TOSETTI: A plea to Montgomery County

What a great county we live in. Where town and country meet, the best overall location in the State. Close to many major highways, hospitals, colleges, lakes, major cities, churches and we have good soils. 

We are far enough away to keep nearly all the local items and conveniences we need and nearly all the recreational things needed as a very desirable county and most of all a very friendly and loving area. After all, it is not the quantity of life but the quality of it. 

I (we) appreciate all the individuals that offer to serve their communities, cities, etc.  After all, we must stay on course in the right direction and look to the future before us (down the road).   Having said that, we must also continue to be mindful, thoughtful, and human in every respect, if we want to attract the people we desire to our area. This county is sitting on a gold mine, if we keep it clean and safe.  Most people want to be free, to be safe, and to live in a clean area.

I personally could not and will never understand why the county took away such an important item as recycling with all the trash items. (Was that an improvement for the county?) This is not the safe and clean county it once was.

Now it is under consideration to euthanize dogs, cats, etc. at the Montgomery County Animal Shelter. What is a man, woman child’s best friend? What wags its tail instead of its mouth?  What is always happy and glad to see you? I know of no animal that has ever done me wrong, but I know of a few individuals who have tried.  They say animals need people, true, but people also need animals.  That is why God put them here.  If we keep it up, people will have to go to a state park to see a tree or a zoo to see an animal.

There are much better and more humane ways to deal with our pets, our best friends.  Let us have a reputation as the county with pet parks, no-kill shelters, and regulations on pet businesses and help with spaying and neutering.  These are all part of God’s creations and are here for a reason.  Let the county, animal organizations, and veterinary professionals all work together to find a good solution to make everyone’s life and our animal’s life better for a better today and tomorrow for all.  Let’s do it.

There are better ways and we need to do a better job.  We are not euthanizing them; we are killing them and dehumanizing us as a society!  I hope you will not do that to your family pets.

Editor’s note: This is why events like the Canines and Cars event this past weekend in Nokomis exist. Four of the eight dogs available for adoption found new homes. A few cats were able to find a new forever home as well. Between the car show and vendor fees, community organization fundraisers, and personal donations throughout the day, roughly $3,000 was raised for Montgomery County Animal Control. Shall we consider making Animal Control a not-for-profit organization just like PAWS CARE? Or should efforts be made to redesign the department, call it Animal Rescue, and work with PAWS Care and other organizations to find these animals their forever home? We (as in the editorial board) believe that any of these options would be crucial to its future.