The time has come to force local leaders to stop turning a blind eye on Wendy Quiggle, the Mercer County Animal Control Director.  I used to be naive and think that our local shelter was a No Kill Shelter.  October 2023, I started to notice things on the shelter's FB page that made me wonder if healthy dogs are being put down.   I reached out to a rescue that was helping Anderson County, KY and asked them to come check on our Mercer County Shelter.   All Paws in Shelter Support started to help Mercer County by planning a few adoption events, fostering dogs, and getting dogs better social media exposure.  The end of April 2024, there was a black pit mix dog named Taxi who had his photo edited to say something like he needs a Hero.  This edit caused me to pickup on a pattern of Wendy Quiggle and I scrambled all weekend to try and find anyone who could help Taxi get out ASAP.  On that following Monday morning someone called to pull Taxi and Wendy had already put Taxi down.  Why ?  The shelter was not even close to being Full at the time.  It has been said and witnessed by intake dates that Wendy gives dogs 6-8 weeks to get out of the shelter or she will put them down.  The injustice of Taxi started a movement in our community to bring more awareness of what is going on at our local shelter and what do the animals in our community need.  I created the Animal Advocates of Mercer County, KY group on FB.  I began to learn what local rescues offer our community and cheer for any of them that are Transparent and are consistent in getting results.  Someone in our community even stepped up and created a new 501c3 rescue to specifically help our Mercer County Animal Shelter.  I helped find volunteers from the community who wanted to help PuppyLoveKY on their mission.  PuppyLoveKY had a focus of helping dogs and I believe by the end of 2024 had helped rescue over 80 dogs and 2 cats.   That is amazing results for a new rescue and in such a small community too.  Halfway Home Rescue is another local 501c3 rescue that has a major role in the cat community with their TNR Program.  I could go on all day what great programs these local rescues provide for our community.   I like to cheer for rescues that people will know where their volunteer hours or their monetary donations are going.   

When people get upset at Wendy Quiggle she will always mention she needs the community to step up and do their part.  That is exactly what we have done and yet we are still dealing with a lack of Transparency from Wendy in regards to dogs getting put down.  All I have ever asked of Wendy is to give a fair warning to the public so that we can give a dog that is close to being put down that last chance to be saved.  There are challenges that all shelters and rescues face daily.  It is a nationwide crisis how everyone is full and yet they still are getting requests for help daily.   My volunteer time has opened my eyes to these challenges and I want to keep the community informed in case they can help in any way.   It truly takes a village to get results and help all of the animals in need.  If I had the heads up on any dog running out of time, I would make a Code Red alert post.   Every single Code Red case I have worked on has been a miracle and they recieved their Freedom Ride.   They are all doing great in their foster or their furever homes too.  In August of 2024 the news broke that the former President of the Mercer County Humane Society had a warrant served to her home related to a drug bust from people who lived under her same roof.  During that investigation the police found conditions bad enough to seize 20-30 dogs from the home.  Karen Aubrey had been keeping 9 dogs that were under the care of the Mercer County Humane Society amongst the rest of the dogs too.   This case and the conditions of some dogs was shocking and put an incredible strain on our local shelter and our volunteers.  I can't remember the last time our local shelter was this full.  The community stepped up and began to help the dogs and the shelter staff.  A few different rescues stepped up and helped pull the special needs dogs from the case and some of the other dogs were finally adopted.   Court case dogs are different.  The shelter can not post the dogs to the public until the court allows it.   By the end of 2024 there was one Humane Society related dog left that needed help.  Bella had lived her entire 5-6 years of life stuck in a kennel at Karen Aubrey's home.  Dogs do not do well when they do not get enough human interaction and free time from kennel life.  I was told that Bella could only be pulled by a rescue due to worries over her stress causing her to snip or bite.  I was told that we could not make a Code Red post and had to reach out to rescues quietly.   I had 2 weeks to work on Bella's urgent need out.  I found a Rescue based in Salvisa, KY who has been helping Madison County Animal Shelter willing to pull Bella.   They had a wonderful foster home on a farm lined up to help with Bella.  They went to the shelter to pull Bella and were denied by Wendy Quiggle.   Wendy stated that she has already made her mind long ago on Bella's fate.  Why ?   Any rescue who pulls a dog takes on full liability.   The shelter and the county are no longer liable once a rescue takes over.   If there were any concerns of what type of rescue is going to pull the dog then why not call for references, do a home check, and you could try a 2 week trial and see if the dog has progressed at all.   You can do so much more to give a dog a chance then by deciding the fate to put it down.  Why is one person given so much power at the shelter?  There should be more oversight of the decisions she makes.  
There are hound mix dogs still at the shelter from the August 2024 Animal Cruelty case.  There are some dogs whose photos are missing and not in the adopted or the rescued album.  Where are Manny and Chessie?
We have the community support now and it is not Unreasonable to ask local leaders to force Wendy Quiggle to be Transparent.   Either Wendy needs to make the Code Red posts or she needs to alert myself or someone else in the public to make the post and with a fair 1 week warning.  We can not sugar coat this or use vague posts like "Needs a Hero"  or "Needs out ASAP".   The public doesn't understand the urgency of life or death unless you call it what it is and it is a Code Red alert.  Shelters and Rescues all over use them to fight to save lives down to the last second.  Staying Quiet Does Not Save Lives! 

It is time to force Judge Steele and the local Magistrates over the MCAC shelter to make Wendy Quiggle be Transparent and stop the unnecessary deaths of dogs that could've been saved.   No Kill Shelters are rare.   There are times when Euthanasia is justified but sadly lots of times it is due to space and budget issues.  Shelters do not deserve to be attacked or have threats against them.  They face difficult decisions daily.   The community plays a big role in bringing progress and changes to every county shelter.  We have the community support now and let's keep them informed so every dog has a fair chance at gaining their Freedom Ride. 

Please be the voice for the animals and sign this petition so the local leaders will listen.