Once upon a time, a group of citizens concerned about the decaying building housing the Humane Educational Society on Highland Park raised their voices in an outcry about the deplorable state of the HES facility and the over-population of unwanted and unspayed/unneutered cats and dogs in Hamilton County.
What happened then was that the City Council stepped up to the plate and provided some money which, along with much volunteer support and donations, built the McKamey Animal Shelter. Alas, the county mayor and other elected officials in the county saw no need to co-operate in the new shelter citing the deplorably inadequate facility on Highland Park as adequate for the county residents.
Many people still don't know that McKamey is only for city residents and that HES is only for Hamilton county residents. You must show ID to surrender an animal to the facilities.
So city dwellers have the state of the art McKamey Shelter, and the county residents have the beyond-repair facility on Highland Park. Many county residents supported and still support McKamey while HES falls apart.
Now the county's Humane Educational Society is talking of closing its doors for lack of funding. What facility for animal control will the county residents be able to use? Who will we call when we have an animal-related problem? We in the county seem to be back to square one.
Come on, county officials, finally step up to the plate as the city officials did and provide the leadership and funding for a decent animal shelter for the use of county residents.
Carolyn Longphre
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I went to the Humane Society to look for my lost dog many, many years ago. It was a horrible place. I have been back in the past few years to give a donation.
The previous leader came in and did a lot of cleanup of the facility and upgraded it as best he could. The current leader at the facility is doing an even better job of reaching out to the public to get donations to keep the place and its furry tenants going. They both did the best they could with what they had.
Chattanooga, it’s time to move forward and obtain a new facility to serve Hamilton County residents. There must be a building somewhere that we can repurpose. Please get behind this request from the Humane Society. We need them, they need us, and creatures great and small need the Humane Society.
We don’t want to lose Mr. Citrullo and the energy and new ideas he brings to what can be a heartbreaking profession. But what joy it brings when the lost ones find their forever home. Write or call your commissioner and ask for a new facility.
Karen Dale
Chattanooga
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Hamilton County was begged to join the city in the effort to build a new shelter that resulted in what is now the McKamey Animal Shelter. They couldn't be bothered and didn't want to make a financial commitment. So now, 10 years later, the building that should have been condemned years ago is once again falling down and the county, once again, won't do anything. Wake up citizens of Hamilton County, look at Bradley County's problems. This is where you are headed.
Max Pettit