Animals in feces covered cages, deplorable conditions, disgusting and unkempt areas is an awful site for animal lovers anywhere. All over the country, stray animals can be found because irresponsible owners failed to spay and neuter pets. You can expect to see these types of conditions in areas where strays roam or pillage through trash cans. Where you don’t expect to see it is a government run “animal control center”.
Thanks to Facebook and other social media, it doesn’t take long these days to get the word out when an animal is not taken care of – including a recent Facebook post that went viral, based on conditions reported at the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Animal Control Center. The Heat Magazine is disgusted at what a well respected TV outlet reported several days ago.
Arkansas’ own KATV posted a story about the Facebook comment and the allegation that animals at the Pine Bluff Animal Control Center are living in “unsanitary conditions”. While we understand that municipal pounds often times don’t receive adequate funding, that still does not excuse the living conditions that can be found in many local municipal shelters. Just last month, a Facebook photo post from the Crowley, Louisiana city shelter caused the world to see awful conditions, that even included a starving 8 month old puppy. There is just no excuse for this.
After KATV reported the story, Pine Bluff officials claimed the person who posted the comment could not back up its allegations. The Jefferson County Humane Society says it didn’t have anything to do with the post, but that it refers complaints to the mayor’s office on a regular basis.
The only way to insure that jobs are being performed and shelters are being kept up in the way the animals deserve, is for constituents to flood the elected officials’ phones until something is done about it. Elected officials are “employed” by us, the taxpayers, and unfortunately, they often need a reminder that they will not be re-elected when deplorable conditions such as those alleged at the Pine Bluff Animal Control Center are allowed to continue. After all, if you perform poorly at your jobs and ignore your boss, what will happen? That’s right folks – you won’t have a job.
On Tuesday, a lengthy public message was posted by an unidentified person on the Jefferson County Humane Society Facebook page. The post was removed, but KATV published it in its entirety:
“We want to report again that we have contacted Ted Davis again about the conditions at the shelter. The dogs are staying in their own feces, they are standing in water, they don’t have any cots or bedding. We have volunteers who keep volunteering to list the shelter’s dog on petfinder and to walk and groom the dogs, and we don’t get any cooperation. The supervisor is never available, the employees make their own hours and come and go as they please. Try visiting during the adoption hours from 1-5 and see how many times the place is closed up. If you show up in the morning while they are there sometimes, they won’t let you in anyway because it isn’t visiting hours. Do something Pine Bluff, call the Mayor and keep calling and don’t let them tell you what you want to hear because they just keep repeating it. As soon as this most recent commotion will die down, things will go right back downhill . A volunteer groomed one of the dogs to try and get it adopted in October and put a festive scarf on the dog. 3 month’s later the same feces encrusted scarf is still on the dog and he is still sitting there waiting. CALL THE MAYOR AND KEEP CALLING, GET INVOLVED, DON’T WAIT FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT, THIS IS EVERYONE’S PROBLEM”
According to KATV, the Jefferson County Humane Society doesn’t have a shelter, they have foster families care for animals and help find homes for dogs at the Pine Bluff Animal Control Center. The Humane Society number is (870) 247-2677 or email: jeffcoarkansashumanesociety@yahoo.com
