READ BELOW LETTERS FROM MASON COUNTY OFFICIAL AND ASSOCIATED PRESS QUOTE AND COMPARE WITH SHELTER DIRECTOR'S REMARKS ABOVE:Save A Dog & KidsDate: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 21:43:23 -0400Subject: Mason County CrisisCommissioners and Legislators of WV,I have heard about the decision to slash the funding for the Mason County Animal Shelter and discontinue cooperation with rescue groups who are trying to find homes and other rescues for them and transport them to safety.The former is tragic, all the more because the state has shirked the responsibility of holding West Virginia residents responsible for their carelessness about animals, and has caved to the veterinarian lobby that makes animal care unaffordable and causes the crisis to spiral. West Virginia could turn it around with fortitude and commitment. If your citizens had access to affordable care for their animals and consequences for not using it, municipal shelters would not be dumped on so badly and the budget crisis would be eased.The latter is appalling and mean-spirited. With so many people donating time, money and supplies to help the Mason County animals, this decision to not work with rescues is animal cruelty. If compassion and openminded thinking is in such short supply in West Virginia leaders, West Virginia will continually come in last in stature and respect compared to other states. Other states are working to make euthanasia more humane and more creative ways to foster spay/neuter programs and reduce the animal overpopulation problems. It takes no talent or intelligence to be callous and myopic; the greater accomplishment is dealing with the problems head-on WITH compassion and embracing new ideas and solutions. I hope you will want to find a better solution and not be satisfied with a solution that is so repulsive.At the end of the day we all have to live with our consciences. If you do this, you will be ashamed for the rest of your life. State officials have a responsibility to lead and provide an example and try to make our world a better place to live. You are certainly setting an example but of cruelty not kindness, and not the example that I would want for my children. Seeing that in a third-world county would not surprise me, but not here. I'd like to know how you will sleep at night when you know a dog or cat is being thrown in a gas chamber to die slowly and horribly. I challenge you to go watch it and see if you feel good about yourself then, not dodge the reality and impact of your decision.This will not go away. The media is watching. If you stick with this terrible decision I look forward to the spotlight landing squarely on you and showing the world that you had a chance to do the right thing and did not. Please turn this around before it is too late and make a decision about which you can be proud and not ashamed.Thank you for listening, and for respecting the animals who do not make a conscious decision to reproduce and did not cause this crisis.Janet BellCatonsville, MD"You don't throw a whole life away just because it's banged up a little" (from the movie "Seabiscuit")
"The moral progress of a nation can best be judged by the way it treats its animals." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals" ~ Immanuel Kant--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rick Handley <rhandley35@yahoo.com>
To: sweet2th@juno.com
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 19:24:40 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Mason County Crisis
Ms. Bell,
You have been grossly misinformed,and that is why I have been answering emails since 3:00 today. We stated yesterday that our dogs in the shelter at this time have 14 days before they will be put down. It was never said to put them down immediately. I would be
answering this situation just like you did if this were the case. I have received many responses back that have thanked me for giving them the correct information. We've also received several requests concerning rescue groups coming in, as early as tomorrow or Friday to pick up 30 dogs, which is great. I have a dog of my own, my oldest daughter has a dog and a cat that came from the shelter, so I hope I've
set the record straight. I appreciate your concern. I've talked to several media people about this situation and they said they were told differently. I hope this has helped.
Rick Handley--Mason County Commissioner--------- Forwarded message ----------From: sweet2th@juno.comTo: Rhandley35@YahooDate: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 23:56:45 -0400Subject: Mason County CrisisMr. Handley,I accept your explanation. The truth is probably somewhere in between. One scenario I can imagine is "gas immediately" would also sound like "tomorrow" to me if I was constantly threatened with budget cuts and to stop working with those annoying rescues. We rescues are willing to help, we just want a chance, and also the acknowledgement that it IS a worthwhile endeavor to give us a chance to help.Now, I want to know what is West Virginia going to do about the root cause of the problem? The West Virginia residents appear to not think there is any need to vet their animals to prevent overpopulation. They seem to think they are entitled to do that, and when it gets out of hand, that they are equally entitled to dump them on the state. Why doesn't the state think that there's something wrong with that? And why does the state seem to think that there's nothing wrong with gassing? You wouldn't want your dog, or your daughter's dog, or your daughter's cat to be gassed, why is it acceptable for any other homeless animal? And why does a WV rescue group have to drive 3.5 hrs one-way to get low-cost spay and neuter? That is shameful, the veterinarians have people over a barrel. The rescue is motivated to make the trip, but John Q. Hatfield isn't and says "oh, well, they're 'just' animals, I can't afford it" and that's how the problem continues.BTW, just in case you want to know, I am currently fostering 3 cats from the Augusta, WV HS that I drove to Hagerstown to transport and which I've had for two months. I passed over helping MD strays to help these 3. They are delightful. They deserve a respected life. Euthanasia is tragic and we cannot save them all but we can be kinder. MD has it's own stray problems and we also have to euthanize but there's a concerted community effort to say "this isn't the way it's supposed to be, every animal should be wanted and every pet owner should be responsible--or not have pets". When someone wants to "experience the miracle of life" by having a litter, we say "fine, let's experience the miracle of death first, you go with us and pick out the ones that are going to die first and participate in the euthanasia". Usually "we are entitled" thinking evaporates when they are faced with reality.I am going to propose a shelter "Hall of Shame" where the shelter posts the list monthly of every person that dropped off animals that were not spayed and neutered. I am going to ask that newspapers publish it as a public service item. I think that negative publicity for both individuals and state officials and the bottomline are the only real motivators and the state will only start making progress when it realizes that it's more economical to help people control the animal overpopulation than it is to slaughter them.I will pass on your response to the other people that have received email so that you have the benefit of your explanation. However, I don't think it ends here. The state cannot just turn a blind eye ("it's always been that way") when it has a population that has ingrained beliefs that animals are readily expendable and don't deserve respect and courtesy.Thank you for responding.Janet Bell
Catonsville, MD
Companion Animal Rescue Alliance --- www.cara-adopt.org --- ".....Opening doors for homeless animals...."
