By Cynthia Post, Guest Columnist
Most people in Cherokee County are familiar with the Valley River Humane Society, our county’s only animal shelter.
What you may not know is VRHS has been working diligently over the last decade to implement major changes that have enabled us to save more animals and better serve our communities. We have expanded our facilities so that we can house more animals. We have partnered with Shelter Dog Transport Alliance, which transports pets from VRHS to shelters across the United States, freeing up space in our shelter, enabling us to take more pets from our community, and increasing the number of successful adoptions.
Thanks to generous donations, we have built a veterinary hospital at the shelter so we can provide lifesaving medical care, and perform routine spay and neuter surgeries. The veterinary hospital ensures that we save more lives, minimize the stress on animals incurred by transport to other veterinary facilities, and save money on the cost of veterinary services.
With all of these improvements, VRHS is proud to identify ourselves as a “low-kill shelter,” which means animals are never euthanized simply because there is no room for them. These and other projects are funded by generous donors. However, VRHS relies on an annual allotment from the board of commissioners to fund the ongoing cost of housing and feeding more than 1,000 animals that are brought to the shelter from Cherokee County.
We have been advised by Cherokee County commissioners that they will withdraw their funding. Why? Because, they claim, taxpayers don’t support funding an animal shelter and are frustrated when they can’t surrender pets because the shelter is full to capacity.
We at VRHS question that claim because we know there is no alternative. There are no other shelters in our area. There is no way we can maintain our “low-kill” status without greatly exceeding our animal housing capacity, a situation that is not only bad for the animals but unlawful under the N.C. State Animal Welfare Act.
The board of commissioners says they will not fund 100% of the cost required to care for animals from Cherokee County – currently, they only fund about 20% of that cost. However, they insist that VRHS take 100% of animals brought to us by the public, and if we don’t have room for them, we should only hold those animals for the requisite 72 hours then dispose of them as we see fit. Of course, when asked what we should do with those animals, they offer no suggestions.
As members of VRHS, we know that, unless animals are adopted or transported within that 72-hour period, there is only one other, inhumane option that we refuse to consider. So unless VRHS agrees to take more animals than we can house – and kill perfectly healthy animals – the shelter will lose its county funding in 3-6 months.
This is a desperate situation. Even though Cherokee County contributes only a fraction of our operating costs, VRHS counts on that contribution to realize our mission of saving animal lives in our community. County support is funded by taxpayers such as yourselves. We need help to continue to save more than 1,000 animal lives each year.
Do you want your tax dollars to support animal rescue in our county, or do you prefer that your tax dollars not be used to fund VRHS? Let us know what you think by commenting on this post on our Facebook page, Valley River Humane Society Animal Shelter.
Better yet, contact the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners and let them know what you think. Attend their meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 29, and make your voices heard. This is your community; you are entitled to an opinion on spending your tax dollars.
By speaking out, you can make a difference in your community and help save the lives of thousands of unfortunate animals.
Cynthia Post is a veterinarian with Smoky Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation in Robbinsville. Call VRHS board President Don Reynolds at 828-494-5608 or the animal shelter at 828-837-2304 with questions.