Prater named new dog warden

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The Fayette County Dog Shelter recently welcomed a new dog warden to take the place of Bruce Denen, who retired from the position at the end of March.

During a meeting Monday, the Fayette County Commissioners appointed Nelson Prater as the new Fayette County Dog Warden. Prater, who started part-time at the shelter in 2010, served for the past few years as the assistant dog warden to three different wardens. According to Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth, Prater was instrumental in training these wardens.

“At this point of the operation of the dog shelter, Nelson was the logical appointee,” Stanforth said. “He has trained the last three dog wardens in how to do the job. He is such a caring person and the shelter has improved drastically over the years. It is about time that Nelson is given the opportunity to take the dog shelter to another level. I think he is the guy to do it, he has the knowledge and understanding of the dogs. He deals well with them and deals well with humans or owners to mediate the situations. It was just time to give him the opportunity and we are looking forward to it.”

Stanforth said the county has had some great dog wardens over the last few years, though few had experience running a shelter of this type. He said Denen came out of retirement to run the shelter because he had some managerial experience, but it is time for him to return to retirement and hand the “leash” off to Prater. Stanforth said he hopes Denen enjoys his retirement and appreciated his work for the county.

“I am still the same Nelson Prater I was,” Prater said during an interview on Tuesday. “I still plan on working closely with the community, the office is always open for them if they have an issue or want to come out to talk to me. I know what the community is looking for and what they need from the dog warden’s office here. So I think I have a great working relationship with the community and everything should continue smoothly from this office. If anyone has issues, don’t hesitate to call me.”

Currently, Prater said they will be looking for an assistant dog warden to help in the operations of the shelter. He has no big projects or plans for the immediate future, but said as soon as he is able to find an assistant warden to bounce ideas off of, they will develop some goals for the shelter. One goal he currently has though is to help establish a volunteer program as the shelter is in constant need of volunteers.

For more information, contact the Fayette County Dog Shelter at (740) 335-6630 or visit 1550 Robinson Road in Washington Court House.

The Fayette County Commissioners appointed Nelson Prater as the new Fayette County Dog Warden.
http://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2018/04/web1_20180403_155426.jpgThe Fayette County Commissioners appointed Nelson Prater as the new Fayette County Dog Warden.
Former warden, Bruce Denen, retires from position

By Martin Graham

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Reach Martin Graham at (740) 313-0351 or on Twitter @MartiTheNewsGuy

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