A new director of the Elizabethton/Carter County Animal Shelter will soon be part of the facility.
Following the resignation of Katelyn Harrington this week, Shannon Posada formally accepted the position as the shelter’s new director.
Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey said the new director will start her first day at the facility on Monday, Nov. 14.
“We’re excited to have Mrs. Posada as part of the shelter,” Humphrey told the Elizabethton Star Friday. “She’s very experienced and will be a great addition.”
The mayor added Posada has been a regular volunteer at the shelter and has over 16-plus years of experience working with animals at the Elizabethton Veterinary Clinic.
The decision to hire Posada came on the heels of Harrington’s resignation on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The Elizabethton/Carter County Animal Shelter Advisory Board met that same evening to address the issue. It was during that meeting that Humphrey told attendees that a second candidate for the position, Posada, would be sought after before the county would look at advertising for the director position again.
Before Posada assumes her position, Susan Robinson, executive assistant for the Carter County Mayor’s Office, will serve in the interim as director.
Robinson previously served as the interim director at the facility before Harrington’s hire back in September.
While working at the shelter, Robinson’s prime objective has been adopting out animals from the facility.
Due to the shelter’s recent success with an adoption event at Petsense, another adopt-a-thon is around the bend.
The Elizabethton/Carter County Animal Shelter will be the home of an “Empty the Shelter” event on Saturday, Nov. 5. Robinson told the Elizabethton Star of the event during Tuesday’s meeting and the excitement is brewing after recent success at adoption events.
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, the event will see each $10 adoption fee being waived and all adopted pets will receive a free microchip. The spay and neuter fee for cats is totaled at $35 while dogs will be $45.
The shelter is also looking at residents to sponsor animals to cover the spay and neuter process – allowing animals to be adopted out for no cost.
For more information or to sponsor an animal, contact Robinson at (423) 542-1801. The shelter is also taking applications for rescues and volunteers to assist with shelter activities.
It was during Tuesday’s meeting that the mayor updated on different aspects of the shelter. Along with the hire of Maria Talley, an office assistant at the shelter, multiple expansions are around the bend for the felines – including a feline room at an area for ‘catios’, patios for the cats to enjoy themselves.