This is an article that I receved in an e mail that I feel everyone should read.As someone who has seen first hand what a tragedy over population and irresponsable pet ownershop can cause,I can really appreciate what these wonderful people are trying to do>
AnimalTalk Comment: This guy has guts and deserves our thanks and praise for what he has done.
While witnessing euthanasia (a euphemism for "killing") of a healthy, adoptable, homeless animal may cause great discomfort for many people, it is something that every single one of us should have to witness. This dog died because of the ambivalence of the silent majority towards the plight of homeless animals and the absolute need for spay/neuter. Population control. You don't have to KILL an animal that never was born. Isn't that a better approach? Why are so many people totally ignorant of the unacceptablyhigh cost of overpopulation?
Because they've never had to really face thetruth. They've never had to watch the taking, the wasting, of an innocent life. They have their heads in the sand. Benign neglect, but, nevertheless,NEGLECT. And it is costing millions of innocent animal lives and untold suffering.
Wake up America! While we are breeding our butts off and "witnessing the miracle of birth", beautiful, healthy, adoptable homeless animals are dying to make room for more beautiful, healthy, adoptable homeless animals. What is so very wrong with this picture? Let's take brush-in-hand and repaint it.
Information on how to contact the Sheriff is listed at the end of the article.PLEASE, take the time to let this man know that we understand and truly appreciate what he is trying to do. Then, do something yourself. One-by-one let's do something. Now. PLEASE.
<98-08-23> Collie Goes to Sleep, Awakens Community
By Sue Anne Pressley, Washington Post Staff Writer - Sat,
Aug 22, 1998
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The black-and-white dog did not know it had only seconds to live, but television viewers did. A warning already had informed them they were about to witness something graphic and shocking: the death of a homeless pet.
As the program unfolded on a public-access channel here, an attendant at the Guilford County Animal Shelter gently patted the dog's paw. The insertion of the deadly needle was not shown. But the dog, a 35-pound collie mix about 4 years old, swiftly crumpled over, its eyes closed, and became one of 40 unwanted animals put to death at the shelter that day and one of an estimated 6 million to 8 million in the United States each year.
The broadcast was, according to animal protection groups, a television first. And its re-airing every Friday night this month has brought a burst of international attention to the issue of spaying and neutering cats and dogs and to the man behind the radical measure, BJ Barnes, the sheriff of Guilford County here in central North Carolina.
"It was born out of frustration. The only thing I wanted to do was let people in Guilford County know they've got to do better," said Barnes, 47, a Republican who eschews the use of periods with his initials. "I didn't startout trying to be the poster child for spaying and neutering."
But the message certainly hit home. On the morning after the ground-breaking segment of his show, "Sheriff's Beat," first aired on Aug 7, people lined up outside the county shelter, waiting for it to open so they could pick out new pets. Adoptions are up 300 percent, he said. Local veterinarians are reporting more inquiries about spaying and neutering. And Barnes, a 6-foot-7, ex-Marine with a distinctive approach to his job, has found himself explaining his cause on radio talk shows and television programs around the world.
Somewhat to his surprise, support for the televised euthanasia has been overwhelming, he said, with animal protection groups applauding his guts in showing the unvarnished truth about what happens to unwanted pets. Only about 10 people have protested the death on camera, he said, disturbed about the possible impact on children.
"The important thing is that people understand the message he was trying to get across; not that the local animal shelter destroys animals, but that the community produces animals for which there are no homes," said Leslie Sinclair, a veterinarian who is director for companion-animal care at the Humane Society of the United States in Washington.
There are an estimated 66 million cats and 58 million dogs living in American homes, according to the 1996 National Pet Owners Survey, but no one knows exactly how many others roam the city streets and rural expanses of the country. Everyone realizes there is a serious problem. Sinclair estimates that at any one time there are 40 million to 60 million free-roaming cats alone. Local animal shelters and animal protection groups have tried a variety of tactics to alert the public. The San Mateo, Calif.,humane society, for example, launched a campaign a few years ago showing barrels full of destroyed animals in posters and public service announcements, Sinclair said. But the sad fact remains: About 75 percent of the dogs and cats that end up in shelters are put to death.
