Chester County Sheriff's Office gives up control of animal shelter; county will take over

CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — The Chester County Sheriff's Office has given up control of the county animal shelter.

The County Council voted Monday night to accept operation of the shelter.

County Supervisor Shane Stuart told Channel 9 that he and the sheriff have discussed this move for more than a year and the sheriff willingly surrendered control.

Sheriff Alex Underwood said the leadership change will not only save taxpayers money, but will allow his office to focus more on public safety.

The county has already started revamping the shelter. Maintenance crews are repainting and have removed sheriff's badge decals from vehicles.

"It looks bad, but we're just going to straighten that up and get that cleaned up and we're going to rebrand," said Stuart.

The county has also formed a committee to discuss ways to improve the shelter and increase the number of adoptions so fewer animals are put down.

In March, Channel 9 spoke with animal advocates in the area who were tired of how the animals in the shelter were being treated.

That group and the Southern Animal Welfare League filed two separate lawsuits against the Sheriff's Office to force the office to give control of the shelter to the county.

The lawsuits claimed the Sheriff's Office had no authority to operate an animal shelter and was mistreating the animals who lived there.

The lawsuits have since been dropped now that the Sheriff's Office has given up control.

Animal advocate Jackie Kyles was part of the lawsuit. She told Channel 9 that she and others volunteered at the shelter until the sheriff told them last year not to come back.

She does not believe conditions inside the shelter were adequate and hopes that will change now.

"I know that they'll get in there and make sure that these animals are cared for," said Kyles.

Animal advocates are still pushing for a new shelter, but that is still on the drawing board.

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