Last week I called animal control because four cats that were in our yards everyday, went missing. Animal control did nothing.
On Monday, June 29, I called the Animal control office to see if perhaps the cats had ended up there. The woman who answered said they didn't have time to check, and I would have to drive out and look for myself. So, I did. They weren’t there, but there was a lovely Siamese cat in one of the cages. She was terrified and upon chasing down one of the employees, I learned she was turned in by her owner because she was 18 years old.
I asked were there any health problems with her and was told she was healthy. I asked if I could leave my name so that if she did not get adopted, I would adopt her, rather than see her killed.
I was brusquely told by the woman at the desk that they would not do that. So, I said I would go on and take her home now. Then they told me she was “unadoptable” because she was skittish and she “might bite or scratch” ... mind you, not that she had done this, but she might. It was about a half hour before closing.
I told them I had petted her through the bars of her cage and she was fine. But of course any animal, taken out of a home and thrust into a strange place, with barking dogs and howling cats would be skittish, and if they would just let me hold her in a quiet room, I could prove it to them. They refused. The supervisor, Gary Godwin, said that his opinion was final, that he would not listen to me, there would be no further discussion, nothing that I could say would change his mind, and that was all and he went back to his office, smiling.
I called the county manager’s office and they had Dennis Joyner call me back. He promised he would check it out and see what he could do so I could adopt the cat and even though I offered to reschedule my chemo, he promiced me nothing would happen to the cat.
I had chemo the next day, then , on Wednesday,called him back and left a message. Next, I called animal control and they told me they had already murdered the poor cat, just out of spite.
When Mr. Joyner called me back, he told me they had told him that the cat had major health issues. Obviously Gary Godwin and his staff lied to him. They not only told him a lie, but they immediately murdered a cat that was perfectly adoptable, after I had been promised that they would not do it for at least another day or so.
While I was there, no one offered to help people who came in to look for pets. Any time someone came in the kennel area, the staff members would disappear into the “authorized personnel” areas. I had to chase people down just to ask a question.
Even Mr. Joyner admitted that they kill more animals than they adopt. No wonder.
No one has ever come out to investigate the missing cats in my neighborhood, either.
Do you know if an animal comes in or is born in the shelter, and is too young to be neutered or spayed, they are immediately put to death? That pregnant dogs and cats are immediately put to death, with their unborn babies inside them, as county policy?
All these people are interested in is doing as little as possible.
They feel they have a job that they don’t have to answer for, and can just murder any animal they don’t like and can treat the tax payers of this county any way they choose.
Well, Mr. Godwin, you were laughing at me last week, since you got away with murder, but I won’t be satisfied until you and your entire staff are replaced. I intend to report Stanly County to the ASPCA and anyone who cares about animal welfare in this county.
If you agree with me, then you should call Mr. Joyner and Andy Lucas, the county manager, and demand an entire staff change.
With 12.5 percent unemployment, I’m sure they can be easily replaced with people who want a good job, and truly care about animals.
