The Potomac Highlands Dispatch - the online newspaper

Forty-five applications received for county animal shelter manager vacancy
Applicants hail from five different states

By The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
CUMBERLAND, Jan. 20 -- The Allegany County Department of Human Resources received 45 applications for the position of animal shelter manager. The deadline to apply for the job was Jan. 14.

The position has been vacant since mid-December, when former manager Camille Carrico resigned under pressure for what some animal rights advocates considered questionable tactics regarding euthanasia policies at the shelter.

More complete details about the applicants were not immediately available. However, County Administrator David Eberly said Thursday that 30 applicants reside in Maryland and 10 in West Virginia. Three applicants live in Pennsylvania and one application each was received from residents in New York and North Carolina.

Eberly said county staff, including Brian Westfall, HR director, and Dick DeVore, who currently oversees the daily operations at the shelter, will begin vetting candidates in the near future. The plan is to begin interviewing selected candidates around the second week of February.

County Commissioner Mike McKay said all three commissioners have received "a lot of information on this issue" by way of numerous emails from people weighing in on the selection of the next manager. McKay said Westfall and DeVore would have access to those emails Friday.

The commissioners conducted last week's public meeting to a full room, many of whom supported the hiring of a new shelter manager who supported a no-kill philosophy.

The advertisement for the vacancy did not include a commitment to such an approach, however. The notice indicated a preference for candidates with an associate's degree in veterinary technology or a related field and with three years' supervisory experience.

In addition, preferred candidates should have knowledge of "acceptable veterinary procedures in handling animals; ordinances, laws and regulations related to the capture, custody and disposition of animals; and safety practices concerning the handling of animals."

The animal shelter manager oversees not only dogs and cats at the shelter but also supervises the county's animal control efforts and its related enforcement of current code by responding to complaints and health and safety concerns of domestic animals.