Bartow County's Dirty Little Secret

The Issue

Over 1,000 animals a year are euthanized every year in Bartow County Georgia because of Minimal Efforts on behalf of the county.

Apathy for the Animals there.
 
A fundamental shift is needed to change the way Bartow County manages the animals in their care…

Away from Euthanasia as a Way of Life - the way they manage it now…

To Managed Shelter Care that ends the euthanasia of healthy and treatable dogs and cats in Bartow County Animal Control…

To Humane Care, Veterinary Care including spay/neuters, Pet Adoptions, Animal Reclaims, Volunteer Opportunities, Foster Opportunities and Rescue Group Coordination.

None of Which Are Effectively in Place at This Time in Bartow County.

"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

~ Mahatma Gandhi


Bartow County has failed in it's duty as citizens of this nation to treat the animals of it's county humanely.  

It has long ignored the cries of it's own citizens and the citizens of Metro Atlanta to Stop Living in Apathy for the Animals of their county.  

Steve Taylor - Bartow County Commissioner…

Bartow County Animal Control - primarily functioning as intake facility for the unwanted animals and transport for euthanization for over 1,000 a year…

Etowah Valley Humane Society - the small rescue contracted and not equipped to handle the amount of unwanted animals in this county…

The Director of Etowah Valley Humane Society - Brian Canty - a self proclaimed "Not an Animal Person" person running the society…

Cartersville-Bartow Chamber of Commerce - Over 1,000 emails asking them to bring in a Shelter Management Company...not one response to us...

All Live in Apathy for the Animals - Not caring enough to truly manage the situation.  Not caring enough to offer veterinary care, spay/neuters, pet adoptions, animal reclaims, volunteer opportunities, foster opportunities and rescue group coordination for the animals of their county.

Dekalb County, Georgia, found themselves in this very same situation not so many years ago.

What did they do? 

They lost the Apathy.

And, when they did that…

When they Cared about the way their county managed their animals…

They brought in an organization - a Managed Shelter Care that was capable of designing and implementing:

Effective programs aimed toward encouraging adoption and proper care of domestic animals.
Such programs and services…be expanded and improved to meet the growing demand for such services by the citizens of the county.

The Very Thing Bartow County has Contracted Etowah Valley Humane Society To Do…The Very Thing They ARE NOT Doing.

This organization, LifeLine Animal Project, also offers resources and programs to keep pets in their owner’s care and reduce overpopulation.

They train personnel at DeKalb to help struggling owners find alternatives to surrendering their pets. Programs like their Spay Neuter Impact Program (SNIP) DeKalb helps prevent unwanted litters through free and reduced-cost spay/neuter services offered at the LifeLine Spay & Neuter Clinics.

And, much of this work is largely funded by donations from generous supporters.

They lost the Apathy.

I'm not saying Bartow County needs to get LifeLine Animal Project in to manage their animal crisis...

What I am saying is that The Animals of Bartow County Need a Life Line.  They need a system in place that will responsibly manage animal welfare in Bartow County.  

Sign the petition asking Bartow County to Lose Their Apathy for the Animals of their county.  Ask Bartow County to Care.

Click Here for more Details on
Bartow County's Dirty Little Secret

avatar of the starter
Marti StarkenbergPetition StarterTired of beating my head against the wall asking for Change, asking for Shelter Management in Bartow County. I Am, Sikuvit, R. U. Decided to Create Change with Awareness by starting This Petition.
Media inquiries
This petition had 3,982 supporters

The Issue

Over 1,000 animals a year are euthanized every year in Bartow County Georgia because of Minimal Efforts on behalf of the county.

Apathy for the Animals there.
 
A fundamental shift is needed to change the way Bartow County manages the animals in their care…

Away from Euthanasia as a Way of Life - the way they manage it now…

To Managed Shelter Care that ends the euthanasia of healthy and treatable dogs and cats in Bartow County Animal Control…

To Humane Care, Veterinary Care including spay/neuters, Pet Adoptions, Animal Reclaims, Volunteer Opportunities, Foster Opportunities and Rescue Group Coordination.

None of Which Are Effectively in Place at This Time in Bartow County.

