Killing should be last resort for Animal Control Center

TO THE EDITOR:

I just read the front-page article in your July 28 issue on the new Warren County Animal Control Center with interest, and I must say also with some dismay. I am sorry this is late, but I am an out-of-town subscriber who just got the issue in the mail.

I have roots in Warren County and have both contributed and encouraged other people to contribute to the Warren County Humane Society. Again, I am dismayed the new Warren County animal control officer, Charles Smith, was quoted as saying, ?… that it (adoption) is not going to be our mission, our priority, but we will do that as often as we can? when the same article quotes the mission of the new facility to be ?the disposition of impounded animals by adoption, redemption, or humane euthanization.?

It seems to me the mission of the new facility as outlined in the article is appropriate in the order of the proposed disposition of stray and unwanted animals, i.e., ?adoption, redemption, or humane euthanization,? for a great community. However, Mr. Smith was quoted as saying that ?it (adoption) is not going to be our mission, our priority.?

Gandhi, the world’s leading proponent of nonviolence to all of God’s creatures is often quoted as saying, ?The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.?

There are certainly many great people in Warren County who both desire and deserve to be labeled collectively as a great community. I hope Mr. Smith implements the mission of the Warren County Animal Control Center as outlined in the article, and was either misquoted or after rethinking his statement to the contrary makes adoption a priority and euthanization only the disposition of last resort.

Dean Anderson

Oviedo, Florida