By DAVE HAMRICK
dhamrick@thecitizennews.com

To kill or not to kill — that is the question when trying to decide how to handle the overpopulation of abused and neglected pets.

Animal lovers have been quietly working for years with the goal of establishing a regional no-kill animal shelter in Fayette County. It will probably be a decade before the shelter can become reality, admits Jeanne West, president of The Good Shepherd Humane Society, but she says it's a goal worthy of that kind of long range effort.

“It's a lot of work, but it takes visionaries to get there,” West told The Citizen, adding that she hopes to build a shelter big enough for 100 dogs and 100 cats, possibly in phases, on a 10- to 20-acre tract.

But Fayette animal control director Bill Newman is skeptical. No-kill shelters often start with the best of intentions and end in tragedy, he said.

“These things sound good, but they often turn into concentration camps,” he said. “They can't spend that much time with any particular animal, and I don't think they know how much money and work they're talking about.”

West said she knows exactly how much money and effort is involved, and that's why it's taking so long, but she said Newman's fears are unfounded.

“That's based on the fear that it's not going to be run well,” she said. That fear should be assuaged by the fact that Good Shepherd's Department of Agriculture inspection ratings are always excellent, and by the fact that the group is working methodically to put money and resources in place to run a proper facility, she said.

Newman pointed to examples like the infamous Life for God's Stray Animals, a Rockdale County no-kill shelter that was overrun and poorly operated. After years of bad publicity, it was eventually shut down by authorities.

“Yes, you have abusive situations,” said West. But she pointed to other examples. “Clayton County has a no-kill shelter, and they're doing just fine,” she said.

West said she and a group of volunteers are working to raise about $10,000 a year through fund-raisers, and when she retires from her job and sells her house, she'll have an additional $100,000 to put into the venture.

Good Shepherd currently operates an adoption service and foster home network with a budget of about $30,000 a year, funded by donations, adoption fees and fund-raisers.

PetSmart pet stores have been “very supportive,” she added, by providing free food for her pets and space for adoption fairs. The company sponsors a charity whose long-term goal is to eliminate euthanasia, said West.

Area veterinarians also help out by providing reduced rates for spaying and neutering, she said.

“It takes cooperation among agencies,” she said, to deal with the problems of animal neglect and abuse.

Her organization is prepared to provide full-time staff as well as volunteers to run a Fayette no-kill shelter, she said, but added that she's not naive enough to think that such a shelter will solve all of the problems.

“The problem is so immense, you could have ten humane societies and you wouldn't solve the problem,” she said. A no-kill shelter would have only so many spaces, and many animals would still have to be turned away and eventually euthanized.

“We're not miracle workers,” she said. “We've had a realistic group all along.”

But Newman said rather than sinking resources into a no-kill shelter, he advocates working harder on education and accountability for pet owners.

“If we make people more responsible so they get these animals spayed and neutered, we wouldn't have these problems,” he said. “We should put the responsibility back on the pet owners.

“Pets require finances, facilities and time, and if you don't have these things, you don't need [a pet],” he said.

“There's a lot worse things than death,” Newman added. “I know it's hard, but I would rather see them put to death humanely than see them tied up in somebody's back yard.”

West insisted she's on the same page as Newman, and Good Shepherd's no-kill shelter is going to be a complement and a help to existing animal protection efforts in the area. “The problem is so huge that not any one agency can handle it all,” she said.

As for education, her group spends $1,600 a year on educational efforts in Fayette County schools, she said.

To contribute to the Good Shepherd Humane Society or find out more about it, write to 10 Dover Square, Sharpsburg 30277 or phone 770-463-5513. Contributions are tax deductible.