To the editor:
I have seen so many posts about people complaining about the Animal Shelter. I am here to offer a solution to you: Get involved! Donate and/or volunteer!
You can donate money to help with medications, food, litter, toys, blankets, food and water bowls, etc. You can donate your time to go up there and walk the dogs, see what their temperament is, work with them to see if they would be good with kids and other pets, play with them, bathe them, love them and teach them manners. Help to make them more adoptable. Play with the cats and kittens, show them love, feed them, let them know that they matter. Take pictures of all of the animals and share them with all your friends and tell them to share.
They work on a budget given to them by the county. They don’t get a lot so when someone says they can’t afford a $20 adoption fee, just remember that goes to help other animals in the shelter. If you cannot afford the adoption fee, then please do not get the animal. It costs to have a pet. Food, water, vet bills for shots, spay/neuter, emergencies, flea meds, heart worm meds, toys, blankets, grooming.
There are programs that do help with spay/neuter of cats and dogs. Please use those programs. There is no excuse to have an overpopulation of strays in this county because people say they cannot afford to spay/neuter their pet.
If you do not want to do that type of volunteering, how about doing transports of the animals that are lucky enough to be sent to a rescue. Can’t do that? Then donate money to the volunteers that do transport. They are not paid gas money so a donation would be great! Can’t do that? Then how about contacting rescues to ask them to take an animal so it doesn’t end up on Death Row. If, you can, contact the Humane Society and offer to foster and animal until it can go to a rescue.
There is something that everyone in this county can do to help instead of complaining. So instead of sitting back and waiting for someone else to step up and help, be the one who steps up and helps and encourages others to help.
Kim Hutchinson
Rockingham
