Wythe County Animal Control and Shelter works on a daily basis to provide care for lost and surrendered dogs. As part of this effort, officials are working to promote the dogs at the shelter through traditional and online media.

Awareness of dogs at any animal shelter has long been an obstacle for every locality. Getting the attention of prospective adopters is a constant goal for any shelter, including Wythe County.

For years, Wythe County has featured dogs from the shelter on its Website; however, in recent months it has begun exploring new ways of showcasing the animals. First, the County enlisted the help of local media.

The Wytheville Enterprise helps the County by highlighting the dogs in its bi-weekly editions. In addition, Three Rivers Media and Danny Gordon aid the County by announcing dogs available for adoption on air.

In recent weeks, Wythe County has begun to explore the world of social media in connection with attracting attention to the dogs. With its collective reach of over 2,000 users on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, the County has begun posting photographs of available dogs and promoting the online presence through updates, statuses and tweets.

To help keep up with the demand of promoting the dogs and constant influx of the animals, Wythe County is in the process of hiring a part-time shelter worker. This individual will care for the animals on a daily basis and provide constant information of what animals are at the shelter.

Wythe County is also in the process of acquiring documentation needed to feature the dogs on PetFinder.com to reach an even broader range of adopters.

The animals at the shelter are near and dear to Wythe County. Although Wythe County is not a “no-kill” shelter, the staff and officials care for every animal that comes through its door.

The County would like for nothing more than for every dog be adopted to a loving home and live a long healthy life. However, the shelter faces the very real situation of overcrowding and the inability to provide long-term care.

If you are interest in adopting a dog from the Wythe County Animal Shelter, please be aware of the following guidelines:

-         There is an adoption fee of $20 per dog.

-         The adopter must be a resident of Wythe County or one of the adjacent counties.

-         The adopter must sign a sterilization agreement to have the adopted pet(s) spayed or neutered.

-          The adopter must return the Sterilization paperwork within seven days of animal being sterilized.

-         Sterilization must take place within 30 days of the adoption or within 30 days of the dog reaching six months of age

-         An individual may only adopt two dogs within a 30 day period

 For more information regarding adoption guidelines and procedures to adopt an animal, please visit the Animal Control page on the Wythe County Website, www.wytheco.org.