Wednesday, March 14, 2001

I was appalled when I read the letter to The Citizen from Denise Barnett regarding the destruction of her family cat by Fayette County Animal Control, after he was caught in a trap and taken to the shelter.

Ms. Barnett said that the cat wore a collar with tags, including her name, home telephone number and work number. She also called animal control and left a detailed message describing her cat. No one ever bothered to contact her to inform her that her cat was indeed in the shelter, and was going to be destroyed, even though they had received her message, and had the information on the tags. This is intolerable.

It was obvious that this cat belonged to a caring family. I am dismayed that the county has a "kill first and ask questions later" policy. How much time would it have taken for someone at the shelter to simply return a phone call, or look at the tags on the cat and make a call to the owner? Destroying this cat was insensitive and unnecessary. This family's present anguish could have been avoided if someone had only taken a moment to make that phone call.

When papers recount tales of animal torture, I am always outraged by how little value some people place on life. Where does such callousness begin? It begins in our homes, with our children watching our own actions. It begins when we have no tolerance for our neighbors and their pets. It begins when we refuse to take a moment out of our day to make a phone call that would save an animal's life.

Children model the behavior they see. What are we teaching them about the value of life when we carelessly and needlessly snuff it out like Ms. Barnett's cat?

Glenda Lohmann

Peachtree City

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