"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

~ Mahatma Gandhi


Bartow County has failed in it's duty as citizens of this nation to treat the animals of it's county humanely.  

It has long ignored the cries of it's own citizens and the citizens of Metro Atlanta to Stop Living in Apathy for the Animals of their county.  

Steve Taylor - Bartow County Commissioner…

Bartow County Animal Control - primarily functioning as intake facility for the unwanted animals and transport for euthanization for over 1,000 a year…

Etowah Valley Humane Society - the small rescue contracted and not equipped to handle the amount of unwanted animals in this county…

The Director of Etowah Valley Humane Society - Brian Canty - a self proclaimed "Not an Animal Person" person running the society…

Cartersville-Bartow Chamber of Commerce - Over 1,000 emails asking them to bring in a Shelter Management Company...not one response to us...

All Live in Apathy for the Animals - Not caring enough to truly manage the situation.  Not caring enough to offer veterinary care, spay/neuters, pet adoptions, animal reclaims, volunteer opportunities, foster opportunities and rescue group coordination for the animals of their county.

Dekalb County, Georgia, found themselves in this very same situation not so many years ago.

What did they do? 

They lost the Apathy.

And, when they did that…

When they Cared about the way their county managed their animals…

They brought in an organization - a Managed Shelter Care that was capable of designing and implementing:

Effective programs aimed toward encouraging adoption and proper care of domestic animals.
Such programs and services…be expanded and improved to meet the growing demand for such services by the citizens of the county.

The Very Thing Bartow County has Contracted Etowah Valley Humane Society To Do…The Very Thing They ARE NOT Doing.

This organization, LifeLine Animal Project, also offers resources and programs to keep pets in their owner’s care and reduce overpopulation.

They train personnel at DeKalb to help struggling owners find alternatives to surrendering their pets. Programs like their Spay Neuter Impact Program (SNIP) DeKalb helps prevent unwanted litters through free and reduced-cost spay/neuter services offered at the LifeLine Spay & Neuter Clinics.

And, much of this work is largely funded by donations from generous supporters.

They lost the Apathy.

I'm not saying Bartow County needs to get LifeLine Animal Project in to manage their animal crisis...

What I am saying is that The Animals of Bartow County Need a Life Line.  They need a system in place that will responsibly manage animal welfare in Bartow County.  

Sign the petition asking Bartow County to Lose Their Apathy for the Animals of their county.  Ask Bartow County to Care.

Click Here for more Details on
Bartow County's Dirty Little Secret

avatar of the starter
Marti StarkenbergPetition StarterTired of beating my head against the wall asking for Change, asking for Shelter Management in Bartow County. I Am, Sikuvit, R. U. Decided to Create Change with Awareness by starting This Petition.
Media inquiries

