Eye on the Street
Decatur Metro | July 16, 2012
DeKalb Animal Shelter protesters – West Ponce de Leon Ave, Decatur GA (pic submitted by Greg)
DeKalb Animal Shelter protesters – West Ponce de Leon Ave, Decatur GA (pic submitted by Greg)
Latest from Decaturish
PRIORITIES FOLKS, PRIORITIES.
We should be protesting that there are children with no food to eat, homeless PEOPLE living in the street & No $$ for the education of our children in DeKalb County.
Oh… are we not allowed to care about more than one thing at a time?
No one is stopping you, now get out there.
What is it they’re protesting against?
Visit the Dekalb Animal Shelter and you’ll understand immediately.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/report-dekalb-animal-shelter-chamber-horror/nLRLC/
And Really?: Yes, people are the priority, but seeing as people created this crisis, both in terms of irresponsible pet owners and horrible mismanagement by the county, it behooves us to take action. You can’t just roll your eyes and pretend it isn’t worth caring about because the school system isn’t what you’d like it to be (or whatever your pet issue — no pun intended — happens to be).
Not enough $ for updating the DeKalb animal shelter.
I feel pretty strongly that we should put people ahead of animals when facing budget problems.
Can you please say it again? I’m not sure I understood the first two times. Woof. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Sorry JT, I was responding to cfn’s inquiry.
But I am truly amazed at where DeKalb County residents have their priorities or lack of.
Didn’t see one protest over huge school budget cuts and mismanagement of children’s education. But let’s fill the streets over how dogs & cats live, seems to me they were happier on the streets.
And before everyone gets started I am a (responsible) dog owner
I think it was David Brooks who pointed out that America is great because everyone is free to feel like their moral cause is more important than everyone else’s moral cause.
I like that and am going to use it. Except I will attribute it to MLK or Ghandi to give it more gravitas
With all the academics in Decatur, I find it’s better to attribute quotes to more obscure visionaries…or better yet, made up names that sound impressive but also vaguely familiar. That really impresses people!
If you get stuck, just combine a Decatur street name with a famous musician.
“Or as Prof. Hillyer Stravinsky used to say…”
Oh really? You didn’t hear one complaint or protest over the (continuing) schools debacle? I can’t help you there then. It sounded like an uproar to me.
Or are you just saying there wasn’t a public, taking-it-to-the-street rally? In that case, let me assure, if our children were actually being KILLED in the schools, I’m sure you’d see that extra bit of urgency you desire.
Say that my priorities are misplaced or, GASP, that I don’t have them at all – I’m proud to stand with the folks calling for the much needed reform at the shelter! But kudos to you for being responsible so as to not add to the problem…
Yes, but see that’s just it. It’s not about “how dogs & cats live.” It’s about how they’re dying, which in the Dekalb County shelter is way too frequently and inhumanely. That’s just as worthy of attention and correction as our struggling school system. And not to be glib, but no one’s violently euthanizing the county’s kids for poor exam scores.
It’s great that you’re a responsible pet owner, but unfortunately not everyone is, and it’s rarely possible to attribute the negligence to the person(s) responsible and force them to pay for an animal’s care.
I’m also a parent to two children and passionate about public school education, but not to the exclusion of all else. It’s not a zero sum game. There aren’t easy answers, but that doesn’t give you the right to criticize the folks out there protesting for caring about and acting on this particular issue. I saw tons of folks out protesting the Dekalb school budget cuts (and not just Fernbank), and at no point did I cluck my tongue and think, “But there are starving homeless out there. Why aren’t they protesting that instead?”
Very well said!
“seems to me they were happier on the streets.”
Seems to me you’re not very familiar with how many of these animals come to be in a shelter in the first place.
Happy shelter pup owner here, and I’m glad they were out there.
If concerns about animal suffering don’t sufficiently move you, think of how adequate funding decreases public health risks. As a former shelter volunteer (in two other counties), I’ve witnessed what an impact facility modernization can have on disease transmission, stress, and aggression – all of which negatively affect community health and safety. Shelter workers struggle uphill to properly care for animals, increase adoption rates, and protect the public under the status quo.
On a personal level, my husband and I found our Fred at DeKalb’s shelter, and we are ever-so grateful to have him in our lives. He could have easily become another sad statistic.
To be accurate, isn’t that mostly E Ponce in the photo?
And if the dividing line of E Ponce/W Ponce is the old courthouse, what should the old courthouse’s address be? 0 E/W Ponce?
Looks like West Ponce to me!
Bless them for getting out in the heat to speak up for those who can’t.
+1
+1
+1 again.
The thing that most bothers me about this is the amount of exaggeration. I’ve been to the shelter a number of times. It’s not the happiest place on earth, but it’s also not a house of horrors and I feel like we have some zealots using hyperbole to get what they want. I love my dog that came from that shelter. The people were nice and doing the best they can. I call total BS on the “report that says sometimes the walls are black with cockroaches” and that (self-edited…no name calling) of a reporter adding to the exaggeration while showing the awful picture of one measly bug running around and dogs barking in the background. Dogs bark…duh!
It’s not about assigning blame to the current shelter workers. If anything, I’m sure they’re easily the most frustrated and disheartened by the current situation, and I have no doubt each and every one of them would want it to be better if they could make it so. But as has been reported and they would be the first to tell you, they’re sorely understaffed, underfunded, and working in a seriously inadequate facility. That’s what the protesters are trying to get addressed. They’re not simply looking for scapegoats.
Go to the Atlanta Humane Society and compare the experience there and the level of care there. Most importantly, compare the adoption rates and euthanization rates (AHS is a no-kill shelter). It ain’t perfect, but it’s a stark contrast with Dekalb.
