Tue
May 8 2007
09:56 am
Blount County Animal Control and New Shelter
By: Mello

Today there is another Animal Control Committee meeting.

So let's try to get up to date with where we are now on this Blount County issue.

~The county commission has approved a 350K loan to Smoky Mountain Animal Care Foundation to get the basic shelter built.

~The county is allowing this shelter to be placed on county land and in the end, the county will pretty much own the building and the land.

Animal Control enforcement duties for Blount County will still be provided by the County but the housing, care and adoption of these animals will be provided by the new shelter.

Much like the Young Williams model with some changes. For operation details check out the presentations at (link...)

At this point is sure seems like they are working on the details and here is where you all can help! This shelter and it's services are currently being targeted to Blount County's non-incorporated areas. That means if you live in Alcoa or Maryville and your doggie should happen to wander off and be picked up by the City, it won't be taken to the new shelter.

Lost pups, stray dogs and wandering cats have no idea if they are wandering in the City or in the County. For this reason alone you folks in the cities should pick up the phone, call city hall and say you want your city to join in with the new Animal Shelter! No way, no how will these cities change what they do now if the citizens don't speak out.

Animal Control duties can and should stay with the cities but the care and placement of those unwanted and misplaced animals can be done by this new shelter.

Pick up the phone.

Go to the meetings.

Raise a few bucks to help get this thing going.

In the end, your pup will thank you for it.

And so will the rest of us.

Animal Control Committee meeting
Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 5:00 p.m.
Room 430, Blount County Courthouse

Topics:
R. Neal's picture

Now that you mention it,

Submitted by R. Neal on Tue, 2007/05/08 - 11:49am.

Now that you mention it, where do Alcoa and Maryville take their strays?

Mello's picture

Maryville's Shelter

Submitted by Mello on Tue, 2007/05/08 - 1:17pm.

(link...)

and I am being kind here R. We can do better and it can be done with a mix of county money and private funds.

rikki's picture

Maryville has its own

Submitted by rikki on Tue, 2007/05/08 - 2:23pm.

Maryville has its own shelter, which they were allowing Blount Co to use for years at considerably less cost than the demand the county placed on the shelter. When the city finally upped the charge (after many warnings that it would be necessary), the county decided it could do it cheaper on its own, thus leading to the current scramble to get something built while they contract month-to-month with Loudon or Monroe Cos. Maryville subsequently fired one of its animal control officers because they had no money to pay him, and the county hired him, apparently to shuttle strays to Loudon Co.

Not sure about Alcoa.

Mello's picture

Almost Rikki

Submitted by Mello on Tue, 2007/05/08 - 3:10pm.

It was a combination of events that lead to where the county is now. Yes, the city wanted more money. But tell me how many folks in the country go into the city to dump animals?

"let's take Fido and her pups out to the country and some nice farmer will take them in.."

NOT. I am sick of having animals dumped on my road!
Sorry, but out here at the Lazy K we are seeing more and more pups and cats being dumped!

The proposals for joint private - county run shelter started well before the county quit using the city pound. That had less to do with money the county was spending than quality of care and controlling the problem of unwanted litters.

Then the city again demanded more money and we had an election. The new CC's promised to keep costs in line and one way they did that was to say no to the City.

So we went without County animal control for a while. Then the county hired a guy, got a truck from BCSO and worked an agreement with Loundon County to house those strays picked up in the County. Not so much because it was simply cheaper but it was a band-aide fix until a long term solution could be found.

Residents of Friendsville, Alcoa, Maryville and Rockford saw no change in service because those areas have agreements with the Maryville Shelter. Alcoa has it's own AC officers and those animals go to the MAS. MAS picks up in the other towns. Only we in unincorporated areas saw that temporary end to pick up of strays.

Now we as a county are looking at this wonderful joint venture! It needs to happen. And again, I will point out dogs have no idea if they are wandering in the city or the county.

And yes, a no-kill shelter would be wonderful. But not with my tax money.

rikki's picture

I know all about the

Submitted by rikki on Tue, 2007/05/08 - 3:57pm.

I know all about the problem. Stray dogs come through the woods near my house in Rockford frequently. I have no idea whether they are abandoned or just on an adventure. The dairy farm across the street seems to have the traditional barn cat population, which means there are always feral cats wandering across the road. Right now there is at least one male regularly visiting my house trying to filch food from my cats' bowl, which wouldn't be too big a deal but for the fact that he keeps spraying my porch. He had a huge wound on his neck, and one of his eyes won't close because his eyelid is scarred. These farm cats are completely wild, no hope for adoption even if they were nursed to health and fixed. I'd prefer not to have any cats out here, yet I have three, two rescued as kittens by friends and one older cat that was going to be abandoned.

I keep hoping the coyotes will take care of the porch sprayer, but no such luck. Are you saying there is someone in Rockford I can report the feral cats to? I can trap or shoot them myself, but not without a whole of guilt and loathing.

Mello's picture

ferals

Submitted by Mello on Tue, 2007/05/08 - 5:58pm.

At this time the only group I know in Blount County that deals with feral cats can be found at arfnets.org and I don't think MAS picks up cats for anyone, ever. I know in the big wish list for the new shelter there is a feral program.

Our big barn cat is a feral who was trapped, fixed and then released back in my field. I can not tell you if this is the only way they do this or not but my guess is that it is.

Don't shoot 'em... you know what can happen...

(link...)

If folks would fix their danged pets to begin with then we could reduce how many are put down. It is just that simple.

What is not simple is that of all the states we have lived in TN is the worst for folks thinking their dogs have the right to roam at will. I nearly had to knock a neighbor out because she allows her dogs to run. Run they did, right up on my porch after me and my old cat. Glad that witch moved last week....

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