Petition Closed

This petition had 3,982 supporters

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The Decision Makers

Peter Olson
Peter Olson
County Administrator
Responded
“As County Administrator for Bartow County, I wanted to respond to this petition. First, there is a lot of misinformation and indeed hysteria on the internet about Bartow County Animal Control and folks simply do not have the facts. Our Animal Control facility has been visited by officials from several neighboring counties and praised for how well it works and how well we work with our local humane society. Over the last several years, the overall euthanasia rate has declined from 82% to 29%, but that includes all animals such as those that are aggressive dogs or bite dogs that have been owner-released because the owner was unwilling to comply with the requirements to keep an aggressive dog. We do not allow those dogs to be adopted as they are a public safety risk. It also includes dogs that are very sick, and much of that number is feral cats. In terms of animals that are reasonably adoptable, the euthanasia rate is under 3%. Additionally, the total number of animals taken in has been dropping steadily, from 6,200 in 2011 to 3,900 in 2016, so education efforts have been succeeding. It is sad to have to euthanize any animal of course and we make every effort to reduce that number. The county contracts with Etowah Valley Humane Society to handle adoptions because it was chaos before, with various animal rescue organizations bickering and fighting about animals. The Deputy Director told me of one particular incident where two rescues were fighting over who would get a Labrador puppy, with one pulling on the front legs and one pulling on the back legs! Other rescues in the past have put up photos of dogs in custody on their website to solicit donations to rescue the dog, but then they never come and get the dog. EVHS will work with any rescue that complies with Dept of Agriculture regs. All available animals are photographed and put up on their website for adoption. There have been a variety of incorrect assertions about our animal control program. 1. Animals are not being starved. All animals are given plenty of food. Large dogs get a 32oz portion of dry food and small dogs get a 16oz portion. We have plenty of food to provide, it is all donated. Even though we budget money for food purchases every year, we don't have to spend it between bags provided by Wal Mart and other retailers and donations by citizens. The sad fact is dogs in unfamiliar kennels are under stress and often don't eat. Imagine how unhappy a dog must feel, away from their familiar surroundings. The deputy director reports to me that they don't let food sit in the bowls when it's time for the next feeding. They throw out what is in the bowl and give a fresh portion. A lot of food gets through away uneaten, but is is available. So if you have seen pictures of dogs looking skinnier in shelters, the reasons are emotional rather than lack of food. 2. Illness and disease is not rampant in the facility. The kennels are kept clean and comfortable. Animals are kept separated unless they came in together from the same location, or unless overcrowding gets severe. On my recent visit last week to the facility, many of the runs were empty. All runs except quarantine have an inside and outside portion separated by a gate. There is no particular problem with illness or disease. The Department of Agriculture regularly inspects the facility and we comply with all relevant regulations. 3. All adoptable animals are photographed and posted weekly on the EVHS website, and are available for five to ten days. EVHS adopts about directly about 500 to 600 per year, and rescues pull about 1,800 more. The number of reasonably adoptable dogs euthanized last year was probably about 75. That is still a sad statistic, but we are working to try and reduce it. 4. Dog fighting is not occurring. A lot of interest got stirred up in response to a recent incident that hit Facebook about two pitbulls that got into a fight. Here are the facts. The two dogs were owner-released from the same household. I don't know the circumstances of the owner release but it wasn't for aggression or biting as they would not have been put up for adoption, as these were. Dogs that have lived together are put into the same run. A rescue contacted EVHS and put a "hold" on those dogs, meaning they intended to come and pick them up. They were still there, not having been picked up yet, after about two weeks, when they suddenly turned on each other and started fighting. A kennel attendant was right there and tried to separate them with stream of water, and then animal control officers responded and were able to get them separated into the two sides of the run. The rescue was contacted and told they needed to come get them immediately. 5. Our shelter is highly regarded by other professionals in the field. We have been visited by officials from Gordon, Polk and Floyd County (neighboring counties) all to study how we do it and all have complimented our operation and said it was one of the best they have seen. We have an excellent relationship with our Humane society and also the local League for Animal Welfare. It is just some unhappy rescues that think we are so horrible. Frankly, it is my understanding some of the rescues don't like having to go through EVHS, they all just want to come in and take their pick. The department made the decision several years ago, based on the incidents I relate and others, to not allow rescues back into the shelter anymore and have all adoptions and rescues managed through the EVHS. So some unhappy rescues wage a misinformation campaign against us. EVHS works quite well with responsible and reasonable rescue organizations who meet Dept of Agriculture standards. We have 12 full and part time staffers working animal control (along with community service workers and inmates on work release) and a budget of around $900,000. I came across a statistic in a 2011 Cherokee County report that Fulton County spends about $2.28 per capita on animal control, Cherokee County spent $4.64 per capita and we had the highest spending of nine counties in the metro Atlanta region at $8.28. Putting my County Administrator hat on, it's not my goal to have the highest per capita spending in any department, but it shows financially we put more into Animal Control on a pro rata basis than anyone around. We are very proud of our department and very satisfied with their efforts. We certainly appreciate all the animal lovers out there and their concern for the animals. It is unfortunate we have to have an animal control department at all, because all the problems come from irresponsible pet owners; but we do our best to make a bad situation less bad.”
Steve Taylor
Steve Taylor
Bartow County Commissioner
Derek Keeney
Derek Keeney
Board of Directors Cartersville Bartow Chamber
Jessica Fleetwood
Jessica Fleetwood
Board of Directors Cartersville Bartow Chamber
Jessica Hill
Jessica Hill
Community Development Director
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Petition created on September 26, 2016