What’s the holdup on building the new animal shelter? The city has approved the money, and the land has been selected.
Of course, they have money for other things and buildings. For example, the gaudy City Hall. That’s just a little bit too fine and fancy. It looks like it belongs on a movie set in Hollywood.
During my 60 years here, it seems like the animals are always last, or not at all.
Let me paint you a picture. When you go to the animal shelter, it’s old, it’s depressing and it’s sad. Not to mention it’s near a sewer pond. And it stinks.
No, folks, that’s not the animals stinking like that. It’s the wastewater treatment ponds. Why would we subject our understaffed employees and volunteers to that kind of smell? There is never any fresh air there — not even on a good day.
The shelter has been there forever. Let’s build a new one now. Our pets deserve one, and so do we, the citizens of Tracy. The pets bring us happiness.
I do not understand those who say that we must show compassion only to our fellow humans. Why can we not show compassion to both human and animal. Must it be one or the other? If I see a starving, cold child, I will certainly give that child a meal and a coat. If I see a starving, cold, stray animal I will give that animal a meal and warmth. I have a big enough heart to care for both humans and animals.
I replied, "If my child dies, I will carry this pain with me for the rest of my life, but if my pet dies (I had a dog die), that pain will be with me for a few days or weeks and I will move on with life."
I am far more worried about our fellow humans that are starving or homeless or suffering. Spending money on a fancier animal shelter (a luxury item to begin with) is inappropriate with the economy in shambles and so many folks doing so poorly.
So your saying that animals can survive better than humans? Humans have all the abilities to do anything and survive anywhere but animals have limited resources...and how funny is this, "Spending money on a fancier animal shelter (a luxury item to begin with) is inappropriate with the economy in shambles and so many folks doing so poorly". Are you serious?
I find it curious that anyone would find my statement controversial. (the one that starts "Spending money...")
Animal shelters are clearly a luxury item. Consider the entire scope of human history and every nation on Earth. I would bet that only a small fraction of nations have the money for an animal shelter (I will guess 25%). I would further bet that the idea of animal shelters has only been around for a hundred years or so, versus the couple hundred thousand years of human history. For the vast majority of cultures that have existed animal shelters are an unimaginable luxury and most would probably see them as insanely trivial and wasteful.
As for the second part of the regarding the appropriateness of spending on an animal shelter when humans are suffering, I again fail to see how that could be considered so odd that you would doubt my seriousness. Imagine that, I think that humans are more important than animals, how insane of me.