The Christian County Regional Animal Shelter will soon bid farewell to a longtime advocate of animal rights and care, as Director Irene Grace is set to retire at the start of August.
Calling it bittersweet, Grace says she’s worked at the animal shelter since 1998 when things looked very different for animals at that facility. She stepped into the role of director in October of 2010 and says she is more than proud of how far things have come, from the state of the building to an adoption rate of over 85 percent in a shelter that takes in hundreds of animals a month.
Crediting her staff for their hard work in a job that often comes with heartbreak, she says one thing that she is very proud of is the success of the Get ‘Em Done program that she began, which helps with overpopulation of animals as pets get spayed and neutered often before they’re ever adopted.
Grace says they have had their fair share of struggles over the years, the most prominent being when the building caught fire March 18, 2013. She says the fire plan they had practiced worked perfectly, and they were blessed to lose no animals in the incident.
She says she intends to keep working with animals even after she retires, but she also plans to do plenty of relaxing and make some art.
Most importantly, Grace thanked the community for their ongoing, tremendous support of their shelter—from donations of food and blankets, to monetary funding for veterinary care. She says she will always be amazed at the heart of those in this community that have stood behind them—and her—for many years, and she hopes for many more to come.
Grace announced her retirement to Christian Fiscal Court Tuesday morning, and you can hear her statement in full below: