Tuesday August 2nd, 2016 Rosenberg, Texas, regular City Council meeting. Seven advocates that support saving the lives of dogs and cats spoke in front of the Mayor and the City Council for the fifth time.
In her opening speech, Claudine Vass, President of Fort Bend Pets Alive!, expressed frustration that she had to repeat her message since prior facts and statistical information have fallen on deaf ears. She emphasized “there are no kill shelters that are open admission animal control facilities. There is such a thing as a no kill shelter that supports euthanasia and saves 90% or more of the animals. Municipal no kill shelters achieve this goal by not warehousing animals.” Again, the drastic difference between the words “kill” and “euthanize” were communicated to the Mayor and the City Council.
Lorene Lindsey, a Rosenberg resident asked the same questions she had asked twice before. She was concerned about the lack of progress made on issues that are not conducive to saving the lives of animals and a lack of “genuine desire to improve the shelter.” The shelter is still operating without a volunteer program and a Shelter Director for almost the entire fiscal year. Ms. Lindsey made a reference to the Houston Press article “Lines Drawn in Battle over Rosenberg Animal Shelter” published on Aug 2nd, 2016. She expressed her disappointment and embarrassment as a Rosenberg resident. She urged the city to reach out to experts for help. She also urged the council to make the City of Rosenberg a leader in humane animal shelter management with moral leadership and solid action.
Beth Hammond, a Richmond resident was “hoping that some of the antiquated language from the previous year’s budget would be eliminated, but it (Proposed FY2016-2017 Budget) appears that the city once again is positioning itself to fail its citizens, their pets, and all of the homeless animals of Rosenberg.” She also exclaimed to the council that their policies are based on fear, not on facts. With rabies being almost obsolete in dogs and cats, animal control needs to join the national trend of adding compassion to animal control. Keeping our humanity is a choice. Kathryn Schilens from Sugar Land was stated she was “taking exception to being considered an outsider” because she is concerned about all of Fort Bend County. She urged the Council and the Mayor to be inclusive and not to insult rescues and citizens from other communities who make time to come offer help to the City of Rosenberg. Claire Dai McGaughey invited the Council and the Mayor to tour Friends for Life, a No Kill Shelter in Houston. Ingrid Otero, also from Sugar Land requested a step by step implementation plan with timelines and deadlines.
Animal lovers and Fort Bend Pets Alive! appreciated the opportunity to speak in front of the Mayor and the City Council of Rosenberg again. These groups are still very disturbed by the non-adoption friendly operating hours, the lack of advertised adoption events, improper and sub-standard medical care, improper staffing, lack of shelter management education, a continuous lack of moral leadership and lack of a genuine interest to change. With a close to non-existent volunteer program, the shelter has self-inflicted a bottle neck situation.
This situation can be fixed. It requires collaboration and broader thinking. Collaborative elements can trump physical resources in its power to save more lives. The ultimate goal of no kill should not be put off. There is no reason not to save lives! A smarter Rosenberg is a better Rosenberg.
About Fort Bend County Pets Alive! FORT BEND PETS ALIVE! is a non-profit, 501(C)3 organization, dedicated to helping make Fort Bend a no kill community through programs such as adoptions, education and community outreach, low cost spay and neuter surgeries, fostering, Positive Alternatives to Shelter Surrender (PASS), and promote rescuing from euthanasia list. ###