Take a look at these two pictures. This pretty dog was labeled “Rescue Only” by Director Lazar; this means she would not adopt the dog out to the general public. Fortunately, she was saved by the Humane Society of Midland County, and she was such a super star that Pets for Vets quickly scooped her up from them. Zoey is now a treasured service dog for a wounded warrior named Roman. What does “RESCUE ONLY” mean and why are so many GCAC dogs labeled “RESCUE ONLY”? RESCUE ONLY means that no one from the public can adopt the dog. In well run municipal shelters, this is a great route to take with a dog or cat that is fearful or needs medical treatment that the shelter cannot provide. In that case, a rescue organization takes the pet and provides extra socialization or vetting before getting them into their forever home. Some pets just need that extra help. However, at GCAC, a high percentage of dogs is labeled RESCUE ONLY. Lovely dogs who behave well with the volunteers and who have no identified medical issue are put on death row for no good reason. If no rescue is found quickly, the dog will be killed. Our hearts break when we wonder how many wonderful dogs have been killed at Director Lazar’s hands: Dogs that could have been cherished pets, assistance dogs for the disabled, or even a hero for a wounded warrior like Zoey is for Roman. Director Lazar has told the public that she does not kill dogs because of lack of cage space. Those killed are all unadoptable, in her mind. From January through August of 2014, Director Lazar killed 667 dogs or 46%; that is nearly half. Practically speaking, for every 2 dogs coming into the shelter, one will be killed. No properly run shelter in the state has these kinds of statistics. It is expected that around 10% of the incoming animals will need to be euthanized because of aggression or severe health issues. Clearly, Director Lazar is killing a large number of adoptable dogs either for convenience (fewer dogs mean fewer cages to clean), or because she is a terrible temperament evaluator. Neither option is good. How do we change this? Director Lazar answers to the Board of Commissioners. We need a Board that recognizes she is doing a terrible job and takes appropriate corrective steps. We have 3 County Commissioners that have been trying to make positive changes, but the other 6 squash their efforts at every turn. We need a majority of 5 animal friendly Commissioners in order to make positive change. Jamie Curtis, Tony Brown and Mike Lynch are ready to take action when the new Board takes over in January. These three are running unopposed in the November election and have told us that they are committed to improving GCAC. We need at least two more. Please vote on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 to elect Bryant Nolden in District 1, reelect Mark Young in District 5, and elect Jim Slezak in District 9. If you arent sure which district you live in, please see the map in the comments below. Thank you!
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 15:23:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015