Dogs sit behind a fence at the Wexford County Animal Shelter where a former employee has made allegations of cruel practices
/ upnorthlive.com
WEXFORD CO. -- The Wexford County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a meeting to discuss the operations of the Wexford Animal Control Department.
This comes just one day after 7&4 reported allegations about the euthanasia practices at the Wexford County Animal Shelter in Cadillac.
A former employee contacted UpNorthLive to tell us the shelter is injecting animals directly into their hearts without first using a sedative. That practice is not recommended by the state.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and a State Veterinarian team are investigating the shelter.
The Wexford County Sheriff, whose department oversees the shelter, denys the allegations saying the shelter follows state guidelines.
Mark Howie, the Wexford County Commissioner, released the following statement to 7&4 News regarding the allegations:
"Right now there is a lot of public concern and we need to find out what's going on. This meeting is the quickest way to do that. I have talked with Kathy Dennis and think she is very credible. The specifics she told me resonate and other people that have called me have similar stories. Where there is smoke, there's a fire. It's a matter of getting the truth. She comes across very credible, she's not suing the county to get her job back and there have been other people. There's something there we need to investigate."
Our UpNorthLive Facebook fans tell us the public will be holding a meeting on Wednesday night at 6 pm at the Big Boy in Cadillac. Howie says he will not be in attendance.
The Wexford County Board of Commissioners meeting to discuss this issue will take place at the Wexford County Courthouse in the Commissions Room on Thursday, January 31 at 6 p.m.
Alan Deveraux, of the Wexford County Commission welcomes the public to the meeting.
"One of the things that we're trying to accomplish is to tell the public that we're not trying to cover anything up." Deveraux said. "We want to know the facts and we'll go from there."
