The old Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society building on Hal Henard Road has been given a renewed purpose through Greene County Animal Control.
The local Humane Society moved out of the building and into a new facility on North Rufe Taylor Road in early 2023, and the organization’s former building on Hal Henard Road reverted back to the ownership of Greene County. The county provided the land for the construction of the shelter in the 1980s. Now, the old shelter is once again housing animals in conjunction with Animal Control’s main facility located at 950 Hal Henard Road. The two properties are located next to each other.
Animal Control began housing dogs in the facility around the first week of January according to Greene County Animal Control Director Chris Cutshall.
Animals that come under the care of Animal Control are held for at least three days in accordance with state law. The additional facility is being used to house dogs for an additional five days, for a total holding period of eight days instead of three.
Animal Control works with the Humane Society and local rescues in an effort to provide adoptable animals being held by the agency with homes.
Improvements have been made to the former Humane Society building by Animal Control including the installation of a new roof and guttering, new HVAC, the resurfacing of floors with an easy to clean coating and the construction of a new barn to house animals such as cows, horses, donkey or goats.
Livestock must be held for 10 days by Animal Control in accordance with state law, and Cutshall said the new barn had been a major upgrade for the agency. The barn, constructed in late 2024 next to the former Humane Society building, includes four large stalls that can house large livestock. At its rear, the barn is connected to a roughly 1.5 acre lot that gives large animals room to roam while being housed by Animal Control. The lot is surrounded by chain link, that was upgraded and repaired in some places by Animal Control.
Cutshall said the barn and field were used by Animal Control even before the old Humane Society building was renovated, and was a needed upgrade. Previously, Animal Control had only two small stalls under and open shed next to its main facility to house large livestock animals, which often led to capacity issues.
Cutshall noted that three storage buildings that conveyed with the property had also been a welcome addition for Animal Control.
He noted that the Humane Society building had already been of great use to the agency
Recently, 85 roosters took up all available space at Animal Control, including at the former Humane Society building, after a cockfighting bust.
Inside the former Humane Society building, the facility has been given a new coat of paint and the front office area has been revamped. An old large desk that took up much of the room has been removed and replaced with a more sensible workspace.
Animal Control employee Tammy Willet could be found in the front office working at her desk. She cares for the animals in the former Humane Society facility and helps maintain its operations. In 1999 she was the Shelter Manager for the Humane Society, and she noted that it feels like a real full-circle moment to be caring for animals in the same facility once again.
As a part of her duties, Willett cleans out the indoor and outdoor dog runs daily and brings the dogs inside each night if temperatures are below 50 degrees. She also feeds and waters the animals each day. A new sink was installed in the kennel area that allows her to easily keep dog bowls clean.
The facility was housing four or five dogs during the recent tour. The facility contains 15 dog runs, but Cutshall said the goal is for the facility to house only about 7 to 8 dogs regularly. The agency will hold the other slots for when there is a large influx of several animals, such as animal cruelty cases when several animals are seized at once. Several animals can be relinquished to the agency at once as well.
Cutshall said that while the facility is currently only housing dogs, it could hold cats in the future as well if staffing allows.
“Right now we are just easing into this with just dogs,” Cutshall said. “On down the road, we’re eventually going to try to house cats up here as long as everything works out and goes well.”
The former Humane Society facility not only allows Animal Control to hold adoptable animals for longer, but gives the agency flexibility in operations if there were to be disease outbreaks such as canine parvovirus. Cutshall noted that Animal Control could shut down either facility to isolate the disease for the required amount of time, but maintain operations for the agency due to having separate buildings.
Cutshall noted that the plan was for the facility to remain a long-term and fully integrated part of Animal Control.
“It’s new territory. We’re just taking baby steps right now. It’s a growing process,” Cutshall said.
He noted that the facility still lacks an official name, but that he hopes that the county government will give it one soon to help set it apart from the agency’s main facility, the James “Jim” Eagle Greene County Animal Control Facility.
