40,000 a year,” he said.

Currently, the shelter is approximately $15,000 in the hole. “We just can’t keep going that way,” Frazer said.

Having two dozen dogs brought to the shelter on one day does not help this.

Efforts are underway to have them adopted. This is where foster families come into play.

Animal shelters in the Deep South have had success in recent years with animal rescues having dogs adopted in parts of the country that do not have the same kind of overpopulation that exists in this part of the country. That is changing, though.

“Some rescues won’t take any animal that hasn’t been fostered for at least two weeks,” Frazer explained.

Frazer commended the local shelter staff for having done good work under difficult conditions. “They are doing the best they can,” he said. “They are truly dedicated people.

Attorney Gray said he has been researching what the city can do about the continuing situation.

“I will be glad to work with you on this in any way I can,” Frazer said.

Lanett is far from alone in dealing with this problem.

“It’s an especially tough problem in the state’s larger cities,” Frazer said. “We need to be looking at what they have been doing.”

Gray asked the council for some direction on what to do.

“We could use some additional help with funding,” Frazer said. “I have come to you with my hat in my hand. We are dealing with a tough situation, but I am pleased with the way the Lanett Police Department and Tuskegee University handled the recent situation.”