By Teresa Spell
Concerned resident

Why? I’ve lived in Powhatan for eight years, I love the rural setting, and the small town feeling it offers, the church I attend and the dear friends I’ve made.

During these eight years our taxes have increased four times, our property value has doubled and I’ve witnessed the county make “some” improvements that were either not needed or not necessary. With this being said, I have to ask WHY, why has the sheriff’s department now decided to enforce a strict policy of killing the animals that come into Powhatan Animal Control after 30 days regardless of whether they have available space or not? I first learned of this new policy and confronted a staff member of Animal Control to confirm. I have been informed that the undersheriff has given the reason being the cost of food/supplies and the number of man hours it takes to care for all the animals yet the county evidently has or has had money to spend in other areas. This facility in Powhatan clearly has space to comfortably hold an additional eight runs and has clientele willing to put forth the effort needed to keep from putting down these animals. So WHY is the county not helping them in their efforts? Can the Board of Supervisors not reevaluate their budget to offer more funding? Can they not look into having an animal fundraiser to help in their financial needs or simply reach out to the community with a request for donations of pet food/supplies/or money to help meet the needs if in fact this is the reason for the new policy?

I have been a volunteer with FLAG [For the Love of Animals in Goochland] for seven years and with BARK [Bandit’s Adoption and Rescue of Canines] for five years and during this time have witnessed and participated in the rescue of many of the dogs at Powhatan Animal Control. I have transferred dogs from PAC and helped with their care and adoption, I have picked up many strays and delivered them to PAC to be held for their allotted time and then retrieved them to keep in my home until they were adopted through one of these rescues. I have conversed with other rescues that worked closely with PAC in an effort to rescue, socialize and adopt out the dogs and cats they have in their care.

In my experience working with PAC they have always been professional, friendly and extremely helpful. Those working at PAC are faced with such stress, hard work and difficult decisions yet what I have witnessed is such commitment and determination to find placement for these animals so as not to have to kill them. These are caring staff and officers at this facility, this year they have made enormous progress in returning the strays to their owners and in relentlessly contacting rescues to find space for them. Often times there is available space but in some cases the rescues have to wait for space to be made available through adoption or a new foster volunteer in which case they will then make arrangements to pick up one or more dogs or cats from Animal Control. I have had the privilege on many occasions to praise the efforts of the staff at Powhatan Animal Control to local residents, other rescues and friends in other counties and states that are forced to work with animal control facilities that are not as efficient and caring as we have in Powhatan.

There are always going to be circumstances when euthanizing is necessary. There are some animals that come in or are picked up that are extremely aggressive, injured or have a disease that can not be cured. In extreme cases, and I stress extreme, there may be an instance when they have an unusually high number of dogs there and no spaces available at any known rescues but these circumstances would be, again, extremely rare.

With the growth of the county and these difficult economic times we have to acknowledge that the number of surrenders and strays has increased and therefore these animals may need to be held longer in order to have time to be placed elsewhere.
Some I have rescued myself have been there for two weeks, some for two months. These very adoptable dogs that are now in loving homes would have otherwise been put down if the county had not held them beyond 30 days.

It has been proven in studies that people having domestic animals in their lives and their homes live longer, there are programs where animals are taken into hospitals and nursing homes because of the enjoyment they offer residents by their mere presence and the contribution they make in the recovery of these patients. Properly caring for domestic animals only adds to a loving home and helps in teaching children responsibility. Animals more often than not fill the void in many people’s lives.

This is a challenge to our Sheriff’s Department and our Board of Supervisors to do what is necessary to reverse this policy and give these animals every chance possible to be placed in a loving home or rescue until that home is found. What the residents can do is contact the Sheriff’s Department or your district supervisor informing them you do not support this new policy as well as contacting Animal Control directly to see what needs they have you might be able to fill.

Offer to foster an animal from Powhatan Animal Control through a rescue until it is adopted. The rescue will cover the medical and the adoption. Your part is to keep the animal in your home until it is adopted and get it to the adoption when there is a potential adopter and take the animal to the vet they work with for any medical care that is needed. Let the county officials and Animal Control know that you want to help but that we expect them to do all they can to help these animals too.

Let’s reverse this present day policy and go back to the policy they have sought to enforce throughout 2009.