I’m not worried about the blame. The only thing that concerns me are methods. Demonstrating for a better shelter…right on. Making it known that you want more of yours and others taxes to be directed to the shelter…go for it. Exaggerating your points, “reports” being used as facts, and reporters perpetuating facts not in evidence is an issue for me. In this day and age of camera phones, to have someone report that walls are black with cockroaches and have zero visual evidence to back it up is automatically suspect to me. Especially when they’re talking about a place I’ve been. Does it smell great, no. Are the animal enclosures clean? Relatively, in my estimation and from what I’ve seen. Are the facilities lacking, sure, but this place is not a house of horrors unless your definition of horrors is that animals die there. That part breaks my heart, but it’s not unique to this shelter.
Show me the prettiest, cleanest, best smelling government run shelter…and there is still going to be the horror aspect (animals being killed) somewhere behind the scenes. Although it breaks my heart, I understand the reality of it. As for the comparison to the Humane Society, I’m totally with you. They do a better job. To me that’s just one more example of private doing bettter than government. Maybe shelters are just one more thing government should leave up to others.
I’m an animal lover, but a realistic and truthful one.
Keith, I believe that you are the one who is misled here. The powers that be in DeKalb would love to lull everyone into believing that the shelter is not so bad. They painted over mold…did they remove it? No, they painted over it. I have personally been there when there were so many nats and flies that you could not open your mouth while walking through the back area. Did you go in the back Keith? That is were the hundreds of dogs and cats live and where much of the problem lies. Would you think that a county as large as DeKalb with a sanitation department as large as they have could keep the drainige system at the shelter clean and cut down on the odor? You would right? Well they can’t seem to do that. I have spent a great deal of the last 9 years in and out of that shelter. A county as large and affluent as DeKalb should be ashamed of themselves for this….and this is not a new protest. Do you perhaps remember the Pet Rallies of 2006 with then CEO Vernon Jones? What happened? They fired 2 people and made promises that were never fullfilled. The protesters went away and nothing else was done. This time we won’t go away…you may say we are extreme all you like, but this time we are committed to seeing this through. And to all of you who say that children are more important, I agree with you but guess what? My dogs are my children….
A member of my immediate family works for the Dekalb Animal Shelter. I assure you, the reports are not exaggerated. I’m sure there are areas of the shelter you did not visit.
I’m glad you’re so sure about my experiences but you’re just another second-hand claim to me.
I suppose “House of Horrors” could just be a stated opinion, but have you actually been in every area of the shelter?
I assure you that my claim is first-hand. Which coming to you from an anonymous website will probably still be considered second-hand. Ah well.
Good thing I didn’t go to Pita Pit for lunch. That line looks INCREDIBLY long!
And people were writing their orders down on big cardboard signs. Weird.
As Gandhi said, “The progress of a nation can be measured by the way animals are treated.”
I got two cats for my warehouse several months ago. I visited several shelters before ending up at the Dekalb Animal Shelter. As the other places I visited were clean smelling and no kill, going to the Dekalb Animal Shelter really felt like we were saving some lIves. On top of that, the cats personalities changed for the better after being in a new environment for several weeks.
Yep. I TOTALLY predicted that THIS would be a controversial topic. Maybe next year the Pied Piper can lead both the kids AND the pets to some point of no return and we can all concentrate on our craft beers and lower taxes
You make me chuckle JT.
Trust me, Stu, it’s both a blessing and a curse. Or at least that’s what I’m told by the woman who has to live with me.
This whole blog keeps me entertained and shaking my head about the thread these posts travel:)
plus one
How about fining the pet “owners” that let their cats and dogs run stray. That’d finance a new shelter nicely, while reducing the number of animals taken in. It would also prevent unneeded reproduction of animals with no one to care for them.
Seems to me that we could solve the “Hungry Children” cause and the “Pet Overpopulation” cause with the same solution.
(Sorry, it may seem insensitive, but here in Decatur we’re supposed to be open-minded about solutions from other cultures. Let’s value global diversity with action at home, people.)
mmmmmmmmm . . . free-range kitty.
Yes people are more important than animals. However, the budget for DeKalb Animal Services is 1/2 of 1% of the DeKalb Budget. Even then CEO Ellis spends more money killing animals than other counties in the metro area spend in finding homes for them. It’s not just about the animals. It makes financial sense (i.e. save money) to revamp this operation and it’s about decent disease free working environment for the good people who work there. Yes people are more important than animals. But get all the facts before you have an opinion please.
I am not a animal person at all. I was afraid of them as a kid and not comfortable around them now. Nonetheless, I believe in respect for nature. Animals are live beings in nature just as humans are. Toleration of maltreatment of animals could be a slippery slope that conditions us to tolerate maltreatment in general, including maltreatment of human beings. I know nothing about the DeKalb Animal Shelter but I believe that government facilities should model good practice, not extravagance, but good practice.
Here’s some facts:
http://www.thecrier.net/news/local_news/article_30b11264-781a-11e1-bdca-0019bb2963f4.html
that’s what inspired a lot of us to attend the street demonstration. Facts, needless suffering and a lack of public service by the county and wasted money ie: renting an inadequate AC system for years, costing more than it would cost to buy one.
“The report estimated outsourcing animal service functions would cost the county about $3.1 million, about the same as the DASE’s 2011 budget, but it would provide a significantly greater level of services. This assumed that the county cover the $300,000 cost of maintenance, utilities and vehicles and that the contractor receive all registration/kennel fees. The task force estimated the county could save almost $641,000 annually by outsourcing.”