OWENSBORO, Ky. — A once-quiet privatization of the Daviess County Animal Shelter has erupted into a divisive local issue, with former employees accusing the Evansville-based operator of turning away surrenders, housing dogs in stacked wire crates for months and pressuring a veterinarian to mass-euthanize animals to protect its “no-kill” designation.

Since April 1, the shelter has been operated by It Takes a Village No-Kill Rescue of Evansville under a contract with the Daviess County Fiscal Court. Animal control officers, previously county employees stationed at the shelter, were transferred to the sheriff’s office as part of the same reorganization.

Shelby Howard, a veterinary technician who resigned from the shelter in late 2024, told Spectrum News 1 that volunteers continue to send he

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