Roy Exum: Never Swat A Hornet’s Nest

  • Tuesday, June 16, 2015
  • Roy Exum
Roy Exum
Roy Exum

You’ve got to live under a rock if you aren’t aware by now that the Humane Education Society, which is the animal shelter for Hamilton County, is in deplorable and desperate condition. The better truth is the place has been a wreck for years, but now County Mayor Jim Coppinger has added $226,000 to the 2016 budget, fully funding the shelter’s urgent request just to keep it from being condemned.

But if the good-spirited souls at the Humane Society aren’t real careful, they’ll make a tragic mistake by “protesting” at tomorrow’s meeting of the County Commission. The shelter’s development manager, Taylor Hixson, is asking supporters to write letters to each commissioner. She is also asking that they meet between 8 a.m. and 9:30 tomorrow morning to "show the commissioners that Hamilton County wants homeless animals to have the second chance that they are so deserving of in a safe and comfortable environment."

Trust me, the county commission knows the situation is dire, so take a tip from me, I don’t believe I would swat a hornet’s nest with a straw broom. It is inconceivable any of the county commissioners would balk at Coppinger’s budget item if they took a look at the place. As Joe Graham pointed out after he took a look, “Employees and animals shouldn't have to work or live like that."

The Humane Society – yeah, I know I leave “education” out of the title, but this is the way in the South – has a far higher mountain to climb. The worst fact is that any dollar appropriated to the aging and decaying facility is throwing good money after bad. Brother, you can’t put lipstick on a corpse and believe it will walk again.

I’m not knocking the valiant way Bob Citrullo, his staff and his dear volunteers have done their very best, but the time has come to solve the Humane Society debacle. The obvious solution is for our county fathers to beg our city fathers to join Chattanooga’s world-class McKamey Animal Center.  I defy anyone to tour both the city and county animal shelter and not weep over the difference.

I have heard only one side of a sad story why the Humane Society scoffed at the notion of partnering with McKamey when the 10-acre parcel of land was first acquired and being developed, so let’s just say one huge mistake has already been made by the county. Now they are paying dearly while Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke is determined to keep the McKamey complex one of the best in the nation.

A lot of feathers were ruffled when McKamey first opened and a former Humane Society director sent several truckloads of animals over on the first day, claiming they were “city” dogs and cats. McKamey took them all, of course, but it was blatantly ruthless and stupid. Another tip: I’d figure a clever way to apologize before I begged the McKamey people to consider some kind of partnership.

The only other option for the county is to build a free-standing center. If that’s to be, development director Hixson better be saving her bullets. While it appears the Humane Society will get its sizable increase, wait until the Humane Society supporters ask for a new facility and the yearly amount the city allocates to McKamey. To cop an old comic-strip line, "There are not enough letters in the word NO to express the no-ness of my answer."

Honestly, stray dogs and cats are at the bottom of the food chain just about everywhere you go. While countless thousands of us not only love our pets and will do just about anything for another animal, the pressing priorities of the county is why past administrations and former commissioners have simply looked the other way. There is just so much money in the till.

In recent years society has taken a more tender look at the welfare of our animals. There is tremendous pressure on dog-fighting, soring horses, and other sadistic behavior. The FBI is even in the process of raising animal abuse to Level One status, its criminal profilers convinced those who torture animals will eventually do the same to humans.

I believe that the people of Hamilton County would help raise money for a permanent solution to the Humane Society crisis and I further believe the county commissioners will no longer allow their animal shelter to fall into such condition it very well should be condemned unless immediate remedies are undertaken.

But until everyone joins forces, saving money by combining services but each willing to pay the freight, the lives of animals are in the balance. Don’t believe it? Go to 212 North Highland Park Avenue like Commissioner Graham did and see for yourself.

And if you feel so very compelled to go to the Hamilton County Commission meeting tomorrow, just say thanks and leave it at that. Save the bullets until later, because real soon we are really gonna need them.

royexum@aol.com

 

 

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