Animal shelter sorely needed
By LOIS LAMBERTY Jasper

What are people thinking when they abandon puppies (kittens)? Do they think eight-week old pups will be able to hunt? Find water? Not get run over? Fight off predators? Certainly someone will pick them up and give them a home? Dropping them off in someone else's neighborhood is a good idea?

Again, two pups were abandoned on our county road - not the first and certainly not the last. And, I'm certain this is happening on every county road (and in the towns also). In our seven years in Jasper County we have given a home to six large dogs - we have neutered and spayed them, buy over 200 pounds of dog food a month, plus heartworm, flea and tick medicine. This along with vet calls for snakebite, miscellaneous bumps and scrapes, etc. All in all, a small fortune! We are not alone in this - many people in Jasper County do the same and much more.

If we are unable to capture the two latest orphans they will die a horrible death - malnutrition, dehydration, snake bite, or prey to larger animals. If we do capture them and cannot find them a home they will have to be taken to Angelina County Animal Shelter.

This costs $16 a dog since we are out-ofcounty. And they find homes for less than one third of the animals brought to them - so these pups will probably be euthanized (a really nice sounding word for extermination).

What is our county doing to alleviate this burgeoning animal population explosion?

As far as I can see - nothing, zip, zero, nada!!

All I hear is budget this, budget that! Seems like we had plenty of money for catering during the hurricane, plenty of money for computers, and plenty of money for lots of other foolishness.

Now, I understand animal shelters are expensive to operate. Lakes Area Humane Society (formerly Jasper Animal Rescue) has for years put together budgets for building, operating and maintaining a shelter - each time Jasper County declined to participate.

Perhaps the county will have to institute dog licensing to generate funds (overseeing such a program may cost more to operate than it's worth), neuter/spay programs, temporary sales tax increase, grant applications, perhaps a multi-county solution, or an incentive program to cut the dog (and cat) population down. Somehow our county has to solve this problem - the problem is only going to worsen. We elect our officials to solve community problems and work with the community to solve problems. Well, county fathers, this is a problem.

Where are you? What is the solution? When will we hear from you?

The solution is this: start calling the commissioners and the judge, the sheriff's department, and the city manager. Let them know you are sick and tired of stray animals running all over the place - breeding more, posing a danger to humans and other animals, and spreading disease(s).

Let them know you want a solution to this problem sooner than later, let them know you want an animal shelter, let them know you hired them to help solve community problems, let them know you hold the vote.

Here are their numbers - make their phones ring off the hook. Let's solve this problem. In Jasper - Precinct 1: 384-8112 and Precinct 2: 384-5343. In Kirbyville: 423- 4791. In Buna: 994-3711. Sheriff's office: 384-5417. Jasper city manager: 384-4651. And don't forget to contact Judge Mark Allen 384- 2612.