Editorials
Lots of hope rides on new animal control committee
TBO.com
Published: May 20, 2012
It's great news that a committee has been formed to look at issues involving Highlands County Animal Control.Published: May 20, 2012
We like the choices for the board and believe only good things will come from it.
The board was chosen last week, with rescue group representative Teri Ann Dosil, veterinarian Mark Griffin, Humane Society President Judy Spiegel, groomer Dana McPherson and surgical nurse Twyla Ostrowski.
It's an excellent group of people and we have high hopes they will be fair, creative and able to find doable solutions.
It's not an easy task, though. We believe when all the facts are considered, the issue is much more complex than a lot of people realize.
The people on the board might understand that, but the public does not, and ultimately hard choices will have to be made.
As we've said on this page before, animal control is one of the toughest jobs in the county, and we believe Darryl Scott has been doing a fine job considering all the obstacles he's up against.
That doesn't mean there are no improvements to be made. In fact, we're sure there are several improvements necessary.
An outside set of eyes on the issue should serve everyone well.
Most importantly, we all need to learn the facts, the limitations, the considerations and everything else animal control has to deal with. It's a very different type of operation than the humane society.
So much of everything depends on what the county commission does with the recommendations from the committee. And they are limited by budgets and constituents, whose wishes might contradict what the committee suggests.
We do believe, though, that the overwhelming public opinion is in the corner of great compassion for animal welfare.
Even in a low income county like Highlands, it's clear that people care a lot about the humane treatment of animals.
It shows by how people support the humane society and the amazing people who run that facility. It shows by the love that rescue groups demonstrate for stray animals.
And it's clear that, despite what people might say about animal control, they do their very best with incredibly limited resources to do an important job.
Let's hope this committee can make a difference we all believe in.