A crowd of demonstrators gathered outside the Franklin County Courthouse Tuesday. They came to protest the recent euthanasia of dogs at the county dog shelter. It’s reported that 52 were “put down” after at least one dog at the shelter tested positive for the distemper virus.
More than a hundred people came to the steps of the courthouse around noon, some with their pets; others carried signs demanding changes at the county dog shelter. Connie Horne says there needs to be a change in shelter procedures.
“They ignore us and we’re tired of it. We want something done. We want positive changes,” Horne said.
Rebecca Jones agreed.
“There is no reason for them to put down that many dogs. But we can’t get answers. It’s not a transparent agency,” Jones said.
Earlier at the shelter, spokeswoman Susan Smith declined an interview but promised that more information would be forthcoming.
Distemper in dogs has a high mortality rate, but some dogs recover.