I felt like I had an out-of-body experience Monday night.
Maybe it was because I was sitting in a county Health and Welfare Committee meeting listening to County Commissioner Michael Martin actually state that Warren County Animal Control shouldn’t be adopting out animals or sending them to rescue groups. What else should they do with them? While he beat around the bush and refused to say it, the only thing left is to kill them all.
Then, he and County Commissioners Linda Jones and Tommy Savage refused to vote on a measure that would have changed the facility’s name to Warren County Animal Control and Adoption Center. Please tell me that didn’t happen and it was only a dream. I definitely hope I wake up soon.
The decision was a slap in the face of everyone who has worked to change the image of Warren County Animal Control – and I’m one of those people. It was a slap in the face to anyone who has helped encourage adoptions – and I’m one of those people. It was a slap in the face to anyone who is supportive of animal rescue efforts – and I’m one of those people.
It was a slap in the face to anyone who believes every animal has a right to life – and I’m one of those people. It was a slap in the face to anyone who has supported positive policy changes at animal control – and I’m one of those people.
If it couldn’t get any worse, County Executive Herschel Wells was at the meeting and he seemed to be opposed to changing the name too. That's another slap in the face.
After all those slaps, I think I’m awake now. The name of Warren County Animal Control needs to change. More than that, if the county policy does not include a strong push to adopt and rescue, it needs to change.
When I started featuring animals in an effort to find homes, the majority of animals brought into the facility were euthanized. Most of them were doomed as soon as they entered the building because no effort was given to adoption or rescue. It was a very sad situation. I wasn’t even sure if the pet I featured would be allowed a temporary reprieve.
Today, if an animal goes into the facility, it has a huge chance of finding a home. Because of that, the policy was changed to spay/neuter every animal before it leaves the facility. Along with saving countless lives, the negative public perception of the facility as a death row for animals has slowly started to change.
Do we really want to go back to how things were? If you aren’t adopting animals out and you aren’t sending them to rescues, the only other option is to kill them. If that’s what they want, then Martin, Jones, Savage and Wells should do the deed themselves. It’s one thing to sit in a room and discuss the life and death of animals, but it’s completely different when you’re holding the needle.
Standard reporter Lisa Hobbs can be reached at 473-2191.