No-kill shelter requires reducing animal numbers

Published Saturday, November 14, 2009

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Switching the Beaufort County animal shelter to a no-kill shelter will take more than a change in philosophy. It will take money and a commitment from the community to reduce the number of abandoned animals.

The existing county shelter can only hold so many animals. The shelter almost certainly would have to be expanded, and the cost to care for more animals would go up.

The Hilton Head Humane Association has operated a no-kill shelter since 1976, but it takes substantial private investment to do it. The group's IRS filing for 2008 shows that its expenses totaled $766,724. It reports net assets of $3.6 million.

Over the years, the group's dedicated volunteers have taken animals home with them when the shelter was too full. The shelter has since been expanded. Today, it cares for more than 200 animals, according to its Web site.

Beaufort County Councilman Rick Caporale, who represents part of Hilton Head Island, is advocating for a no-kill county shelter.

The number of animals killed at the shelter is disturbing -- 3,876 of the 5,604 animals the shelter took in last year.

Some were feral or too aggressive or sick to be adopted, but others fell victim to inadequate space and scarce resources. The shelter has enough cages for 48 adult dogs and 68 cats, said Toni Lytton, director of Beaufort County Animal Control and shelter.

Volunteers willing to foster sick animals until they can be spayed or neutered and adopted are hard to find, she said. People willing to adopt also are hard to find.

Caporale recognizes that it would be impossible to turn the existing shelter into a no-kill shelter. There are too many animals that would have to be accommodated.

He raises a good question, though: Is the $1 million the shelter gets each year from the county being used to best advantage?

Can things be done in a different way that would result in more animals' lives being saved?

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals points out that a no-kill shelter won't solve the problem of too many stray animals. The way to become a "no-kill community" is to become a "no-birth" community.

"Euthanasia is a kindness and a necessity that can't be undone by manipulating numbers, limiting drop-off hours, relaxing adoption standards, 'storing' animals indefinitely, or promoting impulse adoptions -- all policies that we have seen implemented at shelters that claim to be lowering euthanasia rates," a representative of the group writes in a letter published Saturday.

Moving to a no-kill shelter is a worthy goal, but more of us will have to do our part to reduce the number of animals that end up in a shelter, and we'll have to be prepared for the additional costs.

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Senator Tom Davis(R-District 46)
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326C Blatt Building, Columbia, S.C. 29211-1867
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15 Goldfinch Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
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P.O. Box 11867, Columbia, S.C. 29211
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151 Gascoigne Bluff, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
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434B Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
(803) 734-3062

Beaufort County

Rick Caporale (R-District 1)
17 Salt Wind Way, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
Office: 680-9999; fax: 681-6700
Steven Baer (R-District 2)
10 Heather Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
Office: 689-3570; fax: 689-3569
Stu Rodman (R-District 3)
27 Baynard Park, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
Office: 363-470; fax: 363-6472
Weston J. Newton chairman (R-District 4)
P.O. Drawer 7049, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29938
Office: 842-6111; fax: 706-9981
William McBride (D-District 5)
P.O. Box 77, St. Helena Island, SC 29920
Fax:(843)838-8303
Home:(843)838-2264
Gerald Dawson (D-District 6)
64-A Horace Dawsone Drive, Seabrook, SC 29940
Fax:(843)846-4738
Office:(843)846-4830
Paul Sommerville vice chairman (R-District 7)
1509 Pigeon Point Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
Fax:(843)379-7115
Office:(843)379-7114
Herbert N. Glaze (D-District 8)
P.O. Box 4053, Burton, SC 29903
Fax:(843)846-3601
Home:(843)846-2845
Brian Flewelling (R- District 9)
25 Petigru Drive, Beaufort, SC 29902
Fax:(843)379-9806
Office:(843)379-9805
Jerry Stewart (R-District 10)
11 Teaberry Lane, Bluffton, S.C. 29909
Office: 705-4753; fax: 705-4723
Laura Von Harten (D-District 11)
166 Fuller Parkway, Beaufort, SC 29902
Fax:(843)379-1380
Office:(843)379-1367

Beaufort County School District

District Office: 1300 King St., P.O. Drawer 309, Beaufort, SC 29902
Office: 322-2300; fax: 322-2371
Hilton Head Island office, 689-4635; fax: 689-4617

Beaufort County Board of Education members

Fred S. Washington chairman (District 11)
PO 325, 804 West Street, Beaufort, SC 29901
(C) 843-524-8404
Bob Arundell vice chairman (District 2)
198 Woodlake Villas, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
Home: 681-8502; work: 7855-8040; fax: 785-3056;
Joan Deery (District 1)
5 old Fort Drive, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
Home: 681-8968
Wayne Carbiener (District 3)
Home: 843-363-2113
Laura Bush (District 4)
P.O. Box 172, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
Home: 757-2638; fax: 757-2638
Michael F. Rivers, Sr. (District 5)
734 Seaside Road, St. Helena, SC 29920
(H) 843-838-2277
FAX 843-838-1192
Earl Campbell (District 6)
93 Bruce Smalls, Grays Hill, P.O. Box 768, Lobeco, SC 29931
(H) 843-846-4531
(C) 843-476-7512
FAX 843-846-1373
Jim Bequette (District 7)
4 Broomfield Lane 2532, Beaufort, SC 29907
(H/C) 843-263-8327
Herbert Burnes (District 8)
95 Pine Grove Road, Beaufort, SC 29906
(H) 843-846-445
(C) 843-263-2776
Ronald Speaks (District 9)
3121 Palomino Dr., Burton, SC 29906
(H) 843-525-1163
(W) 843-525-8277
FAX 843-525-1163
George Wilson (District 10)
20 Osprey Circle, Callawassie Island, S.C. 29909
Home: 987-1234; cell: 812-9870

City of Beaufort

Mayor Billy Keyserling
771 Ribaut Rd., Beaufort, SC 29902
(843) 986-2444 (Work)
(843) 521-2600 (Home)
Councilwoman Donnie Ann Beer
P.O. Box 1171, Beaufort, SC 29901
379-6099 (Home)
379-2750 (Work)
Councilman Gary Fordham
860 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
524-3334 (Home)
Councilman Mike Sutton
809 Craven St., Beaufort, SC 29902
252-5687
Councilman Mike McFee
2302 Wilson Dr. Beaufort, SC 29902
843-321-0556 (Work)
843-522-1528 (Home)

Town of Hilton Head Island

Town Hall: One Town Center Court, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928; 341-4600

Town Council

Mayor Thomas D. Peeples
4 Hartford Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928-3922
Home: 686-4138; office: 681-2600; fax: 689-3229
Bill Ferguson (Ward 1)
634 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Home: 686-2863
William Harkins (Ward 2)
3 Old Fort Lane Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
263-3261 - cell
Drew A. Laughlin (Ward 3)
5 McIntosh Road, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Home: 689-5723; work 689-5700; fax 689-9300
John Safay (Ward 4)
19 Starboard Tack, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Home: 785-4489; work: 785-4696; fax: 785-4696
George Williams (Ward 5)
8 Braddock Cove, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Home: 363-6601; fax: 363-6604
Ken S. Heitzke (Ward 6)
3 Audubon Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Home: 681-8182; fax: 681-9864