Some people never give up, which is good news for dogs.

        By this summer, construction should be complete on Gallatin County's first animal shelter. Strays no longer will be shipped to neighboring Henry County, where “euthanasia” means a gunshot to the head.

        “I am so thrilled,” says Jean Allen, a dog groomer who has lived in Gallatin, home of the Kentucky Speedway, for 18 years. “To be honest, this was one of my main goals ever since I moved here.”

        Ms. Allen belongs to the Gallatin County Humane Society, whose membership hovers around eight people. That's typical.

        Across Kentucky, a handful of folks have refused to settle for the state's tradition of squalid dog pounds run by untrained wardens.

        Some are tenacious, no-nonsense women living in rural counties, where they raise money for animal care by selling $6 tickets to spaghetti dinners. Others are professionally trained animal-control officials — yes, a few counties have them — who every year lobby the legislature for change.

        Also in the mix is Randy Skaggs, who runs a nonprofit shelter in Elliott County. He collected data on every county in the state, then sued 70 of them in 2000 for failing to provide even the minimal animal control required by law.

        The counties are now off the hook. A Circuit Court judge in Franklin County ruled they could not be sued as a group. But the state's Frankfort-based Agriculture Department is still fighting the suit, which alleges it has failed to enforce the state's dog-licensing law.

$1.50 fee mostly ignored

        I had to chuckle over the recent increase in Hamilton County's dog-license fee, from $9 to $14 a year. Commissioners ought to try running animal-control in Kentucky, where the fee has been $1.50 since 1954.

        Most dog owners ignore the charge, and politicians are loathe to raise it. So they pretend a couple of cages in someone's back yard is a shelter, while virtually ignoring the public-health threat posed by strays.

        Gallatin County got lucky. Besides the steady pressure for change, it has benefited from a surprising source: A sympathetic politician named Kenny McFarland.

        “If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have a shelter,” says humane society member Sandy Brown.

A .22 solution

        For years, Gallatin has paid Henry County to take its strays, which were dispatched with a .22-caliber bullet to the back of the head.

        Working with Gallatin's dog catcher, humane society members tried to find alternatives for salvageable dogs. Ms. Brown has taken in 45 cats, including two kittens left on her porch by the dogcatcher.

        “I just can't stand to see animals mistreated,” she says.

        Finally, in 2000, the General Assembly designated $1 million to help counties build proper shelters. Gallatin received $50,000.

        Mr. McFarland, a building contractor, donated land for the shelter and volunteered his services to build it. He hopes it will attract youngsters interested in animal-related careers, and maybe a veterinarian in need of office space.

        Plus, “I like animals,” he says.

        That's a good quality in a politician. We need more of them. Maybe then, more local governments in Kentucky would fulfill their basic responsibility to deal with animal problems.

        Karen Samples can be reached at (859) 578-5584 or ksamples@enquirer.com.

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