College students should be active in local issues because we're young, energetic and full of ideas. Too often, though, we must sit idly by while politicians screw everything up. Such is the case involving Muncie's animal shelter.
I hope this is not the first time you're hearing about this.
For a long time now, Muncie's animal shelter has been in jeopardy of being shut down. Maybe that is what's expected when good ol' boy politics and cronyism are practiced. Like when Muncie Mayor Sharon McShurley hired Robert Jessee as the new director of the shelter last month. Jessee is the brother of the old director and the son-in-law of a county council member.
Jessee does have experience. He has served as the contracted Delaware County Animal Control Officer since 2006. According to a March 4 Star Press article, McShurley hired him to bring about much needed cooperation between city and county animal control.
Oddly enough though, McShurley has no intentions of implementing a recent plan for the city to consolidate animal control to Delaware County government.
The plan, referred to as the Bookout Plan (named for Brad Bookout, a Democrat, who drafted it) would help resolve a decades-long problem for Muncie and would save the city $69,000 per year.
City council passed the resolution unanimously last week, even receiving votes from Republican councilmen in a courageous act of bipartisanship. It is ultimately up to the mayor's approval though, and she informed the Star Press she had no intentions of doing that because she questioned the county's ability to run animal control.
If this was true, then why would the mayor hire a former county animal control employee?
With all of this discussion on policy implementation and whatnot, it's easy to forget who the real victims in this story are: the animals.
While I'm not biggest animal lover in the world, I certainly do care about all living things, especially the cute and furry ones. It turns my stomach just doing research on this topic and reading about all the cases of animal abuse that have occurred in our own city, most notably dog fighting.
Indiana is, in fact, one of the few remaining states where it is not a felony to be a spectator at a dog fight. This is a problem. But who is to blame?
I find it unfathomable how some people can be so overwhelmingly caring for animals while others are so cruel. Is it just the human condition? Are we being desensitized by violence in the media? Or are issues like dog fighting only coming to light because people are finally getting fed up with this kind of behavior? I hope it's the latter.
As always, my advice is to get informed and get involved. A good place to visit is the "Save the Muncie Animal Shelter!" page on Facebook where you can find links, discussion and other information about this issue.
One Munsonian, Terri Panszi, decided over a decade ago that she was fed up with the poor treatment of animals. She got involved in 1998 when she created the Animal Rescue Fund. The fund has expanded and now provides shelter, food, medical care and love to abused and abandoned animals in the Muncie area.
On Friday, I was fortunate enough to attend a comedy showcase set up as a fundraiser for ARF. The evening was a huge success. If you missed it, I suggest visiting them at munciearf.com or stopping by their Facebook page to find other ways that you might help.
Clever acronyms aside, ARF does not actually do anything to find and rescue animals in need, which is why an animal control agency is so important. Just like the Facebook page says, "Animals can not speak for themselves! We have to be their advocate when they are being ignored!"
And I honestly agree. The way we treat our animals reflects on other parts of our lives. Those who don't treat animals well are often the same people who don't treat people well, either.
"McShurley" you can relate.
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