Henderson animal shelter sees increase in workplace injuries, animal deaths

Henderson animal shelter volunteers recently called upon city officials to provide more staffing, and newly provided records show that workplace injuries, animal deaths and euthanizations all increased in the past two years.

There were 30 total documented workplace injuries at Henderson Animal Care and Control in the past three years. Five of those injuries occurred in 2021, 11 in 2022 and 14 of them happened this year.

Animal bites were the most common injury each year, and there have been 13 total since 2021. Six of those bites resulted in the worker or volunteer seeking medical attention.

Kenni Burdette, a volunteer at the shelter, said one of the bite incidents last year resulted in the deaths of two dogs and gave her multiple wounds on her hands. She said a large pit bull named Loki broke out of his kennel and attacked a Pomeranian.

Burdette said they bandaged up the Pomeranian and put it back into a kennel that night.

“That dog was left in the shelter all by itself to die alone in the middle of the night. Loki was put down 10 days later,” Burdette said. “It was because our kennels are so old, and he was able to jailbreak the spring and get out.”

Recorded animal deaths and euthanizations at the Henderson Animal Care and Control also increased since 2021. In 2021, 42 animals died in their kennels at the shelter, 51 died in kennels in 2022 and 64 died in their kennels this year, according to city records.

The animals that died the most in their kennels this year and last year were kittens: 33 died in their kennels this year and 32 died in kennels last year.

In 2021, the most common animal deaths in kennels were labeled as “other,” which was any animal that was not a dog, cat, ferret, kitten or puppy and accounted for 15 deaths in kennels that year.

Animals euthanized at the shelter, excluding euthanizations labeled as having an “owner” and at the veterinarian’s office, increased from 2021’s count of 350 animals euthanized but peaked in 2022 with 405 euthanizations. This year 370 animals were euthanized after those exclusions.

The most commonly euthanized animals each year were dogs. They accounted for 239 euthanizations in 2021, 251 last year and 187 this year, according to city records. Most of the dogs euthanized excluding owners and the vet office were labeled as being feral.

The most common type of euthanization recorded at Henderson Animal Care and Control overall was owner euthanizations, which accounted for 289 in 2021, 352 last year and 366 this year.

Many shelter volunteers said that the majority of dogs that bite while in the shelter are not aggressive animals.

“They’re just stressed and reactive, not necessarily aggressive,” volunteer Caren Solberg said about the shelter dogs. “And when they get that label, they get a bite label, they’re done.”

But the increases of bites and deaths can also be connected with the large volume of animals left at the shelter.

“A lot of people like to try and blame the shelters for a lot of shelter problems,” Henderson Animal Care and Control Director Danielle Harney said. “But ultimately, you have to look at it as a bigger issue, right? The shelters didn’t create this over pet population.”

Contact Mark Credico at mcredico@reviewjournal.com. Follow @writermark2 on Instagram.