Remarks about our lack of shelters in Greene County

Rescues don't discuss their (prices), and they really aren't prices, they are the donation request that the rescue must have to possibly operate. In the small rescue this donation never covers the actual cost of medical and housing of an animal.

I have one dog in our rescue that has been in my care since 2004. There is no person out there who would ever be willing to cover my costs of keeping this dog for six years.

I am not the only rescue around who has had an individual dog for numerous years, most of them are in the same situation, and many of them have multiple dogs in this situation, as do I (three right now).

It is not the dogs fault that it isn't adopted, people always want the babies, and then many people ditch the babies when they become teenagers and out of control because they have had no training. Of course puppies being adopted or bought just brings us back to the original situation, dogs needing to get into rescue because nobody wants them.

Price can't be a consideration, and posting rescues prices can't be an answer, this isn't comparison shopping. Small rescues don’t make a profit; they are always in the hole. The only profitable rescue around here is our local humane society.

The reason that the rescues don't advertise more strongly is that when people find out where they are located they get dumped on. When people know that a rescue exists, they drive by and toss the animals out the window. Back when our animal control would not take owner surrenders, I was out there one day and a truck drove through their parking lot and threw a dog out the window as they sped by. Apparently people who are willing to dump figure that we are rescue people, and we will take the animal in if they give it a toss close by us. These people don't understand that we can't afford to take in every animal, and we also don't have room.

You can look up the 990's on the non-profits and see that the support around here goes to the humane society. They aren't the most efficient in utilization of funds in fact dollar for dollar and with actual program services; Feral Friends beats them by a zillion miles.

All the other non-profit rescues are taking in well less than twenty thousand a year, I know this because they are exempt from filing a 990 on an annual basis, me also. Look them up, the reports are public information.

All of the rescues I listed have websites, and they are listed on as many other locations as they can list themselves for free. The rescue owners themselves have jobs, they are mostly not computer literate, and don't understand marketing or how to market for free, or have the time to dedicate to that because after their jobs and their families and taking care of the animals in their care, they need to sleep, not plan marketing campaigns.

Rescue people never go anywhere, because they don't have anyone to stand in for them to take a vacation. These people are easily maligned but seldom helped. They receive advice about how they should be doing things but are seldom provided the funds or assistance they would need to do the things they wish they could do.

So far as them not answering your emails, I always do, but many don't and I know this. It is very disturbing to constantly tell people that there is no room in your rescue. For some reason, just because we are rescues, people assume that we have unlimited space and supplies and money to just solve everyone else's problems. We don't put any animals down unless it is an unsolvable medical condition. Therefore, we are always full. That is what no-kill means.

A new no-kill shelter or humane society, or rescue could open every week in Greene County, and I can guarantee you that if they have 10 dog runs and 10 cat condos they would be full within a week. Think about that, for dogs, I am only talking about 520 dogs a year coming in, and the rescue can get 520 adoptions of dogs a year. That doesn't happen! In 2007, the Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society only took in 375 dogs, and 173 of those were carefully selected from animal control.

A quote from Washington County Animal Shelter (Animal Control) “Dobbs provided some figures to the city commissioners which show that in 2008 the shelter was able to adopt out 41 percent of the animals that were picked up or owner-surrendered (3329 animals out of 8152). Eight percent were reclaimed (685 animals). Fifty-one percent of animals entering the shelter were euthanized (4136).

The shelter takes in animals for both the city and the county. They received more calls for animal pick-up from county residents than from city residents (1450 to 1029) but far more city people turned animals in than county people (3394 to 2378). The town of Jonesborough accounted for 131 animals in the shelter.”

With all of the organizations operating in Greene County, I suspect that over 4,000 dogs were taken in and adopted or still in these rescues from last year. And a giant point to make here is the other 4136 that were euthanized in Washington County, here in Greene County, they starved to death, or found homes with people in the county who are severely put upon because people keep dumping their problems on them and they take the animals in because they can’t stand to see them homeless. We are bulging at the seams, our public citizens, the rescues, and shelters.


No-kill is really the problem, because the commissioners in this county CAN'T step up to the plate and pass laws about spay/neuter or licensing. They have tried. They get threatened with having their homes burned by the hound dog owners who won't spay/neuter. If you were a commissioner would you cast that yes vote and loose your home? Legislation is going to have to come from the state, and until it does, nothing will ever happen.

