THE NEW FANNIN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER
Some History
Over 25 years ago, the people of Fannin County approached the City of Bonham elected officials to have a humane new animal shelter built. This was because the existing facility did not meet the rules and regulations of the Texas Department of State Health Services Zoonosis Control for a county with a population under 75,000.
Their voices were not heard and excuse after excuse was made preventing the building of a humane animal facility. A few of the excuses voiced were:
· Where are we going to get the money for the construction?
· How much will it cost to operate it?
· The people of Fannin County don’t want to have their taxes raised for an animal shelter.
These are just a few reasons why a new animal facility was never built.
The conditions currently impounded animals suffer with are graphically displayed in the pictures in the section entitled “Bonham Pound.”
Issues concerning the existing shelter:
· the Bonham Pound is not open to the public for adoptions
· there is no staff should you want to find your lost pet
· the animals have no access to the outdoors
· there are no windows or central air unit when temperature go high in the summer and no heat for winter temperatures
· cats and dogs are in the same room
· animals are put down in front of one another
· there is only one full time ACO (Animal Control Officer) who has other duties as a dispatcher and community service work coordinator
· when the ACO does manage to find a home for an animal, they are not spayed/neutered nor rabies vaccinated which adds to the over population of unwanted pets and is a health hazard to the community and in the end, costs tax payers more money to manage.
The taxpayers gave up hope that their elected officials would do what is right. This project was buried but never forgotten.
Someone New Joins the Fight in 2008
Mr. and Mrs. Allen, residents of Fannin County for 17 years, approached the City of Bonham with a proposal and solution to the urgent need for having a new animal facility for Fannin County.
The proposed solution included:
· an escrow agreement with a $60,000 cash donation toward the construction cost
· $20,000 cash donation from an animal organization called Critter Corner
· $40,000 USDA Grant that was given to the City of Bonham. The grant was originally $50,000. Each year the Grant is not used it decreases.
· They hired and paid an architect to do the floor plans which initially consisted of 18 dog runs. This was changed to 30 dog kennels at the request of the elected officials.
· Extensive research was done to ensure that the floor plans followed the rules and guidelines of having an impoundment/ rabies facility.
· The architect followed the Texas Health & Safety Code and regulations, and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
When Mr. and Mrs. Allen did not receive any feedback from the City of Bonham, they went to the County and offered them the same proposal.
It was then that the City of Bonham wanted to be a part of this project. Mr. and Mrs. Allen’s architectural floor plans were discarded and replaced by a firm called Hayter Engineering of Paris, Texas. The floor plans were changed many times because they did not follow the guidelines of the Texas Health Department, HSUS, or the DSHS.
What’s Happening in 2011?
In 2011, the County elected a new judge, Spanky Carter, who has vision and leadership. Once again, the need for a Fannin County wide animal facility is back on the agenda.
Currently, we have a new animal shelter floor plan with 30 dog kennels (all of which are 4x6x6) with access to the outside though doggy doors. These 30 kennels include 4 quarantine kennels, 4 dog receiving kennels, a cat room for 16-18 cats, and:
· 12 skylights to cut back on electricity bills in the dog kennels area
· 1 skylight for the cat room
· central heating/air conditioning
· handicapped friendly
· low maintenance steel building
· food storage room
· separate euthanasia room
· office/adoption room
· bathroom
· mechanical room
· work room for food preparation
· good drainage in all dog kennels
In addition to a modern floor plan, the new center:
· will be open to the public for adoption
· adoption fees will include spay/neutering/rabies vaccination and a micro-chip
· animals impounded will be posted on Petfinder.com website which is free
· people can search for missing pets from a link available at thinkFASThelp@aol.com
· management Software to make running the facility easier
· dog facility regulations, fees and definitions will be posted on the website
· Information will be available for all cities that participated in Inter-local agreement and to the accessible to the public.
We have gone from having cash donations of $120,000, including the $40,000 USDA Grant that was given to the City of Bonham in 2008. We now have cash donations of $230,000 without using the USDA Grant of $40,000 which has now expired.
Take a few minutes and review the drawings and illustrations of the new shelter.
Are We At the Finish Line?
A meeting crucial to this project will be held on May 23, 2011 at 9:00 AM at the County Court building in Bonham. We have climbed many mountains to get this far and we know some of you have given up hope that a new animal facility will ever be built. We ask you to have your voice be heard by the County Commissioners and the County Judge. Let the Judge and Commissioners know that you are a citizen of Fannin County and you want a humane animal facility built for all of the citizens of Fannin County to use. Assure them that you are willing to have your taxes raised to have this become a reality.
We know that 9:00 AM is early andthat some of you have to be at work. Please e-mail or contact the Judge and let him know that even though you are not present, you want your voice to be heard.
County Judge Spanky Carter
903-583-7455
e-mail: clcarter@fanninco.com
You want the Judge to vote “Yes” on your behalf. Please be polite, and remember, Judge Carter is new to this office. He has a vision and the leadership which has allowed us to get this far. We hope to see construction start before 2011 ends.
Thank you,
AOHT’s (All Our Hearts Together) Rainbow Bridge
501(c)3 Animal Rescue Organization
