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Dear Editor:
I am writing on behalf of myself and my family in support of the recent actions taken by the county commission regarding the Hancock County Animal Shelter. The shelter as operated by the foundation was turning people away because there was no space, which was due to a no-kill or low-kill policy.
If the foundation wishes to establish a shelter operated according to its own philosophy, it is free to do so with funds it raises itself. If it wishes to operate a county shelter supported by tax dollars, it must serve county residents and operate to the satisfaction of the county commission.
Our farm and three homes are the closest neighbors to the shelter. When the shelter turned away people, putting them on a “waiting list,” they sometimes would drive up the road and put the animals out at our farm or at one of our neighbors.
Some got killed on the road. Others went feral or probably were killed by coyotes. When we picked up these abandoned cats and dogs and took them to the shelter, they would try to put us on a waiting list. That obviously did not sit well since there was a good chance the shelter’s policy had caused the stray to end up on our doorstep.
I personally would have no objection to the foundation operating a no-kill shelter if the result was not that county residents were being turned away. The individuals who were employed there, who donated to the shelter, who volunteered their time, who served on the foundation board, were for the most part well-intentioned and are to be commended for their service and their compassion for animals.
However, they seemed unable to see the reality, that when people are turned away from a shelter that can humanely euthanize unwanted and often unadoptable pets, the result is that many of these animals will be disposed of in ways that are inhumane and uncompassionate. And, they forgot that by operating with tax dollars, their first duty was to serve the taxpayers. The shelter was failing in that duty.
There have been other serious areas of concern about the foundation and the operation of the shelter which I will not go into here. Suffice it to say that the county commissioners have for years heard complaints (from us and from many others we know) about the shelter as operated by the foundation. The commissioners have patiently tried to work out issues behind the scene because they had no desire to operate the facility. Solutions were not forthcoming, and commissioners were forced into taking over the shelter. Supporters of the foundation have heaped abuse upon them which they absolutely do not deserve.
Our family fully supports the county commission in taking over the shelter.
Fred Miller
New Cumberland