Maryland Community Newspapers Online
Montgomery County's animal shelter is operating normally and is not closing and euthanizing animals, contrary to rumors that made the rounds Tuesday on online social networking sites such as Facebook.
"We have gotten a lot of calls," but the county shelter and the Montgomery County Humane Society, which runs the shelter under a county contract, is nowhere near having to take such measures, said JoAnn Hoffman, humane society chairwoman.
The misleading information appears to be rooted in the closing of a humane society shelter in Montgomery County, Texas.
The Texas shelter was separate from the animal shelter run by the local government of Montgomery County, Texas, and all the humane society shelter animals were adopted, said Sylvia Olszowy, administrative assistant to Judge Alan B. Sadler of the Texas county.
The humane society in Montgomery County, Md., recently closed its separate private shelter and moved those animals into an expanded foster home program to cut operating costs because donations have declined.
Some Internet postings Tuesday said that the local "Montgomery County" animal shelter was closing immediately, waiving adoption fees and euthanizing animals that did not get homes.