Nevada County’s Animal Shelter operator has a new one-year contract extension. But the three-point-one million dollar amount has been reduced by 64-thousand dollars. That’s because the operator, Sammie’s Friends, was unable to renew liability insurance for dog bite coverage. Instead, the county will assume the costs. The new executive director, Fran Cole, told the Board of Supervisors at their Tuesday meeting that the termination of their previous policy was likely linked to the recent award of over six-million dollars to a volunteer who was attacked by a dog at a shelter in the Los Angeles area…

click to listen to Fran Cole

Cole, who has also been president of the League of Women Voters of Western Nevada County, also cited nationwide numbers that show that 96-percent of dog bites don’t cause severe injuries and 81-percent don’t need any medical attention…

click to listen to Fran Cole

Cole also mentioned that the pandemic caused an adoption surge that included many dogs ending up back in the shelter, with chronic overcrowding that continues today. She says during that time the number of biting incidents spiked 300-percent. Sammie’s Friends has been the county animal shelter operator since 2010.