For those of you who live in Berrien County and have pets, how familiar are you with our Berrien County Animal Control facility?

Did you know that it is listed as one of the Top 11 worst shelters in the State of Michigan per a Pet Friends Magazine article that ran Sept. 13, 2014?

We have a shelter that after 20-plus years of being managed by its Director has failed to make improvements for the countless animals that enter through the shelter door. One improvement was the banning of the gas chamber in August 2015. The director fought to keep it, according to the Herald-Palladium article that ran Aug. 15, in which stated she is against eliminating the gas chamber.

We, the taxpayers, have a director who is unwilling to work with the public or rescue groups. There is no transparency, or posting of available dogs and cats or found dogs and cats on social media (claiming they don’t have the time), or changing the hours of the shelter to accommodate the public who can’t make it there during normal business hours.

We have a shelter that has a bad reputation to where, with good conscious, we cannot recommend anyone taking an animal there without the possibility of a bad outcome. Berrien County Animal Control has a new facility that will open up sometime in June. Do we really want the same old uncaring mentality to follow into a new facility? No! We need new management!

If you have a pet and it gets lost for whatever reason, it could very well end up at this shelter and you may never know it. I highly recommend going in person and not call to make sure they do or do not have your pet.

It is time to hold BCAC accountable for their actions and their unwillingness to work with the citizens of Berrien County.

Please attend a Board of Commissioner meeting, hosted every Thursday in St. Joseph at 701 Main St. The meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. then at 9:30 a.m., and last one at 10:30 a.m. Just recently they have offered evening meetings. Go to the website www.berriencounty.org to find your commissioner and contact them your questions or concerns.

Your voice must be heard and it is important in making a difference for the animals of Berrien County!

 

Tina Mangrum

Berrien County