End in site for Calcasieu Parish gas chamber

Calcasieu Parish Animal Services and Adoption Center proposes to transition to all lethal injection as a method of humane euthanasia with its 2007 budget submittal to the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury. The National Animal Control Association, as well as the American Veterinary Medical Association, agree that a properly delivered lethal injection is the most humane method available for unwanted shelter animals.

Due to the tragedy of pet over population, millions of animals are euthanazied each year in this country, over 8,000 in Calcasieu Parish alone. The Animal Shelter has the responsibility to employ humane euthanasia techniques exclusively, ensuring a painless and rapid death for every unwanted animal. While always trying to follow the guidelines of the AVMA, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury has to take into consideration the effect this change would have on the staff. A three-month pilot program has proven successful and acceptable. Louisiana State Law requires employees using Sodium Pentobarbital to be certified by the Board of Veterinary Medicine at the LSU Veterinarian School. The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury Animal Services and Adoption Center has 65 percent of its current staff certified as Animal Euthanasia Technicians. The Police Jury offers compassion fatigue training for all staff members and recognizes the difficult task each employee performs when euthanizing.

In support of the Animal Shelter, the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is providing a grant to help pay for renovations to the shelter and purchase necessary equipment to complete the transition. The new work area will provide a quiet and peaceful area for the staff and the animals.

The Police Jury and the staff at the Animal Shelter recognize the growing problem of unwanted animals and believe that through continued public education on responsible pet ownership, increased adoptions, and low-cost spay/neuter programs, all required euthanasia can be reduced. Please help support your agency by considering adopting an animal.

Thank You!!

Milo, another JRT still missing from Katrina

This photo was taken at Best Friends in Tylertown in September, 2005. We believe the white dog in the center could be Milo. Jane and I have spent many months trying to get concrete information about this photo from various sources and for some strange reason, no one knows anything about this dog! If you volunteered at Tylertown and remember this dog (or either of the other two in the pen) or rescued this dog and brought it to Tylertown, or anything else, please contact Jane at 3jax@jam.rr.com and/or me at noanimalleftbehind@gmail.com or feel free to post an anonymous comment here. Thank you!

To all Union County (NC) Animal Advocates:

This email was sent to me a few minutes ago by a resident of Union County, NC:

A friend sent me your blog on the gas chamber in Union County, NC. I live in that county. Currently we're trying to get the shelter turned into a no-kill shelter. The gas chamber would be history. We're going through the county commissioners because they are Sheriff Cathey's boss. No one else.

Now for my request. Below is the announcement calling on all residents of this county who care for the animals to write to the commissioners. If you can post it, great. If not, that's okay too. The only way we're going to get a change is to get the commissioners attention. With enough letters we'll do it.

Here is the link to the original blog post.

To all Union County (NC) Animal Advocates:

In the past couple weeks there were a series of articles in the Enquirer Journal about the Union County Animal Shelter. The County Edge also had an article. Below are a few quotes from the articles.

Far too many animals are being killed at this shelter. There is a solution. It's called the "No-Kill Solution". Here are two links.
A video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1r9GJ_N7WU
The web site: www.nokillsolutions.com

What is needed are letters to the County Commissioners asking for a Special Meeting with the animal advocates of Union County. Write to all five; you can copy & paste. Be polite but tell them it's urgent that this situation be addressed by a special meeting. State the town you're from so they know you live in Union County. Their email addresses are below.

Feel free to give this to any/all animal lovers in Union County. We need this meeting and if the commissioners hear from enough people they'll respond. Please write this week, and next week send another one.

from Saturday, Dec. 16th Enquirer Journal:
The odds aren’t good for the strays. Ninety percent of the cats that end up in the shelter are killed; 74 percent of dogs are destroyed. But there are just too many animals coming in, Tucker said, and it’s impossible for all of them to go back out. It’s not about adoption, he said.

My comment: The new shelter has around 100 dog kennels. Captain Bill Tucker's statement,"It's not about adoption" might explain why there are only 11 kennels allotted for adoptable dogs. They don't even keep those 11 kennels full.

from Tuesday, Dec. 19th Enquirer Journal:
Back when the shelter was run by the Union County Health Department, most of the employees earned between $21,729 and $32,593 a year. That’s the salary range for an animal shelter attendant, of which there are three.

Deputies are a little more expensive, both because of their training and the implied risks of a law enforcement job. Deputies start out at $31,066 per year, and the Animal Control division has six, plus a lieutenant and a sergeant. All told, the personnel budget, including those
salaries plus benefits like paid vacation and health insurance, totaled $514,926 for the 2005/2006 fiscal year. By contrast, the operations budget was $195,456, which kept the lights on and the animals fed, and covered the cost of veterinary care, medications and the general costs of running the facility, including the gas chamber.

My comment: As evidenced by the numbers above, there is plenty of money to run this shelter correctly, with the no-kill solutions program.

from Wednesday, Dec. 20th Enquirer Journal:
Commissioner Allan Baucom said e-mail has flooded his inbox from animal advocates from as far as Arizona, but he has heard very little about the problem from local residents."...he added that the Sheriff ’s Office is responsible for figuring out how to address animal over-population. “This is the sheriff’s responsibility. This has already been determined. They have the new facility and I’m of the opinion that we need to stay out of his business.”

My comment: We need let the commissioners hear from the residents of Union County. If we don't speak for the animals, who will?

Kevin Pressley mayorpres@aol.com He's the chairman
Roger Lane anhast@earthlink.net (be sure to reply to spam blocker)
Allan Baucom allan@baucomservice.com
Parker Mills parkerapmjr@aol.com
Lanny Openshaw lanny@carolina.rr.com