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July 28, 2010

FLASHPOINT: There are better ways to help the animals

Anonymous ---- The Tribune Star Wed Jul 28, 2010, 11:00 PM EDT

I retired from the Terre Haute City Police Department in 2008. From then until 2010 I worked for the city as an Animal Control Officer. As soon as I started I knew that I was dealing with the same people that I had dealt with as a police officer.

I have a love for animals, especially for dogs. And for the hundreds of dogs that I picked up I can only remember a couple that were truly mean animals. Many of the calls I was sent on were cases where people would move out of a house or apartment and leave their pets, many had starved or frozen to death. I would locate many of these people and cite them for city court on charges of neglect or cruelty. With the assistance of the prosecutor’s office these charges would be bumped up to a higher charge. Still, there was hardly any jail time for these offenders, the lack of space at the jail being the problem. I guess I could blame county officials for not planning for more space for prisoners when they knew they had a problem 25 years ago.

In our city, we have several animal-rights groups. Some want to help these neglected animals, some to find ways to euthanize them cheaper and more frequently. Do we really have a terrible stray dog problem? I don’t think so. I could drive some days for hours and not see a stray dog. We do have a terrible “people” problem in the city.

The one mainstay in our city is the Humane Shelter. These folks work wonders in what they have to work with. I have taken them sick, abused and scared dogs. I have watched these animals nursed back to health, socialized, and given out to good homes. I have seen volunteers like Toni, Jessica, Sharon, Susan, Kim and many others that give their free time to work with these animals so they can find a good home. Steve Brown and his staff at the Humane Shelter really care about the animals taken to the Humane Shelter.

When election time rolls around in our fair city, find the person who wants to help these dogs and cats instead of finding ways to euthanize them cheaper, then vote for that person. If you’re an animal lover ask the person who wants your vote how they feel about how they are going to deal with strays. I know that there are plenty of animal lovers in our city to get the right people in office to do what’s right for the animals.

It would be great if all the different groups worked together instead of the constant fighting that takes place. The T.N.R. (trap-neuter-release) group can be a great thing if they followed their own outline that is required of them. Hundreds of cats have been spayed or neutered since this organization began. They make a difference. This same group wants the Humane Shelter to euthanize more animals so more can be brought in, and that makes no sense.

Many elected officials only want the shelter to house an animal three days, then euthanize them. If I would happen to go out of town and my dog somehow got loose, and when I returned home to find out my dog had been euthanized because I never made it to the shelter in three days, I think I would be really upset at someone.

Do I have an answer for the problem? I sure do.

Get the City Council and the County Council as well as the prosecutor’s office together and pass ordinances that, number one, make it a violation to advertise free animals in any newspaper; two, if convicted of any violation of neglect, abuse or cruelty to an animal you will not be allowed to own another animal; three, a high special tax on all puppy mills; and four, jail time for any offender convicted when the charged is bumped up by the prosecutor. Only the threat of jail time or really getting into their pockets will help cure the problem.

I have left my job as an animal control officer and I really miss helping dogs and cats. I truly believe that something as loyal, loving and wonderful as a dog just has to have a spirit. If you see me out sometime, ask me and I’ll tell you why. The Humane Shelter is a wonderful place and the true heroes of the world are the volunteers who help them.

— Jerry Arney

Terre Haute

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