"You don't throw a whole life away just because it's banged up a little" (from the movie "Seabiscuit")
"The moral progress of a nation can best be judged by the way it treats its animals." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals" ~ Immanuel Kant
--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rick Handley <rhandley35@yahoo.com>
To: sweet2th@juno.com
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 14:41:44 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Fw: Re: Mason County Crisis
Ms. Bell,
Our shelter will not allow an animal to leave to the public unless is is spayed or neutered. This is our County Policy. As you have stated, we can not control what other counties or across the river will do. That was also part of our problem until we corrected it that nobody from Ohio could dump their animal onto our shelter. We have 30 animals going out tomorrow or Saturday. Thanks again for your concern.Rick
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Posted on Wed, Aug. 04, 2004
Rescue groups try to save W.Va. dogs
Associated Press
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Animal-rescue groups across the nation are scrambling to find homes for nearly 100 cats and dogs at a West Virginia shelter, where they fear sudden budget cuts could lead to a mass gassing.
Judy Oliver, director of the Mason County Animal Shelter in Point Pleasant, and two employees resigned when told to get rid of 55 dogs and 40 cats within 14 days. That's more than five times the number of dogs killed in all of 2003.
"I couldn't do it," Oliver said Wednesday. "They told me to start yesterday, and I refused."
But County Administrator John Gerlach and County Commissioner Rick Handley said that's not exactly what they ordered. They said Oliver was told she could clear out the animals by adoption, rescue or euthanization. The suggestion that all be killed at once is both absurd and physically impossible, Gerlach said.
On Wednesday, the 42-pen facility had 80 dogs and 50 cats. The county wants those numbers cut to 25 and 10, respectively. From now on, no animal can stay more than 14 days. After that, it must be put down.
State law requires only a five-day stay.
"I don't understand how we got to be the villains in this," Gerlach said. "In some counties, as soon as the clock ticks five days, they start gassing."
Gerlach and Handley said they fielded angry calls from across the country as animal rescue groups spread e-mails Wednesday that contained some misinformation.
"I had a lady call me an ignorant hillbilly," Handley said. She apologized when he told her the animals had two weeks.
"We would like to not have to put any of them down," added Gerlach, challenging rescuers to "come and get 'em."
Now, groups from Utah to Pennsylvania are organizing drivers to pick up the animals.
"We understand they can't just warehouse animals. I'd put them down too, if it got too ridiculous," said rescuer Vicki Sayles of Doylestown, Pa., part of a network called Animal Underground. "But they should give you time to put out a plea."
Sayles' group brings animals to a PetsMart store in Montgomeryville, Pa., every Saturday from noon to 3 p.m., and West Virginia pets are quickly snatched up. On average, she said, about 50 people show up for 12 dogs.
"These particular dogs are really highly adoptable animals. They're loving animals that are usually lovingly taken care of," she said. "People stand in line, waiting for West Virginia dogs."
Denise De Vynck, director of Utah-based Save A Dog & Kids Inc., said animal rescuers had already been struggling to find homes for some 200 dogs at a shelter in Warren, Tenn., that was ordered to shut down for financial reasons. The Mason County crisis further strains the limited resources of volunteers from Ohio to Vermont.
"The same problem exists everywhere when you've got this overpopulation problem: You can't catch up and you can't get the manpower, and you just kill, kill, kill, kill," De Vynck said. "It's unbelievable what these elected officials create when they make these decisions."
Oliver said she returned from vacation Tuesday to learn her budget was being slashed from about $97,000 to $50,000, and her staff cut from six to three.
Though she's run the shelter for eight years, she began transporting dogs to other states only two years ago.
