There’s something about coming house daily from a pet’s unconditional love.
At our home we’ve got Luigi, a Bichon Frize, and Gepetto, a Maltese-terrier combine, and they’re a pleasure.
Canines, cats … no matter sort of animal you could have at house, possibly you’ll agree with me once I say that they belong to the household.
Treating them as such is one thing I really feel strongly about.
We, the individuals, largely exist to be the keepers of different creatures and their habitats, on this circle of life. That is what I imagine.
To do in any other case, and even to mistreat or neglect them, is a grave abdication of basic human duty.
A big, rising, progressive-minded city group like Clarksville-Montgomery County have to be a pacesetter and lead by instance on this area.
There are new developments with the deliberate animal shelter in Montgomery County which, primarily based on what we’ve got been instructed up to now, will hopefully assist us take a large leap ahead and proceed to scale back euthanasia charges by offering the whereas snug short-term residing areas for pets which can be up for adoption.
Following the approval of a brand new funds for Montgomery County earlier this summer time, David Kaske, director of Montgomery County Animal Care & Management, mentioned the funds are deliberate for the design section of the shelter within the 12 months. fiscal 2022-23.
Even higher, an extended search on the location led us to what to many individuals appears to be a logical location for the brand new animal shelter, on a property already owned by the county.
There’s a good argument to be made that, all of it is sensible in some ways, within the midst of an ongoing county funds disaster.
“The brand new funds contains $ 750,000 for the design section of the brand new animal shelter,” mentioned Kaske. “We’ll work to finish the brand new facility venture this 12 months.”
And there may be this: The county has selected a plan to share possession between the brand new animal shelter and the deliberate location for the Clarksville North Department of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library, on the nook of the a hundred and first Airborne Division. Parkway and Jordan Street.
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The good thing about this plan whereby the animal shelter and library share possession, Kaske mentioned, is that it is doubtlessly a bonus for each departments to comfortably share the client base. And possibly even do some shared programming.
Maybe it symbolizes that literacy and real pet care are values that go hand in hand in a civilized and progressive group.
For now, Kaske mentioned the first architect for the brand new shelter will likely be Shelter Planners of America, primarily based in Texas, who has expertise in designing and designing animal shelters.
They are going to collaborate on the venture with Clarksville architect Jon Clark. Kaske mentioned the nationwide firm carried out an identical shelter venture in Williamson County.
An excessive amount of emphasis will likely be positioned on group involvement within the design of the Montgomery County Animal Shelter, to make it appropriate for each pets and other people. The division will search your enter.
The necessary consideration is that this: Hopefully the brand new shelter will assist the group higher deal with circumstances of pet overcrowding, which is a typical downside on the current Clarksville shelter on Spring Road within the metropolis heart.
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Identical to each different native authorities perform, Animal Care & Management should keep in mind the truth of the dramatic inhabitants progress, together with its value.
The problem is to effectively steadiness monetary realities with the duty we’ve got for animals that can’t assist themselves.
The county division has additionally taken on the duty of operating a separate animal shelter at Fort Campbell, becoming a member of forces and hopefully streamlining the human and community-wide administration of stray animals and pet deliveries, and what’s extra. necessary, profitable pet adoptions.
It has taken a while to get so far, however what might be most encouraging is a larger emphasis on “animal care,” a part of the departmental identify of this department of the county authorities.
Kaske and her employees wish to stay as much as that identify.
Attain Jimmy Settle at jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0247. To help her work, join a digital subscription to TheLeafChronicle.com.