The city of Oxford terminated its contract with Mississippi Critterz at Tuesday’s Board of Alderman meeting and has already removed all animals from the shelter in Oxford.
Animal Rescue Corps (ARC) contacted the city and agreed to transfer the remaining animals in the shelter to another location.
“As of about 1 o’clock today, all of the animals that were housed at the shelter have now been transferred to the ARC animal rescue operation center outside of Nashville where they will receive medical examinations and daily care until they are ready to be adopted,” Mayor Robyn Tannehill said on Tuesday.
An all-inclusive contract was established between Animal Shelter Services and the City of Oxford for $22,500. The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors has agreed to split the cost with the city, according to Mayor Tannehill.
The Board of Aldermen also voted to bring in Tim Crum to advise on next steps for the shelter. Crum is the co-founder of Animal Shelter Services, a company that focuses on helping animal shelters operate more efficiently and effectively.
Crum has committed to visiting Oxford within the next three or four weeks and stay for several days to create a report.
He will perform an assessment to determine how to best run the shelter and provide the city with a “comprehensive evaluation.” He will also advise on daily oversight, fundraising, public relations, budget, policies and procedures, off-sight adoptions and pet transports.
“The final product will be the development of standard operating procedures, including procedures and practices that are essential to our shelter’s day-to-day operations and are essential to establishing a good work environment,” Tannehill said.
In addition to bringing in Crum to advise the shelter, the city will also begin a search for an animal control officer and a kennel attendant.
The Oxford Police Department (OPD) will take over animal control responsibilities until the city hires someone for the position, and surrendered pets will not be accepted until the shelter is reopened.
Some citizens in the Oxford community are relieved that the city’s contract with Mississippi Critterz has been terminated. However, many are concerned that the city’s decision raises more questions, including who will train shelter employees, whether there will be restrictions on the public entering the shelter and when the shelter will reopen.
“I hope to get answers to those questions, and hopefully, the details just haven’t been shared with the public yet, and once they are, maybe this will be wonderful,” Leigh Ann Hubbard, the owner of the Oxford Animal Shelter Watchdogs, said. “If the city is only hiring one kennel attendant, is that enough for all of the homeless animals out here? What I’m concerned about is that we’re heading right back into another terrible situation at the shelter.”
Tannehill said that closing the shelter temporarily is an “unfortunate but necessary step” to ensure the city is meeting the needs of the animals. The mayor did not mention when the city plans for the shelter to reopen, but she said that they hope to begin offering sheltering services in the near future.
