"The greatness of
a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi
If you can judge a county using the same criteria, then Barrow
County has work to do, starting with the resources and attention our community
and our county government pay to Barrow County Animal Control.
The first issue is funding. In 2008, before the economy
tanked, the Animal Control budget was $587,000. In 2011, it was $438,500; that's
a 25 percent cut in four years. This year's budget is $420,200, an additional $18,300
slashed since last year. During the same period, calls for service remained
basically stable at around 4,000 per year. (There were 500 less calls for
service in 2011, as compared to 2010.)
This means the people at Animal Control are having to do
much more with much less and this is taking its toll on the quality and
quantity of services we receive, as well as our public safety. Compare 2011
figures to those from 2010, and you'll see about a 42 percent decrease in
vicious animal (179 Vs 313) and cruelty to animal case investigations (271 Vs
453.)
You will also see the number of citations issued cut in half
(329 Vs 650.) Court fines (income for the county) fell by 52 percent ($17,494
in 2011; $36, 443 in 2010.) Requests for compliance, were also down 33 percent
(444 Vs 718.)
What this means is we are getting less service, both animals
and people are getting less protection, and the people at Animal Control are increasingly
stuck between a rock and a hard place, due to cuts in payroll funds and
overtime allowances. (Salary expenditures for Animal Control have been cut by
24 percent since 2008 and overtime has been slashed to almost nothing.)
Shelter visits were up by 500 in 2011, yet only 32 cats and
183 dogs were adopted during the whole year. Some 617 dogs and 985 cats were
euthanized; that is a kill rate of 48 percent for dogs and 82 percent for cats.
Of course, no one at Animal Control wants to kill pets. A major responsibility
to spay/neuter pets, keep them confined and identifiable (collar, rabies tag,
microchip), reclaiming lost pets and adopting shelter pets falls squarely on
the community's back.
Yet, there are some things at Animal Control that could be
changed to help maximize adoptions and reclaims, such as offering evening or
weekend hours. Barrow's shelter is the only one in the area that is only open
during working hours - Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri., 8
a.m.-5 p.m. For most people, even visiting the Barrow shelter means
taking off work. Realistically, how many people are going to do that?
The Barrow shelter does work with other agencies to arrange
rescues. In 2011, 247 shelter dogs went to rescue organizations. Sadly, that
was down from 459 dogs rescued in 2010, a 47 percent drop. Cat rescues also
fell in 2011, 37 percent, from 459 to 247. Recently, I hear that rescue
organizations are having an increasingly hard time transferring animals out of
the Barrow shelter. In several incidences, this was because there was no one
available to open cages or assist with the transfer paperwork. This is not
acceptable, especially given Barrow's high kill rates.
Reports of people from the community being treated rudely by
shelter staff are also on the rise. I do the "Pets of the Week"
feature for this paper, which means visiting the shelter every other week and "talking
pets," while out in the community. Sadly, I am hearing more stories that
do not shine a positive light on the Barrow shelter visit experience. A look at
donations to the shelter also indicates some changes in personnel or policy may
need to be made. In 2010, the shelter received $1,275 in donations; that fell
to $195 in 2011.
Let me be clear; I am not criticizing the Animal Control
officers or desk personnel. The buck stops higher than that. It stops with the
current management and ultimately with the chairman and the board of
commissioners. The animals obviously can't speak for themselves, nor can the
officers who value their jobs and their benefits. It's up to those of us in the
community who care about animals and value public safety, to make it clear to
our commissioners that we expect better service from Animal Control.
Barrow County Roads & Bridges does not have to make a
public plea for asphalt donations; nor, do other county departments ask for paper,
pens or ink cartridges in order to do their work. Yet, Animal Control makes
ongoing requests for basics, such as cat litter and pet food, to stretch their
tight budget a little further. Even in a still-troubled local economy, there is
much wrong with this picture, especially if you're the dog or cat hoping
someone donates food or litter so you can be a little more comfortable until
you, in most cases, are euthanized.
There is only one long term solution to decreasing the local
unwanted pet population. It is spay/neuter. Leftover Pets is a local, low cost,
non-profit organization providing those services. They also rescue cats and
kittens from the Barrow shelter. (ww.leftoverpets.org) Pup & Cat Co. is
another local, non-profit rescue that saves animals from the Barrow shelter. (www.pupandcatco.com) Both could use support. Please, do it for the
animals.
This column was in the 5/16 edition of the Barrow Journal.
No comments:
Post a Comment