Letters to the Editor 08-31-1999
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Animal Funds Needed - Animal Shelter - Unfair Criticism - Solicitations
Animal Funds Needed
Editor, Times-Union:To Kosciusko Commissioners, Council members, taxpayers and voters ...
Wake up people! The homeless, throw-away, lost or stray cats and dogs are not going to go away. If we do not provide a decent place for them, they will again be dumped in the country and rabies, etc., will be rampant again. We must have adequate funds for seven-day-a-week employees, and very soon, or the county will have the shelter back before Jan. 1.
This is a city- and county-wide problem. To adequately run the shelter, $150,000 is needed to pay wages, buy medication and vaccinations. The shelter cannot be run with volunteers alone and we do not have the resources to provide decent wages and benefits for employees.
Volunteers have donated so many hours and supplies already this year. We had a life and free time before this was dumped in our laps and want some of that time back for our families.
The building in question was purchased and remodeled for cats and dogs by a prominent veterinarian, local companies and individuals. It needs many things done to upgrade it today. We do not have funds to do so.
Thank you, thank you, to all the various individuals and companies who have supported us with money for medicine, for food and supplies (we never have enough kitty litter) and the wonderful outside dog runs.
Please call your council members (and do it quickly) and enforce your support of the shelter!
P.S. Approximately 100 dogs and cats are being adopted per month. Way over the amount of the previous administration. The beautiful living beings deserve a chance. Volunteers have manned the shelter through snowstorms and holidays and it's time for the county and city to support us with the funds we deserve.
Lynne Vining, Warsaw
Animal Shelter
Editor, Times-Union:I don't want to see anymore taxpayer money given to the Animal Welfare League until they come up with a sensible and workable plan to deal with all the animals they take in. You can't take in 3,000 animals and only adopt out 500. At the end of the year you have 2,500 animals in the shelter. At the end of two years you have 5,000 animals. While I applaud the intentions and compassion of the members of the AWL, they need to be more realistic about running an animal shelter.
There is a reason animal shelters euthanize a very large percentage of the animals they take in. If the $180,000 bequeathed to care for animals is used to build a new shelter to house hundreds of animals, just the cost of feeding and caring for them will be prohibitive.
Also, people should not be encouraged to adopt animals. If they don't really want a pet, they shouldn't have one. We already have too many animals running around loose, tearing up stuff and killing wildlife. Many people adopt cute dogs and after the cuteness wears off, the poor dog is relegated to the back of the backyard and without any attention. Just barks all day. If people aren't willing to spend a fair amount of time with their animal every day, they shouldn't get one.
What should be encouraged is to have people who really want a dog to get it from the animal shelter instead of from a pet shop or a puppy mill. I have had dogs most of my live and have found crossbred dogs generally make better pets and require fewer trips to the vet than purebred dogs (which often have too much in-breeding). If you don't show your dog or use it for breeding, the only reason to own a purebred dog is so you can brag to your friends that it is registered. If you just want a dog to be a friend and companion, go the animal shelter and get one.
I would like to see the AWL's long-range plan printed in the Times-Union. Things like how long an animal will be kept if it is not adopted out. What is the maximum number of animals to be kept at any one time? How many employees and how many volunteers will it take to make sure the animals get the proper care? What is the projected budget? With this information people can make an informed decision about how much help the shelter should receive. This decision should not be made on emotions alone.
Dick Jaynes, Warsaw, via e-mail
Unfair Criticism
Editor, Times-Union:In rebuttal to the letter on Animal Welfare, I would like to ask the authors if they know the entire story behind the decision the County Council made last week. Were they at the meeting or are they just hearing and/or reading only part of the facts?
Did they bother to call any of the Councilmen before writing their letter? Do they know any of the Councilmen? Do they know they have fine, upstanding men sitting on the board?
Do they know the work these men do for the county? Do they know the hours spent trying to balance the budget so all of the community gets their needed share and rights? Do they know what a difficult job it is to please all departments fairly? Do they know the stress these Councilmen are under trying to hold down our taxes?
I can only speak for my husband, but do they know how much he loves and admires animals? Did they bother to find out any answers to these questions or did they just rashly write a letter off the top of their emotions asking for voters to elect different representatives.
The residents of Kosciusko County have Councilmen who are upstanding, honest men in our community and I am proud to have them represent us and serve the needs of our county.
Karen Tranter, Syracuse
Solicitations
Editor, Times-Union:We try to be generous and charitable but our mailbox is bombarded daily with subtle and sometimes direct requests for $10, $15, $20, $25 or hopefully more. In many cases, they send Christmas cards, Thanksgiving cards or return address labels, etc. Of course this is intended to establish some obligation and or guilt if one doesn't respond. I won't attempt to name all of the solicitors but some are: Wildlife Preservation, Boy's Town, Indian Reservations, saving of small animals, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Disabled Veterans of America, American Legion, solicitations for numerous types of cancer (local, state, national), Alzheimer's, Macular Degeneration (eyes), United Fund, Salvation Army, Aid for the Homeless, Red Cross, etc. This is of course only a partial list. Can't help but think of all the postage dollars being spent. The constant bombardment of these solicitations concerns me as there is a danger of becoming callous to these needs and could truly hurt the very donations they are seeking. I also wonder about the authenticity of these solicitations.
I don't know the answer to the above dilemma, but I feel there must be a better way, even though there is the excellent United Way program and local charities.
