Pay it forward: Shelter project deserves support, if rules are changed

It’s not surprising that Wayne County residents are not rushing in blind to support a new animal shelter project in the county.

After raising more than $16,000 in support of the new construction, local groups and other volunteers have backed off a bit, waiting for more information.

They want the policies at the new shelter to be more humane, and for some safeguards put into place so that there will be more opportunity for adoptions and less of a need for euthanasia.

And they are right.

A new animal shelter with no provision for spaying and neutering and an aggressive, volunteer-supported adoption program will be nothing more than an expensive death house to send animals as they live out their last days.

The volunteers are realistic. They know not every animal will be or can be placed, but they want to make sure their money will be used, in part, to really address the causes of pet overpopulation and to match loving families with abandoned or neglected pets.

This is a community project worth supporting, and the commissioners seem willing to consider some changes there. So, it’s time to set the policies, plan fundraisers and make this shelter a reality.

Published in Editorials on August 3, 2006 12:29 PM