Okay, that does not justify not answering an email, but...many of these people also have jobs and families, they have not time left on there plate, because they can't get volunteers, and sometimes when they do get volunteers, there are problems there, because a newbie volunteer has stars in their eyes about what rescue actually is. This always just adds to the stress of the rescue organization when the newbie’s start handing out opinions, and doing things against the rules, and making judgment calls on the rescue organization. They just want to help, but they don’t have the miles of experience to understand the scope of the problem.

If you can volunteer for a rescue, volunteer, and follow their rules, you haven’t walked a mile in their shoes.

My suggestion to everyone out there is lend a hand in some way, educate the public, pay for spay/neuters for others. I know a registered nurse who does private rescue. She also goes around the county and picks up dogs and personally pays for spay/neuter and returns them to the owners.

Do something, but never place an animal for adoption that has not been spay/neutered without a very large deposit that will guarantee that the animal gets the surgery because the family will want their deposit back. If animals aren’t being born, there would be no need for rescues, shelters and humane societies. Good licensing regulations stop pet over population, not no-kill shelters. You have to get into the individuals pocket to get their attention.

No Kill Animal Rescues in Greene County, TN

The subject came up recently on another discussion board that there was a lack of no-kill shelters in Greene County.

I responded to that post, and my response was removed, so I am going to post as much as I can remember once again here, and I am sure I will expand on the subject.

There are many no-kill shelters operating in Greene County. With the exception of Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society, these shelters are not supported by the community, and the people who run them are constantly stressed by their need for funding, volunteers and other support.

This stress load does not stop them. I know many hard working rescue people who have been at it for years. Many of them live in personal poverty, but still work at rescue. The animals in their care come first.

The animals in their care are the cast asides that people thoughtlessly dump on our county roads, or move off and leave sometimes chained up or locked in a building. We are a monstrous society when you think about how many people treat animals. I pray that some day the laws will be strong enough to stop the senselessness of not spay/neutering, of willfully abandoning or abusing any of God's creatures.

I will list many of the active rescues that I personally know about:

A Second Chance Adoptions
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN275.html
apawparty@aol.com

A Voice for Pets
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN288.html
sweatpea21560@yahoo.com

Bright Hope Animal Rescue
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN507.html
bhanimalrescue@aol.com

Feral Friends of Greene County, Inc.
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN363.html
adoptions@feralfriendsofgreenecounty.org

Forgotten Angels Animal Rescue
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN279.html
forgottenangelsanimalrescue@yahoo.com

Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN90.html
gchs78@juno.com

GreenePets Foster Network, Inc.
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN258.html
greenepets@gmail.com

Helping Paws mountain View Rescue, Inc.
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN249.html
cdavispaws@comcast.net

Mustang Alley Horse Rescue, Inc.
http://www.mustangalley.org
mahr@mustangalley.org

Sheltie Rescue of East TN, Inc.
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN355.html
brenda@sheltierescueetn.com

As I said before, the only rescue that is really receiving any support in our community is the Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society.

Every rescue needs financial support.
Every rescue needs volunteers helping with animal care, fundraising, and getting the word out.
Every rescue needs donations of food and supplies.
Every rescue needs help with veterinarian bills.

You can call the vets in Greene County and find out which ones are working with which rescues. Donate to that rescue at the vets office.

Our state mandates that in order to rescue dogs and cats the rescue is responsible for the spay/neuter. No animal is to be placed unless the surgery has been performed. Yes, veterinarian fees are expensive, but guess what, not spay/neutering is even more expensive.

Anyone placing an animal in a new home without spay/neuter is only adding to the problem. New homes sometimes don't work out, then the animals are on the loose again able to breed.

We have many wonderful veterinarians who are working hard with these rescues, and they are trying to keep costs down to the rescue, still there will always be a never ending supply of abandoned dogs, cats and horses that must be dealt with by someone.

Contact the above rescues and see what you can do to help.

Oh, and another thing. Feral Friends not only rescues and places cats, but they are dedicated to maintaining colonies of feral cats around the county. These cats have all be captured at one time or another, spay/neutered, and vaccinated. To maintain a colony, they are visited on an ongoing basis, and fed. Feral Friends has been doing this for years, I am sure they need volunteers.