Greenville resident Johnnie Williams said it is hard for him to sleep well these days due to stray dogs that roam and bark around his yard.
Williams, who lives on Nelson Street, said this is an issue he has been dealing with the past 14 years.
“There have been generations and generations of stray dogs in this neighborhood,” he said. “My neighbors feed the dogs, which I have no problem with, but there is something that needs to be done about this. I’m tired of not sleeping and constantly stepping in dog mess.”
Many other residents in Greenville can relate to Williams when it comes to seeing stray dogs scattered around town.
Whether in search of food, shelter, or both, stray dogs have been spotted all around Greenville’s streets for years.
Williams, as well as others in Greenville, want the stray dogs to be picked up and properly taken care of.
“I want the dogs to picked up and taken somewhere they can get the proper medical help and hopefully a home as well because living in these streets aren’t good,” Williams said.
The City of Greenville doesn’t have any ordinances when it comes to stray dogs, only about confinement of pit bulls.
The folks at the Greenville Animal Shelter and Mutt Madness, however, are making it their priority to pick up stray dogs with resources available to them.
Greenville Animal Shelter
At the animal shelter, director Belinda Alfred said they often set traps for dogs to go into, but many time are unsuccessful due to caring residents who feed them.
“When we set up the traps, it is almost impossible to for us to get the dogs because people go around dumping dog food out,” Alfred said.
With hot temperatures overwhelming over the city, stray dogs tend to hide out during the day and come back out when the sun goes down, Alfred noted.
“We can’t and will not set up traps if there is inhumane heat,” Alfred said.
It has been a slow month for the shelter, with 23 dogs currently under their care. Alfred said as the weather starts to cool off, the shelter will likely be packed again.
One of the biggest problems Greenville has is the vast majority of all stray dogs aren’t spayed or neutered, according to Alfred.
“This should be a mandatory policy for people to get dogs spayed and neutered,” Alfred said. “If you are going to feed the stray dogs, you can at least get them spayed or neutered.”
Alfred said the Greenville Police Department provides two humane officers who go and actually pick the dogs up and bring them to the shelter.
“They do a very good job of making sure dogs are being picked up,” Alfred said.
After a dog is brought in by humane officers, a record log is kept of the time, date and place they were picked up. After 72 hours, if an owner has not made contact with the shelter, the dog is taken to the vet for shots, spaying and neutering and placed for adoption.
“It doesn’t get easy. Some days it’s easy and some days it’s hard, but although, it’s worth it because we are getting these dogs off the street,” Alfred said.
Mutt Madness
Mutt Madness is a foster based rescue. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and solely relies on donations from the community.
Amy Manning, founder of Mutt Madness, said she receives more than two dozen calls a week about stray dogs.
“Businesses call me to come remove them from their property, homeowners call for dogs that have wandered up to their house and dogs that are traffic. I also receive calls about neglected and mistreated dogs,” Manning said.
Currently, there are about 71 dogs under Mutt Madness’ care and they adopt out about 200 dogs each year. So far, there are five people that help foster the dogs, but they need more residents to step up and do the same. Manning said she personally has nine dogs that she fosters as well.
“We are always looking for volunteers and donations. The more people we can get to help us alleviate this stray dog problem, the better,” she said.
If someone wants to be a volunteer or give a donation, the application for both are on the Mutt Madness’ website, muttmadness.org. Donations, which are tax deductible, can also be mailed to 102 Morgan Road, Greenville, MS 38701.
