To the Editor:

There has been recent news coverage and public discussion about the plans for the new Haywood County animal shelter, the need for a new shelter, and the impact of a new shelter on the county budget. We have been informed that the budgetary impact of the new shelter will not become a reality in the 2015-16 budget year.  

The planning for the shelter is being done by the Animal Services Advisory Committee, county commissioners and selected experts, but it is mostly behind the scenes. A needs assessment needs to done before the planners grapple with designing the basics. When there is a more firmly framed plan, a public hearing will be scheduled.

The needs assessment is a critical piece in the planning for a new shelter and must include facts, which include the numbers of animals, the pattern of ebb and flow of animals entering, staying, leaving, and being euthanized, how the work of (or lack of work) animal welfare nonprofits impacts the shelter past, present and future. It also needs to consider such pragmatic issues as current legal minimum standards of building a shelter in the 21st century, availability of water, sewer and power utilities. And it should include future needs that will allow our new shelter to operate for 20 to 30 years and will assure the health and safety of the animals and the people who work in the shelter.    

I’ve been advised that the needs assessment will not take place until late July, so now is the time for the public to let commissioners know what we expect to see, what we expect will change and what we want to be in place when the new shelter becomes a reality. Our taxpayer dollars will be paying for the new shelter, so it is only right that the resulting plans provide the services we believe will benefit the animals in our community.

Our current shelter is physically inadequate for the animals and the staff and has been for many years.

• High noise levels stress animals and people. (I’d be willing to bet OSHA noise standards for workers are not met.)

• There is not enough space to process animal intakes.

• There is no privacy for management and human resources work which makes for poor personnel management.

• Space to quarantine sick animals is non-existent. This practically assures that euthanasia is the go-to option for sick animals.

• Animal housing spaces, particularly for cats, are inadequate by modern standards and cause stress; which leads to illness; which becomes yet another reason to euthanize animals.

Although most households in the county have at least one domestic pet and there are large numbers of households that have many (all of whom can call on the department’s services), the budget for Animal Services is less than 1 percent of the county budget.

Our shelter staff is paid poorly and we get the service equivalent. This is evidenced by a high staff turnover of the shelter staff. The most recent open position has a salary of less than $24,000 per year. And the staff is supposed to be available 24/7!

County commissioners have refused for the last several years to hire an administrative person for the shelter. That means the phones aren’t answered for a large number of calls. It also means that shelter must be closed during the standard work day if animal services calls require all officers to be in the field. Some-thing must be done to keep the shelter open and responsive to the public during regular business hours. Volunteers?

The public does not get the service it expects because the staff is too poorly trained and there are too few of them.

We should be demanding that these issues be addressed at the same time the new shelter is planned because:

• Veterinary science, shelter management procedures and public awareness of animal welfare (particularly on abuse and euthanasia) issues has changed drastically in the last 20 years.

• Shelters around the country have evolved from the post-war dog pounds to true shelters where abandoned and stray animals can be cared for and released alive through adoption and/or foster care.  

• Shelters throughout the country are using innovative tools and public/private partnerships to address problems to increase live release rates.

• We need to have qualified animal services and operations staff in place who are committed to a humane approach in dealing with the community, the animals, and the owners and those who report problems, and who are willing to serve the community by finding non-lethal solutions to animal welfare issues.

Here is where government of, by and for the people begins. Let county commissioners know what you want for a new shelter, share your ideas and concerns at the twice-monthly meetings, at public hearings, or write to or email them. There are many of you who have volunteered at the shelter here or in our jurisdictions or have dealt with them as volunteers for animal welfare organizations who can use your experience to influence the ultimate product. 

Even our human services professionals should weigh in because they have knowledge on the impacts of animal/family abuse that should feed into policies and procedures. Without the benefit of the whole community's collective wisdom the county commissioners may not get a big enough picture to assure that we get our tax money’s worth in 2016-17 and beyond.  

Penny Wallace

Waynesville