More dogs left the Knox County Dog Shelter during December 2025 than were taken in, Dog Warden Brian Biggerstaff told the Knox County Commission at its Jan. 15 meeting.
"As of yesterday, Wednesday, Jan. 14, we had seven dogs at the shelter. All seven of those dogs are available for adoption. So, yeah, we've had a good adoption rate and not a lot of stray dogs coming in now," Biggerstaff said, according to a meeting video.
According to the video, Biggerstaff reported that 34 dogs entered the Knox Dog Shelter in December, with 20 being owner surrenders and another 14 as stray dogs. Forty-four dogs left the shelter during the last month of 2025. He said that 23 dogs were adopted and another 11 were euthanized. Biggerstaff explained that every dog euthanized was at the owner's request due to aggression, bite history, or medical reasons. Seven dogs were returned to their owners, with three sent to rescue organizations.
Biggerstaff noted that only two of the remaining dogs at the shelter had been there for more than 60 days. Six of the seven dogs currently in the shelter were owner surrenders.
In the video, Biggerstaff mentioned that five citations were issued. Deputy Dog Warden Brian Weiser issued three citations for failure to confine while Biggerstaff issued two similar citations.
