Beleaguered Guilford County Animal Shelter Names New Director

The Guilford County Animal Shelter has named new leadership. This comes after a series of fines and personnel shakeups for the agency.

Jorge Ortega will be the county's new Animal Services director. He previously worked for the ASPCA in New York and the Humane Society in Charlotte.

The previous director, Drew Brinkley, started in 2016. He resigned this past summer when the shelter was cited for leaving dogs outdoors without adequate protection from the sun, and for continuing the practice after being warned. There were additional discrepancies related to care, record-keeping and euthanasia protocol.

The shelter has been under investigation before. Back in 2015, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture found that the organization had routinely failed to provide humane care to the animals in its custody.

Representatives from the county are likening the new hire to that of a well-qualified head coach. Ortega will begin his role in January 2018.