Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County plans $2.8 million animal shelter

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The proposed Anderson County Animal Shelter is pictured above in this plan by Blankenship and Partners LLC of Knoxville on Thursday, July 25, 2019.

Note: This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m. July 26.

A $2.8 million animal shelter is planned in Anderson County, possibly inside the city of Clinton.

The current animal shelter is on Blockhouse Valley Road in the Claxton community. It has 12 dog runs and 12 cat cages. It’s a 720-square-foot animal holding facility, the first in the county, and it cost about $25,000 to build. It was built by the county on county property with help from local contractors and inmate labor. It opened in the fall of 2015, about six months after Anderson County Commission approved an animal task force, said former Anderson County Commissioner and Oak Ridge resident Robin Biloski, who has helped lead the animal shelter project, including through fundraising.

“It was little, but it spoke volumes,” Biloski said during an unveiling ceremony for the plans for the new shelter at Calhoun’s restaurant in Oak Ridge on Thursday evening.

The new shelter would be much larger than the current facility. It would be more than 10,800 square feet, including about 2,900 square feet for kennels. It could have 20 dog kennels—30 total including kennels for animals that need to be quarantined and for miscellaneous animals such as pigs—and space for 20 to 30 cats, said Brian Porter, Anderson County Animal Control and Shelter Director.

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Anderson County Animal Care & Control partnering with Finding Rover, a facial recognition app for your pet

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Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, left, Animal Care and Control Director Brian Porter, and Officer Jimmy Miller display the new website andersonanimals.org and the new smart phone app to connect lost pets with owners. (Submitted photo)

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, left, Animal Care and Control Director Brian Porter, and Officer Jimmy Miller display the new website andersonanimals.org and the new smart phone app to connect lost pets with owners. (Submitted photo)

 

Anderson County Animal Care and Control announced a new partnership this week with Finding Rover, a new facial recognition app for your pet. Anderson County Animal Care and Control, or ACACC, will now use smart phone facial recognition technology to help identify and reunite lost dogs with their worried owners, a press release said.

It’s one of several developments announced this week by Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, Anderson County Animal Care and Control Director Brian Porter, and Officer Jimmy Miller. The other announcements: a new website, www.andersonanimals.org, to help better connect Anderson County citizens with the information they need and an updated name for the department.

The new website will help citizens understand local laws and procedures, provides helpful tips in areas such as locating a lost pet, and helps direct residents to the appropriate agency for animal issues not under the purview of Anderson County Animal Care and Control, among other information, the press release said.

The department is also announcing an updated name that adds the word “care” to its department identity, the press release said. Now called Anderson County Animal Care and Control, the change is to reflect the department’s broadened efforts in animal welfare, education, and partnership with the community—not just “controlling” animals at large, the press release said. [Read more…]

Photos: Anderson County Animal Holding Facility ribbon-cutting

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Emma-Berry-BARK-CHS-Anderson-County-Animal-Holding-Facility-Jan-29-2016

Emma Berry of Clinton High School’s B.A.R.K. (Bettering Animal Rescue in the Knoxville area) announces a $2,000 donation for a future shelter at a Friday afternoon, Jan. 29, 2016, ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Anderson County Animal Holding Facility on Blockhouse Valley Road in Claxton. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLAYTON—Here are pictures from the Friday afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Anderson County Animal Holding Facility on Blockhouse Valley Road in Claxton.

The new 12-kennel animal holding facility gives the county a place to hold stray dogs and dogs held for other reasons, such as animals rescued or taken away from crashes, drug busts, and drunken driving arrests, officials said. It opened about four weeks ago and only holds dogs now.

See story here.

Clinton-High-School-BARK-Anderson-County-Animal-Holding-Facility-Jan-29-2016

Clinton High School’s B.A.R.K. (Bettering Animal Rescue in the Knoxville are) celebrates the new Anderson County Animal Holding Facility on Blockhouse Valley Road in Claxton on Friday afternoon, Jan. 29, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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New animal holding facility gives AC a place to keep strays, other dogs

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Anderson-County-Animal-Holding-Facility-Ribbon-Cutting-Jan-29-2016

Anderson County officials and volunteers celebrate a new animal holding facility on Blockhouse Valley Road in Claxton that will be used to hold strays and other dogs. Pictured above is a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:20 a.m.

CLAXTON—A new animal holding facility in Anderson County gives the county a place to hold stray dogs and dogs held for other reasons, such as animals rescued or taken away from crashes, drug busts, and drunken driving arrests, officials said Friday.

The new 12-kennel Anderson County Animal Holding Facility is on Blockhouse Valley Road in Claxton, at the Blockhouse Valley Recycling Center.

It helps the county deal with a shortage of space elsewhere, including at the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said.

It’s not a shelter yet, but that’s part of the long-term plan. Officials and volunteers said the holding facility is just the first step for them. [Read more…]

Anderson County to consider setting up its own animal shelter

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Oak Ridge Animal Shelter

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on Belgrade Road is pictured above.

The Anderson County Operations Committee has endorsed setting up a task force to examine the possibility of an animal shelter in the county, a press release said.

That should be good news for Oak Ridge, where there has been at least some concern about the housing of animals from outside Oak Ridge at the city’s animal shelter and the costs of doing so.

“Anderson County has had a strong, long-standing relationship with the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter over the years and continues that solid, working partnership,” Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said in a press release. “However, as their shelter has moved more towards the housing and adoption of animals, the available contracted space for county animals has diminished. [Read more…]