Fayette County Commissioners, it is more than difficult for me to write this letter. From the disrespect you showed to your fellow commissioner, the Fayette Humane Society, the Fayette No-Kill Coalition, and the citizens who attended the July 13 commission meeting, I know my letter is of no significance. But, here I am writing it.
The Fayette Humane Society and Commissioner Brown had diligently worked to follow the rules and regulations in working on their no-kill ordinance with County Administrator Steve Rapson as the issue was so very important. And, I’m sure you know by now from all that has been written and said, animal welfare is an extremely important issue to the citizens of Fayette County.
It absolutely breaks my heart that Commissioner Brown, Stephanie Cohran, Leah Thomson, Jerry Collins and many others worked so hard and were treated with disrespect and humiliation for their efforts. You say that citizens should be involved. That is hard to do when they are continually shot down and humiliated.
It broke my heart when Leah Thomson, a member of the Fayette County No-Kill Coalition, spoke on behalf of the dogs who don’t get out of the shelter. Two of those dogs were Pierre and Casper. They were put down March 29, 2017.
She held up photos of each dog and said, “At some point in the day, the decision was made to take Casper and Pierre out of their shelter-made homes, where they had been cared for and loved since their arrival, and to lead them down the hall to the room where they were given an injection that would end their lives.”
It ripped through my soul when Ms. Thomson said, “Casper meant so much to one of the shelter employees that she made sure that he did not die without her by his side so that the last person he saw would be one that he trusted and that he loved.”
Leah Thomson presented you all with the bottom-line truth when she said, “This is not just about Casper and Pierre, this is about an ideology and understanding that has to come from the top. Euthanasia can be necessary in sheltering, but it should never be used as a form of shelter population control. Euthanasia policies that impose time limits and capacity limitations are archaic and inhumane.”
Gentlemen, the way I look at it, God created us all, you, me, and animals.
I implore you to spend some time at the Fayette County Animal shelter. Hold the bodies of the dogs and cats in your arms as they are killed. Look into the warm brown eyes of a trusting dogs as they are put to death.
Ginga Smithfield
Fayette County, Ga.
