Animal control officers say neglect is often the reason animals behave badly. Officer Shane Ayers is the animal control officer with the Staunton Police Department. He works overtime trying to change the way residents care for their pets.

"It seems like some of the standards out there are a little lower than what can be expected," says Ayers. "Some of the people have put out what they're comfortable with as adequate shelter but guidelines through the state require solid bottoms, leak proof structures and we're not finding that out here with the people we're dealing with.”

Ayers is now coming up with ways to get the word out about healthy conditions for dogs and cats.

He says, "We're looking at some different public service announcements. We try to do some through the government access channel and like you said, we're working on some projects right now but individually educating the pet owners is the main resource we have available at this point.”

Along with the police department, a non-profit group called Chains Hurt wants to take care of abused and neglected pets. Member Alisha Hammer says they try to take an active approach to help animals in need.

"It does concern me," says Hammer. "I really think that education is the key and that’s what Chains Hurt tries to do. We try to educate people, we try to go in and help when we can. Sometimes you can't save every dog, so you just try to make their living conditions a little better while they're there.”