"I've had hundreds of dogs adopted this year already, just since January," she said. "Some of these dogs may not be the prettiest dogs, but there's somebody out there for every dog."
Oliver's animals usually end up in states with mandatory spaying and neutering laws, and, therefore, a shortage of puppies. In West Virginia, where there is no such law, she gets litters from the same dogs every six months.
"It's a vicious cycle," she said. "It's horrible, and no one will do anything about it."
De Vynck said most animal transport participants are volunteers using private funds. Oliver, however, was using public funds and employees in a county that can no longer afford it.
Gerlach said tax collections this year will be about $220,000 less than expected, and cuts must be made.
At the same time, the county is facing $250,000 more than expected in regional jail costs, plus huge increases in liability and employee health insurance.
"That money's going to come from somewhere," Gerlach said. "Our county just can't support all these things."
ON THE NET
Mason shelter: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/WV39.html
Save a Dog & Kids Inc.: www.weneedahome.net
www.saveadogandkids.org
saveadog@xmission.com
801- 225-6491
Please add a link to our site and give more kids a chance to have a relationship with a dog. Please feel free to duplicate our program in your community.
Please contact Missy at x5dogs@aol.com to save the rest of the dogs and cats still in the shelter. 60 were taken out thanks to rescuers and drivers from MA, PA and MD this past SAT.
The Parkersburg Humane Society really works hard to help the animals. The Brooke County Shelter also sent out a plea. When will this ever stop? There are not enough rescues in this area except for the East Coast rescues that are so far away. Let me know of all the rescues you know of and I will let them know abuot the animals in these overcrowded shelters. I posted all I could find out about these two new shelters in trouble on www.weneedahome.net last night but didn't have time to post all 203 animals in one, and the 50 in the other. I can't even keep track of what shelter has what anymore. Brooke County has puppies and had to start putting down. PUREBRED WHITE HUSKY, PUREBRED DOBERMAN, BEAGLES, BLOOD HOUNDS, JACK RUSSELS, RAT TERRIERS, FOX TERRIER, SAINT BERNARD AND MORE AT THESE SHELTERS.Also I keep sending the reporter Vicki with the AP that did the first story on WV shelters, but mostly focused on Mason information on NH PEter Marsh Spay/Neuter state Funding and how NC and NJ right now have animal Task Forces at the state level investigating how to improve their shelters and do Low Cost Spay/Neuter, I also copied the Governor, but never heard back. So keep sending info to the media and the Governor with all your contacts please so we can keep this problem in the forefront of their minds. "After the committee formed, member Barbara Summerlin started the North Carolina Animal Rescue Network e-mail list to facilitate discussion among the participants.“ Many people thought that a list like NCARN would not work. I didn’t believe it. You have proved my point that networking is the answer,” Summerlin told the list members on December 31. The NCARN discussion has helped to some extent to offset the frustration of participants with the high North Carolina shelter killing rate by providing a sense of accomplishment relative to history. Currently, North Carolina shelters are killing from 35 to 37 animals per 1,000 human residents of the state, according to recent estimates by New Hampshire attorney Peter March and staff of the Charlotte Observer. This is more than twice the U.S. national rate of 14.8, calculated by ANIMAL PEOPLE--but it is also just a seventh of the North Carolina shelter killing rate of 15 years ago, according to data published in 1989 by Justice for Animals founder Nancy Rich.
The highest known U.S. national rate was 115, circa 1970. --M.C." Thanks DeniseWV needs to do something about this pet overpopulation problem. Killing all the animals is not the solution, the animal population will keep exploding. They are concerned about only one thing and that is their budget. This pet overpopulation problem is costing them too much, so if they see that a Low Cost Spay/Neuter program would solve their budget concerns, they would be more likely to seriously look into it as a state. So keep reminding them of the tax dollars they can save and refer them to Peter Marsch in NH which I keep copying in our emails.Thanks for all the hard work all of you volunteers and rescuers are doing for these animals.Denise Come see the Urgent shelters in need at: www.weneedahome.netClay County Animal Shelter is still trying to move their animals to safe rescues.Barbour County Sheler is also moving their animals to safety.Marion County is also overflowing and trying to get them to safety!The Humane Society of Parkersburg, WV has 203 animals 152 kittens and some gorgeous puppies and dogsWebsite: http://www.hsop.org/Contact: rescues@hsop.org rescues @hsop.org (@hsop.org)Phone: 304-422-5541Fax: 304- 422- 5542Full vetting and transport assistance are available.BROOKE COUNTY HAS THE LITTER OF HOUND PUPPIES, CHI X, BORZOI X AND MORE VERY ADOPTABLE DOGS. (Around 50)If you can help, please contact Barb at smallpaws4u@comcast.net I know the shelter will do everything in their power to get these animals to safety but we all need to act fast!
Some of the dogs and cats are listed on their website at: http://www.petfinder.org/shelters/WV01.html
Any and all help would be appreciated! The shelter needs to be emptied out immediately!
