By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
The Kenton County Animal Shelter has been in existence since the mid 1980’s, since all counties are required to have some kind of animal control, but it has been in high gear to serve the community since 2015 when best practices in the industry changed from catch and euthanize to trap, neuter, and return animals to their community.
In 2016, the Kenton County Fiscal Court enacted legislation which established a Community Cat program, with the goal in mind of becoming a ‘no kill’ shelter. Kenton County was able to achieve that goal for the first time in 2018.
“This ordinance has led to Kenton County’s overall live release rate surging from 38 percent to more than 90 percent,” said a county spokesperson.
Like many animal shelters across the nation, the Kenton County Animal Shelter has experienced a definite increase in animal intakes in recent years. That increase placed additional demands on the team of caretakers in the shelter, from making sure every animal receives appropriate care and attention to maintaining the facility and keeping up with daily operations.
As those demands grow exponentially, staffing levels increasingly became concerning, and conversations about appropriate staffing were held, with the top concern being meeting the needs of both the animals and the community. Those discussions ultimately led to the reorganization of the shelter, which was approved at a recent Fiscal Court meeting.
As the reorganization began and developed, officials created two new positions: a shelter technician and a veterinary assistant. The shelter technician position is currently posted online, and Kenton County is accepting applications for the position.
The veterinary assistant position was filled by an existing Kenton County Animal Shelter team member, who has previous experience in that area of the animal welfare field. But with her promotion, the transition created a vacancy in her former shelter technician position, and officials are actively working to fill that position.
They are actively recruiting new team members.
“We have had a full-time veterinarian on staff since January of 2025,” said the spokesperson. “Regarding the shelter’s long-term leadership, we have not yet begun soliciting applications for the director position. In the meantime, we are confident in Interim Director Whitney Quint’s ability to lead the KCAS team through this transition period.”
The shelter is located at 1020 Mary Laidlaw Drive in Covington. At any given time, there are adoptable dogs, cats, and occasionally puppies and kittens. Right at the moment there are about 80 animals that can be adopted.
They have events scheduled throughout the year to showcase their animals, and every once in a while, whenever there are a lot of animals, they have an Empty the Shelter time, when people who are thinking about adopting should definitely go visit the shelter because there are occasionally deals on adoption fees. The next Empty the Shelter event is September 18-30.
Volunteers are a critical part of any animal shelter’s operations, and there are many ways residents or families can support Kenton County Animal Shelter, both in a large way and in smaller ways.
Some opportunities include donating gently used items, such as beds or blankets, or toys, and providing dog or cat food for our pet food pantry, which supports residents in need. Walking dogs helps to give the pups exercise and allows them to use up some energy, while giving them valuable human/pet interaction, which encourages good behavior and makes them more adoptable.
Fostering animals is a valuable help, because it allows the animals to have a home, even if temporary, instead of a cage or a kennel setting, which is discouraging to many animals. Dogs and cats really need the interaction with people. Being in a home environment allows them to have creative enrichment activities, too.
Fostering is also particularly valuable because it helps the shelter’s team better understand each animal’s needs so that they can ultimately make the best possible placement decisions.
Residents interested in getting involved can learn more at bit.ly/GetInvolvedKCAS.