CITY COUNCIL MEETING - JULY 26 - MAKE A STAND FOR THE ANIMALS!

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER 

Advocates, volunteers, fosters, rescues....anyone who works with or advocates for the animals of Longview TX shelter.....ANYONE who wants the insane amount of killing to stop!

BE AT THE LONGVIEW CITY COUNCIL MEETING THURSDAY JULY 26th AND MAKE A STAND FOR THESE ANIMALS!

MEETING BEGINS AT 5:30 PM AT 300 COTTON ST IN LONGVIEW. PLEASE DON'T BE LATE AS DOORS WILL CLOSE PROMPTLY AT 5:30 PM.

 IF YOU'D LIKE, MEET AT THE LONGVIEW PUBLIC LIBRARY NOT LATER THAN 5:10 PM AND WALK OVER WITH THE GROUP AS A SHOW OF NUMBERS!

There are SO MANY of you that live there that are sick of the killing, but please know YOU ARE NOT ALONE! You people have the power to change things for the animals. You can work together to educate the public and show them how it's done, how they can also help the animals!

Voters are powerful people! Let city council know enough is enough......these archaic outdated methods of animal control are shameful! 

And be armed with knowledge.....

1.  The Longview shelter is a privately owned business since 1972. (40 years doing it and it still isn't working.....time for a change!!!)

 

 

2.   The Longview shelter is called the Humane Society of North East Texas, but it IS NOT a part of the National Humane Society. Many shelters just use that terminology in their name, but this shelter abides by their own rules.

 

 

3.  The shelter building is also privately owned, which is NOT a good thing for the animals. It gives way too much control to the shelter board and shelter director. For instance, even though the shelter operates primarily on taxpayer funds...since the building is privately owned...the shelter management could decide to block volunteers or even the public from coming in to take pictures of the URGENT animals.

 

 

4.   Apparently, the shelter director, Cathy Sells, resigned from her position a week ago. We don't know if she is still "working" at the shelter or gave a notice or what...but someone is still giving the KILL ORDERS. :(

 

 

5.  Please read the Longview city council minutes of last Aug 2011, there is a lot of information regarding the shelter contract with the city of Longview (including contractural figures) for anyone who is interested in changing things for the animals. It's all publicly available online at this link: http://administration.longviewtexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/city-gov/minutes-2011/8-25-11%20RS%20Minutes.pdf  pay particular attention to pages 2, 3, 5 and 6

 

 

6.  In the past two weeks despite apparently greater increases in intakes, the shelter instilled these policy changes we are aware of: no more long term fosters, no more free adoptions to military personnel, they raised the adoption fee of cats from $50 to $75........all this just makes it all the more difficult to get an animal out of that shelter alive.

 

 

7.  The shelter itself admits there is only a 30% chance of an animal getting out alive. The odds are heavily against the animal. 700 to 800 perfectly healthy animals are KILLED in Longview every month! (They aren't "sleeping"......THEY ARE DEAD!)

8.  The shelter's one-year contract with the city of Longview is coming up for renewal very very shortly! It is important that advocates keep the ball rolling FOR THE ANIMALS!

Since the meeting nearly a year ago, there has been some activity with those working to push a NO KILL, but those folks need YOU! Those ANIMALS NEED YOU! Don't let another year pass, don't let another month pass (that's 700 more animals killed per month and MORE)....make the change NOW!

 

 

9. PLEASE get yourself educated about what NO KILL is really about. I had to educate myself on NO KILL. For example, NO KILL is NOT 100% survival. But it IS 90% or more survival. Here's Nathan Winograd's definition of NO KILL.

And NO KILL is being done in communities with OPEN ADMISSIONS (like Longview)....So don't let shelter reps pull that old falsehood on you!

 

 

10.  The current contract with the city of Longview was for $162,500 per year PLUS the shelter receives free water, sewer and trash collection which adds considerable more value to the contract. Add to this the other communities served by the shelter....those individual cities pay their own $ to the shelter management. Finally, add to this the $ recieved by the shelter in adoption fees, donations of monies and supplies...it all adds up.

Did you know IT IS CHEAPER TO GO NO KILL THAN IT IS TO CONTINUE TO KILL? (Yes, a fact and yet the shelters continue their needless killings). :(

For all the current volunteers of the shelter in Longview and the EMPLOYEES of that shelter....we are NOT pointing fingers at ANYONE except for the MANAGEMENT of that shelter. Let this be your guide.

But no matter how new or shiny or large a shelter is, if the management doesn't accept the NO KILL equation, those poor animals will continue to suffer daily. And it will be OUR FAULT for allowing it to happen!

 

 

WE should all be on the ANIMALS SIDE.....THERE IS NO OTHER!

Good Luck at the meeting. Stand strong FOR THE ANIMALS! Remember these faces and names.....these are a tiny tiny fraction of the healthy adoptable animals KILLED at Longview in the past month. Just a very tiny portion...... :(  

DO IT FOR THEM! DO IT IN MEMORY OF A BELOVED ANIMAL! JUST PLEASE DO IT!