A nonprofit dog shelter whose owner is facing a court charge for operating without a permit is trying to get a fresh start with the Warren County government. Neighboring property owners, however, are …
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A nonprofit dog shelter whose owner is facing a court charge for operating without a permit is trying to get a fresh start with the Warren County government. Neighboring property owners, however, are asking regulators to take a hard stance against the shelter.
No Time To Spare Animal Rescue, located on Pendleton Lost Creek Road, is seeking a conditional use permit (CUP) for its operation, which takes in stray dogs to care for them until they can be adopted. The shelter is in the unusual situation of seeking a CUP after it has already gone into operation, and also while the shelter’s owner is under prosecution for operating without that CUP.
The story of how this all came about, and where it might go from here, is a bit of a roller coaster.
The No Time To Spare animal shelter opened at its location south of Pendleton in early 2018. Owner Carol Risley (formerly called Carol Mosele), had previously operated a shelter in St. Charles County. When she opened in Pendleton, Risley had her facility approved by the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
However, Risley didn’t seek a CUP from the county government, and that landed her and the shelter in hot water when neighbors started submitting complaints to the county in mid-2019. A CUP is a type of operating permit which includes restrictions that are intended to minimize conflicts with nearby neighbors.
The county government notified Risley that her operation was in violation of county ordinance by not having a permit, and that she needed to stop taking in new dogs until she could empty the shelter and then apply for a CUP.
After it became clear that Risley and No Time To Spare would not comply with that demand, county officials requested a misdemeanor criminal charge against Risley, which was filed by the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office in February 2020. That case remains unresolved.
Allison Sweeney, an attorney representing No Time To Spare, disputes whether the shelter ever needed a CUP at all, but said the organization is now trying to move past the controversy by complying with the process anyway.
That brings us to a crowded May 19 hearing before the Warren County planning and zoning board, a group of volunteer citizens who adjudicate CUP applications.
Supporters of No Time To Spare spent nearly two hours speaking about the benefits that the dog shelter brings to the area — that no other service takes in stray animals in rural Warren County, that the shelter provides medical care and behavioral training for dogs before connecting them with families, and that the organization as a whole is a community of positive volunteers.
“(The shelter) has rescued 1,260 animals since Jan. 1, 2018. Each of these animals has been vetted, spayed or neutered, and microchipped,” said volunteer Lynda Baker.
No one who spoke during the hearing disputed the importance or benefit of having a quality animal shelter. But neighboring residents said that benefit has come at their expense.
For over four years, the handful of homes near the shelter have been subjected to the sound of dozens of barking dogs at any hour of the day or night, neighbors said. They also worry about what procedures are in place to prevent unpredictable dogs from getting loose and potentially attacking someone.
In addition to those concerns, neighbor Kenneth Randolf said water contaminated with urine and feces has been seeping onto his land from the shelter’s outdoor dog yard. County Sanitarian Bill Roemer said he had confirmed that problem on May 12.
“A remedy that prohibits such damages and effects must be included in any CUP that you issue,” Randolf told the planning board.
Members of the planning board made no decision about No Time To Spare’s CUP application on May 19. The issue is likely to be revisited during the board’s next monthly meeting on June 16.
Members of the board didn’t give much away about their thinking on the issue. The outcome for the shelter will strongly depend on what conditions or restrictions the board enacts as part of the CUP, in order to address the complaints from neighbors.
It’s also unclear how the shelter’s lingering court case will impact the board’s decision. County ordinance has a provision that addresses when and whether permits can be issued to businesses that have ongoing violations, but planning board members have not yet discussed how that provision will apply to this case.
