The Daviess County Fiscal Court on Thursday voted 3-1 in favor of applying for a grant that would cover low-cost spays for 26 local female pit bulls.
According to Director of Legislative Services David Smith, Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen decided to focus the grant funding on pit bulls.
The grant would only serve Daviess County pit bulls, and — unlike other animals the shelter currently provides spay/neuter services for — they would not have to belong to a low-income home.
The grant is “all or nothing,” Smith said, meaning the max a county can receive is $1,075 with a match from Fiscal Court. According to Smith, with the Fiscal Court’s $1,315 match, they can perform 26 surgeries. The match was raised to $1,315 to round out the total cost of 26 surgeries instead of 25 and a partial one.
Marksberry made a motion to raise the total to 88 pit bulls based on the belief that the true cost to spay a dog was $25.
“We can actually spay with this amount of money 88 dogs instead of just 26. That’s approximately three and a half times as many dogs that will no longer be reproducing, adding to our overpopulation problem,” Marksberry said.
However, Smith clarified that $25 is not the cost of the surgery, especially considering “the labor alone involved.”
Marksberry’s motion failed for lack of a second.
The Fiscal Court then approved a 3-1 motion to spay 26 pit bulls with the funding, with Marksberry the lone dissentor.
Castlen said this grant will help alleviate the pit bull population, but he is still looking for ways to adjust the Daviess County Animal Control and Shelter’s model.
Castlen specifically cited how the Bowling Green/Warren County Humane Society operates with a stipend from the County and the rest from grants and donations.
“I like that concept where we would probably do a long-term lease where they would work, where they would have our building for the use of the shelter, we would agree to give them X amount of dollars, but everything above that, they’ve got to raise,” Castlen said.
Castlen said that these are just ideas and that there is no concrete decision on the shelter’s future operating model.
