Dear Ron Letters -- Columnist ‘strayed’ off course

It was really a shame to read Ron Davis’ “Through my eyes” column

(Shelter idea not the way to save animals, March 15). These are very

narrow eyes that Davis looks out of, considering he looks at the shelter

in purely financial and business terms.

The city of Huntington Beach deserves to provide its residents with a

shelter that protects and looks out for its animals. Not only are the

euthanasia numbers understated, but the number of new families with pets

in this growing city continues to expand with each new housing tract that

is built. At present, Huntington Beach animals are sent to the city of

Orange, a site that will soon be relocated even further to Tustin. As

part of the county, Huntington Beach residents will contribute a hefty

amount of tax dollars to those efforts.

Is that good business?

As a father of school-age children in a world where everything is

becoming “throwaway,” the worst example would be to have animals treated

as if they were nothing more than spoiled milk. The amount of volunteer

enthusiasm that could be generated would be incredible among our

residents and children. There are neighboring cities that have wonderful

examples of how to make a shelter work, such as Seal Beach and San

Clemente.

It is a shame that the shelter is not embraced with the same warmth

and zeal as the money spent over the years saving the wetlands, a noble

task which is being accomplished to the joy and pride of everyone in

Huntington Beach who has worked toward it. At times even that was

considered a goal that was financially impractical.

There are many ways that the shelter can be financed and run well

under the numbers Davis throws out, and businessmen and attorneys such as

he should be a part of the solution rather than thumb their noses at it.

In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have sick and homeless people either,

but we provide for them. Let Huntington Beach continue the noble

tradition of caring for its animals by working to make a shelter

practical.

Robert Goldstone

Huntington Beach

I am responding to your article about how Huntington Beach should stay

with the Orange County Animal Shelter.

I hope that none of my pets have to experience our county’s shelter

ever again. One year ago my cat was picked up in front of his house by

the animal shelter because a lady walking by, that did not live in my

area, thought he was hurt. Zukie, my cat, had experienced awful sun

cancer on his nose five years before he was picked up by the shelter.

Therefore, he was missing his nose. It looked a little funny but he was

healthy, was eating well and was enjoying life.

The shelter without testing him decided that he had a disease and put

him to sleep only two hours after he was there. I was at the shelter the

next day. They had an animal that fit his description but would not let

me see it and asked me to bring photos. Well it ended up not to be my cat

so I had to come back the next day while they looked into where my cat

was. The next day I was told what happened to my Zukie.

I had Zukie for eight years. He was a part of my family and life. I

think that with the amount of animals and animal lovers that live in

Huntington Beach, this no-kill shelter is very much needed. Costs have

been looked over and fund-raisers are in place. Our pets are important to

us.

Sometimes they outsmart us and get out. If my dog or cat went to the

shelter now, I would be in fear for their lives.

Julie Keiser

Huntington Beach

While I understand the points that Ron Davis makes in his column

(Shelter idea not the way to save animals, March 15)about the animal

shelter for Huntington Beach, there are a couple of additional points I

would like to make.

The county shelter will never be a pro-humane shelter because of the

sheer volume of animals processed through there each year. Successful

pro-humane shelters in Orange County, like Mission Viejo, Irvine and San

Clemente, all take in less than 4,000 animals per year with a euthanasia

rate of less than 10%.

The county will be building a new shelter in Tustin in the near

future. Huntington Beach tax dollars will go to funding that structure.

It is the position of Save Our Strays that those funds be kept in our own

community to support our own shelter.

Our pets deserve the opportunity to be returned home or to find

another loving home. It is unlikely this will ever occur at the county

shelter. Our pets cannot speak for themselves and need someone to do it

for them.

Save Our Strays intends to provide volunteer and fund-raising support

for our shelter in Huntington Beach. This shelter is something that the

residents of Huntington Beach want for our community. Save Our Strays has

also made a commitment to the City Council to raise the funds to offset

the cost of construction.

Other cities in the county are able to operate the kind of shelter

that we would all like to see in Huntington Beach. The time has come for

the City Council to move forward and approve this project.

Karen Chepeka

Huntington Beach

President Save Our Strays

Ron Davis’ column (Shelter idea not the way to save animals, March 15)

touched on a number of points that need to be clarified and commented on.

Contrary to the column’s title, a pro-humane shelter in Huntington Beach

is in fact exactly the way to save animals.

Currently, many healthy cats and dogs from Huntington Beach alone are

killed every year at the Orange County shelter.

A shelter the size of Orange County, simply cannot function

effectively as a pro-humane shelter.

It’s clear that a local shelter can more effectively manage

volunteers, humane education programs, local spay and neuter clinics,

animal fostering and many other services that simply are not practical at

a large, distant county facility.

Davis asks for a guarantee that the Huntington Beach shelter could be

run for no more than we pay the county. I’d like to point out that we

have no guarantees with the county either.

Our tax dollars will be required by the county to cover at least part

of the construction costs for the new shelter. Save Our Strays has made a

commitment to Huntington Beach to help raise construction and operating

funds for a pro-humane shelter through membership fees, fund-raising

events, corporate donations and grant money.

I am disappointed that while Davis agrees that “in a perfect world” a

shelter here is the right thing to do. He concludes that in a perfect

world we wouldn’t have strays.

While apparently this makes it OK in his mind to ignore the issue, I

am thankful that many local residents wholeheartedly disagree with this

cop-out.

True, we don’t live in a perfect world, but that’s exactly why we are

trying to make it a better place.

Susan Bailey

Huntington Beach

Director

Save Our Strays