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Page 1 of 1 Cheryl Phipps - SBACC q 8 From: Pam Wesolowski To: Date: 6/10/2011 7:58 AM Subject: SBACC Dear President Jones, I recently heard about the South Bend Common Council's decision to table a request from Code Enforcement Director Catherine Toppel for an additional $300,000 to build South Bend's new animal shelter. The new shelter building is long overdue for South Bend whose officials keep billing it as a "21St Century City." I strongly oppose the Common Council suggestion that South Bend Animal Control merge with the St. Joseph County Humane Society, and I applaud Council President Derek Dieter's refusal to sign on to that. It doesn't consolidate "duplicate" services as common council members have stated in a letter dated May 25, 2011 to the Redevelopment Commission. That would be like saying that South Bend didn't need an airport because Chicago has one. We have thousands of animals that enter each separate animal control facility each year and we need to support the most humane response to animal care and control as we can. South Bend Animal Care and Control has a track record of working with rescue groups such as Pet Refuge and Heartland Small Animal Rescue to keep from having to euthanize healthy, adoptable animals. SBACC has also worked with Michiana Feral Cat Initiative to help humanely reduce stray cat overpopulation in South Bend through TNR. (The St. Joseph County Humane Society will not even work with local rescue groups who are willing to pull dogs and cats, even though it would save the lives of hundreds of animals within the system). A new shelter, at a cost of an additional $300,000, would do much to allow SBACC to improve their efforts and would improve the environment for employees, potential adopters and the animals alike. How we treat the animals in our community goes to the heart of us as a community and has a huge impact on our image to residents and non - residents alike. SBACC, as well as SJCHS both display "compassion fatigue" and the euthanasia numbers for each entity reflect that. If South Bend Animal Care and Control services are contracted out to the St. Joseph County Humane Society, any ground that has been gained will be lost in the efforts that have been made to make us a better, more progressive community as it relates to animal welfare. The St. Joseph County Humane Society has a track record of misleading the public and do so to this day. They state they are no -kill when you ask, yet their euthanasia rates are still around 69% and higher. And at the suggested costs proposed to merge, South Bend will end up spending more for services than they ever would with a new shelter under the City of South Bend's control. $300,000 is not a lot to spend for a building that will service us for many years to come. (Just think about how much money has been spent on Coveleski stadium alone! $300,000 is a small cost to do a better job at saving lives and providing safety for more of our animals. It's time for this community to take a step forward with animal welfare and show that sentient lives do indeed matter. If you consolidate SBACC's services with the Humane Society, you will do a serious disservice to the animals and the citizens who care about them. Please support South Bend Animal Care and Control. I urge you to vote to fund the new shelter for SBACC so they can become a model for our animal control facilities on more compassionate care. Sincerely, Pam Wesolowski 1102 South 32nd Street South Bend, IN 46615 file: / /C: \Documents and Settings \CPHIPPS \Local Settings \Temp \XPgrpwise \4DFICE917S... 6/10/2011