Sussex animal shelter embroiled in controversy

Complaints of poor conditions at the county animal shelter and questions of who's to blame have embroiled rural Sussex County.

The conditions of the animal shelter, located on Robinson Road about a half-mile off state Route 40, were exposed by animal-rights activist Eileen McAfee, who documented conditions inside the shelter on Aug. 11.

She took pictures and video of a kitten lying in a feces-filled litter box, animals in need of medical attention and dirty food and water bowls.

County attorney Henry Thompson told the county Board of Supervisors that sole control of the animal shelter falls to the county administrator, Mary E. Jones.

"The Board of Supervisors has no jurisdiction over the animal shelter or its employees," Supervisor T. Wayne Birdsong said the board was told.

However, supervisors have the authority to hire, fire or reprimand Jones, a majority vote needed to enact some type of measure against her. The six-member board is split down the middle about taking action against Jones, Birdsong said.

For details, see tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch.

-- Jeremy Slayton