Animal Control in Blount County

For those of you who have not heard, we no longer have animal control in Blount County. In May of last year, Maryville increased the fee that they were charging the county to provide those services by almost 100% and the county was not able to pay that cost. At that time, and at the commission's request, several animal related groups in the area began working on a proposal for the county to open and maintain its own animal center. However, when the new commissioners and County Mayor took office in the fall, they basically blew off the issue. To several, the solution was that county citizens should simply shoot any unwanted animals. When the contract with the city officially terminated on December 31, the Maryville Animal Shelter began refusing animals brought in to the shelter by county citizens and will not answer calls from the county.

If you have visited the Maryville Animal Shelter, you know that it is not acceptable. The animals are held with little heat, no air conditioning, little or no food or water, no vet care (regardless of the severity of their injuries - gun shots, broken backs, severed limbs), unsanitary conditions where the facilities are not properly cleaned to prevent diseases and no public outreach or attempt to adopt the animals. Animals that are picked up or turned in as strays are held for 72 hours. Those that are surrendered by their owners in hopes of finding a new home are subject to being euthanized immediately.

I learned in a meeting tonight with some of the commissioners that some time around 2000, the county had a general fund of approximately $8M. Now, that balance is down to $800,000. The commission reports that it simply does not have the funds to pay the city for the services. I believe they would be wasting their money if they did. If you have been watching the news lately, you have probably seen stories of concerned citizens that have been calling the commission office about the issue. Tonight, Channel 8 ran a story from a woman that was cornered by a vicious dog in her driveway. She got her mother in the car and ran inside with her baby and 4 year old.

I have recently formed a non-profit corporation for some influential citizens in the county that intend to raise money to build a facility. The proposal is that the county team up with this charity in a way similar to the Young-Williams Animal Center in Knox County, jointly providing funds for the building and operation of a county shelter. Three commissioners were at the meeting tonight, and voiced their concern that certain other commissioners would oppose spending any funds to provide for animal control.

I am writing to ask to you call your commissioner directly and talk to them about your feelings on this issue. The county's failure to provide animal control is not only inhumane, but it is a health and safety issue. Last year, approximately 6.5 animals came into the Maryville Animal Shelter from the county per day. Do the math. And, consider that this number will actually increase because those animals that remain running at large will reproduce. The lack of animal control will result in traffic issues, bite risk and disease. As the number of stray dogs increase, those dogs start to travel in packs. Not to mention that this situation gives a poor representation of our community and depicts us as a bunch of uneducated yokels. You can obtain the phone number for your commissioner at http://www.blounttn.org/commiss.asp#Commission.

If you live in the City of Maryville or the City of Alcoa, call your council representative and let them know that you are not satisfied with the current animal control conditions. From personal experience, the animal control officers in the City of Alcoa and their supervisors are very unhappy with the current operations. I personally hope that they sign on with a new Blount County shelter. Don't take my word for it. Visit the shelter on Home Avenue. ~ Kandi R. Yeager