I have known Ritchie for years and personally I like him just fine BUT as the dog warden, now that's a different story. He has no compassion for the animals he picks up and openly talks about shooting them with a smile!! I do not approve of the way things handled at Union County's pound! It is black mark on our community! Ritchie is not the only one at fault here, he has a boss that has to be held accountable as well!! Instead of locking the place up they need to be in there making things right! Hiding behind a locked fence is not going to make the public go away! Instead of hiding--FIX the problem! A shelter needs to be made so that these animals can 1. Be found if they are lost and returned to their owners or 2. Adopted to a new home-----never shot!! This is a sad situation and needs to be addressed. Give the job to someone who has the qualifications of the definition of Warden! His boss is elected, we all need to remember this on the next election!! I so PRAY this situation is resolved SOON! read more

The Union County Dog Pound has had a massive overhaul and face lift. A new facility has been built with great indoor and outdoor runs. Union County Animal Service Coordinator Kathy Baird does a phenomenal job great job getting dogs adopted and works closely with several rescues. read more

When I moved back to Union County I knew I had to get a tag for my dog (I adopted in FL). I was horrified to find out that they had a regular dog tag and a vicious dog tag. The difference in the two is breed! ONLY BREED! A standard dog tag is $5 per year a vicious is $50. Well can you guess by now which one I have had to buy for the past two years. When I went to get my first tag THE dog warden himself was in his office. After paying cash for my tag I stated to him..... Well I guess I could have just lied about my dog's breed and saved myself $45. Wow did that make him mad. He started stuttering around and then finally said I have to see your dog first. I dangled the newly bought tag and said Nope.... You have my money and I have your tag, little late now. Now is is fuming! I finally told him (for fear of him having a stroke right there) that if he must see my dog he is sitting in my car outside. He did walk out to see my dog, whom was waiting with my mom, sitting in the backseat as he is trained. This man was nothing less than rude to me I can not imagine how he treats an animal that can not stand up to hiim. read more