Deed Room Renovation By: Nore Ghibaudy, Public Relations Spay and Neuter Your Pets By: Jordan Kelch, Public Relations It has been more than a decade since some interior renovations and upgrades were done in the Deed Room of Jefferson County Courthouse, located at 527 W Jefferson Street. The building is the oldest surviving government building in Louisville which began construction in 1836 and was completed in 1860. The Legal Records Division occupies half of the second floor of the building. It is the official repository for Jefferson County as defined in KRS 186. It is Who doesn’t squirm uncomfortably when considering the physical details of animal sterilization? The truth is, though, once you get past the more unpleasant elements, you realize that spaying and neutering your furry friends is extremely important for several reasons. First and foremost, overpopulation has become a serious issue. In fact, around 4 million dogs and cats, living in animal shelters, are put down every year. Realize that this statistic does not apply to the world – only to the United States. It’s undeniable that there are more animals being born here than there are responsible and loving guardians. Another sad fact is that the estimated 4 million dogs and cats that die in animal shelters every year oftentimes do so in very cruel ways. Some are sold to research laboratories for experimentation while others are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide (both routes promise suffering). It is obvious, then, that society needs to come together to reduce the amount of kittens and puppies being born. The most efficient solution, and the one that has responsible for legal documents which are recorded and filed as public record. Documents are maintained as far back as 1783. The Legal Records Division consists of Recording, Indexing and the Deed Room. For several months now, the three departments have been undergoing cross training. There are approximately 210,000 legal documents, including: deeds, mortgages, power of attorney assignments and incorporations, all lodged for recording and indexing. earned the most governmental support, is to spay and neuter your pets. Many states have already pushed legislation through, hoping to reduce the growing rate of pet displacement and death. In Rhode Island, owners who fail to spay and neuter any cat over six months of age are required to pay an expensive licensing fee. In New York, all dogs and cats, even those that are sold in commercial pet stores, must be neutered and spayed. Both states expect these measures to reduce the amount of euthanized animals by about 65%. Beyond solving the overpopulation problem, spaying and neutering also helps animals live longer, healthier lives. Did you know that neutered male dogs and cats have better odds of avoiding prostate cancer? Spayed females can It has been more than eighteen years since technology upgrades were done except for software programs that recently changed the way the professionals in that area do business, along with the expansion of online land records. With the flow of how the Clerk’s Office conducts business we will be making some physical changes, keeping clearly in mind the anesthetics of the history of the building. no longer develop uterine and ovarian cancer. This practice also helps protect cats from contracting feline leukemia and FIV, the feline version of AIDS. To support the spay/neuter movement, consider purchasing Kentucky’s ‘Spay and Neuter’ license plate. This plate is available at all county clerk offices throughout the state with an initial cost of $31.00 and an annual renewal fee of $26.00. Also, $10.00 of the initial registration and $5.00 of the renewal fee will go toward the Animal Control and Care Fund. 4