EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE: The Paw Prince

WHITEVILLE, NC (WWAY) — Running an animal shelter is tough. Our Extraordinary Person of the Week inherited even tougher conditions at a shelter that was the center of some controversy at the time. But Joey Prince is turning it around!

The Columbus County Animal Shelter is in a new era.

“They had adoptable cats and feral cats together,” Joey Prince told Daniel Seamans. “This way people can come in to a fairly nice environment.”

Joey Prince took over the shelter in 2015.  “I didn’t know anything about running a shelter so I went over the Brunswick County,” Prince said of his first days on the job.

Took what was successful and adapted it to Columbus County.

He’ll be the first to tell you about how hard working his staff and volunteers are who are vital to saving the animals lives.  “We have a survival rate of about 95% that we are really proud about.”

The gas chamber that once took the lives of thousand of animals for decades is gone.
Though no longer used, the gesture at the end of 2016 represented brighter times ahead.

“We have classical music,” Prince said of the sounds played during the day.  It’s a simple idea that has changed the atmosphere with calming music.

A new air conditioning unit has been also been installed recently.  They are changes that improve the lives of dogs, cats,  and people.

“It’s a great job when you get to help an animal, there is nothing better than when you get to find one a home or reunite one with an owner.”

Prince says adoptions are up big time.  Two featured during the filming of this story headed out to a forever home while we were there.

“I’ve had some jobs that I didn’t like in my life,” Prince said, “but this is a job that is just wonderful, everyday you come into work knowing you’re going to save an animal.”

And it’s that kind of life saving attitude, Joey Prince, that makes you Extraordinary.