When Two Become One, Great Things Can Happen
AARF and Boyd County Animal Shelter Join Forces
Sasha Bush
The Ashland Beacon
“All creatures are deserving of a life free from fear and pain.”- Maura Cummings
Ashland Animal Rescue Fund and Boyd County Animal Shelter are well known for their compassion for the animals within our community. Eric Chaney, Boyd County Judge Executive, stated, “The Ashland Animal Rescue Fund is such a great program. We all know that they work tirelessly to advocate for the care, treatment, and general well-being of the area’s animals.” Countless hours are spent fundraising for the care and treatment of animals in need and a lot of the workers/volunteers pour their hearts and souls into making sure that these animals’ needs are taken care of. Boyd County Animal Shelter is no different… they too work around the clock to ensure that the animals that are brought into their facility are either reunited with their owners or adopted out to their new forever homes. Chaney recently got the ball rolling on what is to be quite a beneficial partnership.
Since taking office, Chaney has been great at identifying a problem or need and quickly working to resolve it. Chaney shared a recently identified need: “The biggest issue that we face at the Boyd County Animal Shelter is being able to move these animals in and out quickly. We need to bring animals in and move them out to their new homes as quickly as possible. We are doing the exact same thing that AARF is doing, and AARF is doing something similar to what we are doing. So, what is happening is we are duplicating a service. We thought why not combine these two great organizations into one entity so that instead of working as two on parallel paths, we are now working together as one.”
This will work because Boyd County Animal Shelter will still take the calls for stray dogs or cats. The animal will then be picked up and brought back to the shelter and held. So now that both AARF and BCAS will be working as one, they can share in one another’s resources. AARF has always been great about moving animals in and out rather quickly because they have the resources that reach all throughout the United States. If an animal needs a home or rescue, AARF makes sure that it happens. BCAS can now share in that same reach, which will result in the animals at the shelter moving in and out much faster.
“So, what we are basically looking at by merging these two together is a merger without having to merge each other’s books. AARF is going to be responsible for moving all the animals that come through Boyd County Animal Shelter. AARF will make sure that all these animals find either rescues or are adopted out using their resources. Since AARF has such an extensive reach, this merger will be very beneficial to both facilities. AARF will maintain paying for all of their own utilities. So, the county is not picking up any debt here. We are just working together to move these animals,” noted Chaney.
In fact, both AARF and BCAS save taxpayer dollars by the merger taking place and utilizing the community work program. “Our community work program is put on through the jail and is an alternate sentencing program. What we are going to do is use the individuals within that program to go in and clean both facilities. So, they will be responsible for all the cleaning of the animals’ areas, all the feeding, all the watering and even walking some of the animals,” explained Chaney. This will save a substantial amount of money that can in turn be used for other areas of need.
In addition to this amazing merger, Boyd County Animal Shelter will soon be moving into a new building. Chaney shared, “We have a new building that is already built. It is going to be up where the dog park is located. We are finishing out the inside right now. It is a brand-new animal shelter that is state-of-the-art. We will be moving into it by mid-November. We plan on having a big grand opening around that time.”
Great plans are in store for AARF and the Boyd County Animal Shelter as they continue to benefit our community. Make sure to follow their Facebook page for details about the grand opening.
