with it -- the kind of folks who regard all animal life as sacred as
human. The kind of people who are getting a little concerned when they
see the storm of controversy and scandal looming over the local animal
shelter, putting the fate of rescued animals in mortal jeopardy. These
are animals whose only crimes were being born due to human laziness for
not spaying or neutering their pets, adopted out of human ignorance for
not considering the constant commitment required to care for an animal
for 10 to 15 years or just plain getting lost.
I don't presume to understand the totality of the current situation
surrounding the shelter's woes. I only know what I read in the News-Press
and in the Community Forum and there seems to be plenty of blame to go
around.
On the face of it, it seems that an interim manager was brought in to
"clean up Dodge City," and was immediately cut off from city funds. This
was while the former director was still on paid administrated leave.
Color me stupid, but why stick bachelor No. 1 in the deep freeze
before he has a chance to pick up a pooper-scooper while retaining the
overseer of the alleged incompetence? Where's the logic in that? Why push
for someone to be brought in to suss out the damage and offer solutions
and immediately strip him of all financial support and stuff him into the
same cannon with individuals under investigation and light the fuse? Was
the city looking for a trouble shooter or a punching bag? What gives?
Now it seems the former director has finally been shown the
doggy-door. Something tells me we haven't heard the last of that story.
But the overall big issue of what to do with the animals -- you know, the
innocent ones with the integrity, has yet to be decided. The interim
director has submitted a budget proposal in excess of what the city has
paid in the past. Given the City Council's open mistrust of the current
board of directors, and it's well-documented, hysterical flair for the
knee-jerk dramatic, I can't imagine the proposal getting rubber stamped
any time soon until some wholesale changes are enacted. And the cycle of
everyone waiting for someone else to get off the dime will drag on as our
local shelter languishes in limbo.
Why should anyone care? I'll offer you this biased observation for
anyone unclear on what's at stake. Tonight, I will take to my bed and
pick up a book or one of my myriad car magazines to unwind my brain. An
enormous addition to this exercise in tranquillity will be a spotted, old
velvet hot water bottle named Boone coiled about my lower extremities,
and I will wallow in the luxury. Someone I have been in constant contact
with for 12 years, and still actually likes me. A lot.
How lucky can one man be? How lucky are we all to have such friendship
and devotion available with absolutely no strings attached?
Native Americans believed that when God split the world between animal
and man, the dog jumped over the chasm at the last second. It may just be
a charming anecdote, but one that shouldn't be lost on those turning
their backs on the current problem.
Note to all concerned: Whoever you are, whatever your position,
however daunting the problem, get over the petty fertilizer, forgive past
sins, guard against future ones and get the show back on the road. There
are a lot of gentle, generous souls who don't warrant punishment for a
situation not of their making, and they deserve better. Fix it. Now.