Euthanasia is a controversial and distasteful subject, but animal control officials say there is little choice as long as the unwanted pet population is out of control. Still, the city of Las Vegas is trying to move toward a "euthanasia-free program," spokeswoman Cathy Hanson said, by promoting low-cost adoptions and requiring spaying and neutering before an adoptive family gets custody of the animal. A recent audit showed that from 1995 to 1997, animal adoption rates there increased from 14 to 43 percent, while euthanasia rates decreased by about 20 percent.
Barnes, who was given temporary control of the Guilford County shelter June 30 after several of its key officials resigned, was shocked when he learned that 10,000 of the 13,000 dogs and cats there last year had to be killed. There is only space for about 175 animals at any one time.
"Our biggest problem is our stray pet population and irresponsible pet owners," said sheriff's Capt. David Powell, whom Barnes put in charge of the shelter. "So many people let them run loose and figure, 'Those nice people will find Fluffy a home.' But Fluffy ends up in the third barrel on the left." As in many animal shelters across the country, adult dogs and cats in Guilford County are kept for five days, Powell said, then killed if no one claims or adopts them. Although part of the adoption fee, about $65 for a dog, includes free spaying or neutering with a local vet, only about 57 percent of the adopters take advantage of the service. Texas, like Las Vegas, has made it mandatory for a new owner to get a shelter pet spayed or neutered, and other states are following suit. Barnes said several factors contribute to the reluctance to spay or neuter an animal. Much of it has to do with ignorance, he said, recalling a man who once commented to him that he did not need to do anything because he only owned male dogs. Other misconceptions are that the dog or cat, like its human counterparts, will suffer for a week after the procedure, he said, when the fact is, the animals recover within 24 hours. Barnes already had the venue for alerting the public, having launched "Sheriff's Beat" eight months ago. Each month, the program focuses on a single topic, such as domestic violence & includes regular features, like the department profiles, where he interviews employees about their jobs & asks whom they would most like to eat dinner with, living or dead. During the animal shelter segment for August, Barnes devoted 14½ minutes to discussion of the unwanted pet population and the need for spaying and neutering. Then the death scene was shown, lasting about 25 seconds. In his four years as sheriff, Barnes, a former deputy, has made a name for himself around the state. He has put formerly idle county inmates to work, growing crops & building doghouses for people who can't afford them, among other things; reduced crime by as much as 9 percent a year; & raised thousands of dollars for Special Olympics & other causes with community events such as "Stupid Sheriff Tricks," fishing tournaments, drag races & tugs of war. Last year, he challenged Sheriff Gerald Hege of neighboring Davidson County & Oliver L. North, the former Iran-contra operative & Freedom Alliance founder, to a charity "shootout." "I beat them both like bad children," he said. An animal lover, Barnes still gets a little choked up when he talks about his late Doberman, Duchess, admitting he never thought he would keep a 5-by-7 photograph of a dearly departed dog on his shelf at home. He now has another Doberman named Diamond. "I'm not afraid of anything that walks," he said, "but I still cry when I watch 'Ol' Yeller.'" He described the deaths of the shelter cats & dogs as "a dirty little secret nobody was willing to tell." As sheriff, who in North Carolina answers only to the citizens, he did not have to get permission from the county commissioners or any other governing body to show the dog's death. But he knew that in an election year, he was taking a considerable gamble & true to his prediction, his Democratic opponent, former deputy Sandra Russell, has accused him of staging the televised death as "a political ploy." Barnes said that tactic backfired when supporters rallied to his defense. Stewart David of Asheville, outreach coordinator for the North Carolina Network for Animals, an animal rights group, even wrote a letter to the editor that was published this week in the Greensboro Daily News, praising Barnes for publicizing the truth about stray animals."It's not pretty, but people really do need to know," David said in an interview.
.If anyone wants to thank sheriff Barnes, here is his address & phone number:
Sheriff B.J. Barnes
P.O. Box 3427
Greensboro, NC 27402
(336) 373-3694
Fax (336) 333-6729
Or you can Email to Deputy Chris Reece of the Guilford County sheriff's
department at gcsd234@gte.net