Leo D. Kerber Sr., Leesburg
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- Animal Funds Needed - Animal Shelter - Unfair Criticism - Solicitations
Animal Funds Needed
Editor, Times-Union:To Kosciusko Commissioners, Council members, taxpayers and voters ...
Wake up people! The homeless, throw-away, lost or stray cats and dogs are not going to go away. If we do not provide a decent place for them, they will again be dumped in the country and rabies, etc., will be rampant again. We must have adequate funds for seven-day-a-week employees, and very soon, or the county will have the shelter back before Jan. 1.
This is a city- and county-wide problem. To adequately run the shelter, $150,000 is needed to pay wages, buy medication and vaccinations. The shelter cannot be run with volunteers alone and we do not have the resources to provide decent wages and benefits for employees.
Volunteers have donated so many hours and supplies already this year. We had a life and free time before this was dumped in our laps and want some of that time back for our families.
The building in question was purchased and remodeled for cats and dogs by a prominent veterinarian, local companies and individuals. It needs many things done to upgrade it today. We do not have funds to do so.
Thank you, thank you, to all the various individuals and companies who have supported us with money for medicine, for food and supplies (we never have enough kitty litter) and the wonderful outside dog runs.
Please call your council members (and do it quickly) and enforce your support of the shelter!
P.S. Approximately 100 dogs and cats are being adopted per month. Way over the amount of the previous administration. The beautiful living beings deserve a chance. Volunteers have manned the shelter through snowstorms and holidays and it's time for the county and city to support us with the funds we deserve.
Lynne Vining, Warsaw
Animal Shelter
Editor, Times-Union:I don't want to see anymore taxpayer money given to the Animal Welfare League until they come up with a sensible and workable plan to deal with all the animals they take in. You can't take in 3,000 animals and only adopt out 500. At the end of the year you have 2,500 animals in the shelter. At the end of two years you have 5,000 animals. While I applaud the intentions and compassion of the members of the AWL, they need to be more realistic about running an animal shelter.
There is a reason animal shelters euthanize a very large percentage of the animals they take in. If the $180,000 bequeathed to care for animals is used to build a new shelter to house hundreds of animals, just the cost of feeding and caring for them will be prohibitive.
Also, people should not be encouraged to adopt animals. If they don't really want a pet, they shouldn't have one. We already have too many animals running around loose, tearing up stuff and killing wildlife. Many people adopt cute dogs and after the cuteness wears off, the poor dog is relegated to the back of the backyard and without any attention. Just barks all day. If people aren't willing to spend a fair amount of time with their animal every day, they shouldn't get one.
What should be encouraged is to have people who really want a dog to get it from the animal shelter instead of from a pet shop or a puppy mill. I have had dogs most of my live and have found crossbred dogs generally make better pets and require fewer trips to the vet than purebred dogs (which often have too much in-breeding). If you don't show your dog or use it for breeding, the only reason to own a purebred dog is so you can brag to your friends that it is registered. If you just want a dog to be a friend and companion, go the animal shelter and get one.
I would like to see the AWL's long-range plan printed in the Times-Union. Things like how long an animal will be kept if it is not adopted out. What is the maximum number of animals to be kept at any one time? How many employees and how many volunteers will it take to make sure the animals get the proper care? What is the projected budget? With this information people can make an informed decision about how much help the shelter should receive. This decision should not be made on emotions alone.
Dick Jaynes, Warsaw, via e-mail
Unfair Criticism
Editor, Times-Union:In rebuttal to the letter on Animal Welfare, I would like to ask the authors if they know the entire story behind the decision the County Council made last week. Were they at the meeting or are they just hearing and/or reading only part of the facts?
Did they bother to call any of the Councilmen before writing their letter? Do they know any of the Councilmen? Do they know they have fine, upstanding men sitting on the board?
Do they know the work these men do for the county? Do they know the hours spent trying to balance the budget so all of the community gets their needed share and rights? Do they know what a difficult job it is to please all departments fairly? Do they know the stress these Councilmen are under trying to hold down our taxes?
I can only speak for my husband, but do they know how much he loves and admires animals? Did they bother to find out any answers to these questions or did they just rashly write a letter off the top of their emotions asking for voters to elect different representatives.
The residents of Kosciusko County have Councilmen who are upstanding, honest men in our community and I am proud to have them represent us and serve the needs of our county.
Karen Tranter, Syracuse
Solicitations
Editor, Times-Union:We try to be generous and charitable but our mailbox is bombarded daily with subtle and sometimes direct requests for $10, $15, $20, $25 or hopefully more. In many cases, they send Christmas cards, Thanksgiving cards or return address labels, etc. Of course this is intended to establish some obligation and or guilt if one doesn't respond. I won't attempt to name all of the solicitors but some are: Wildlife Preservation, Boy's Town, Indian Reservations, saving of small animals, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Disabled Veterans of America, American Legion, solicitations for numerous types of cancer (local, state, national), Alzheimer's, Macular Degeneration (eyes), United Fund, Salvation Army, Aid for the Homeless, Red Cross, etc. This is of course only a partial list. Can't help but think of all the postage dollars being spent. The constant bombardment of these solicitations concerns me as there is a danger of becoming callous to these needs and could truly hurt the very donations they are seeking. I also wonder about the authenticity of these solicitations.
I don't know the answer to the above dilemma, but I feel there must be a better way, even though there is the excellent United Way program and local charities.
Leo D. Kerber Sr., Leesburg
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