DurhamFriday, November 6
Durham County animal shelter says photos from a former employee don't show it today
The 5AM Morrisville team
A former employee's Facebook post about the Durham County animal shelter is stirring controversy. CBS 17 reports the photos show unsanitary conditions, moldy pet food and dead dogs piled into an incinerator. WRAL is not sharing the photos because they're graphic.
“What we want people in the community to know is these pictures don't represent what APS and the Durham shelter is today.”
The Animal Protection Society of Durham says the person left more than four months ago. WRAL captured video inside the shelter Thursday showing clean kennels and proper feeding and labeling.
State inspections and leadership changes frame the shelter's response
- Sept. 2025State inspection marked 'contingently/conditionally approved,' with nine areas needing improvement.
- March 2026The board of directors puts interim leadership in place.
- July 2026Inspection notes staff corrected earlier issues, but some still need repair.
- Nov. 7The shelter's Home for the Holidays fundraiser is scheduled at the Washington Duke Inn.
- Tours: APS is hosting community tours in the coming weeks
- Inspections, 2018 to January 2025: all marked 'approved'
- Changes since March: staffing, training, accountability, transparency
The post and the inspection record, by the numbers
- 100+
- Facebook shares of the post since Wednesday afternoon
- 9
- areas needing improvement in the Sept. 2025 inspection
- 3
- areas not in compliance in that inspection
- 4+ months
- since the poster last worked at the shelter