Chattanooga: Heritage Park Dog Park

Tell Your Dog To Save His Pennies

If you live in Chattanooga, plans are going forward to create a pay dog park at Heritage Park.

Here's a notice that was in The Chattanoogan earlier this week for the City Council meeting on October 19 where there will be a First Reading of the following Resolution:

A resolution authorizing the Department of Parks and Recreation to

enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the McKamey Animal Care

and Adoption Center and the Chattanooga Goodwill Industries to

operate a membership-fee dog park located at Heritage Park.

According to news sources, a season pass for the park would be $50 and dogs and their owners would get "services and amenities" not available at other dog parks in the city. These would supposedly entail an on-site monitor (someone to watch the dogs play?), health screening (?), separate areas for large and small dogs (what, two fenced areas?), double-gated security (oh, to keep people out), drinking fountains for the dogs, and "commercial grade" agility equipment, whatever that means.

According to Larry Zehnder, Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Director, "This is a somewhat of something that's happening throughout the country, these kinds of specialty facilities for dogs."

Uh, no, it's not. Private or pay-to-play dog parks are relatively rare in the United States. They have only been tried at all in the last several years and, so far, opinions about them are very mixed. As you might imagine, many more affluent people are all in favor of them, while people with more modest incomes are usually wondering what their tax dollars are being used for when they can't even take their dogs to a park that they have probably helped pay for already.

Considering all of the rhetoric that Chattanooga has put forth about making the city more livable and offering amenities to its residents, it does seem very strange that they would want to charge for something as basic to human (and dog) life as a dog park. On the other hand, Chattanooga does tend to like to keep the "riff-raff" out, so maybe this is just their way of maintaining a sense of smug superiority over certain people they don't want to meet in a dog park, even if they do have dogs.

It seems to me that if Chattanooga was serious about making life better for dogs that this dog park would be freely open to all who wanted to use it.

If someone wants to have a "membership-fee" private dog park, shouldn't it be done on private property instead of city property?

It kind of makes you wonder if someone will challenge the city about this idea, too, and take them to court for keeping dogs out of a city park, doesn't it? Oh, and McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center will be involved in running the park, so you have to wonder just how long it will be before things really go off the rails.

VOTE in Tennessee!

It's Time To Vote In Tennessee!

Make sure you check out the Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting

Alliance recommendations at the link below for legislators who oppose

or support the radical agenda of the Animal Rights movement to end

all use and interaction with animals: http://www.saova.org/2010/

Tennessee10.html

Susan Wolf has done an excellent job compiling this information with

nationwide recommendations. You'll find specific endorsements for

many Tennessee races.

It was an enormous project and Tennessee voters certainly appreciate

it. So please vote November 2nd! Urge all your friends and family

to vote if you want to preserve our historic relationship with

animals. If you just want to view animals from afar ... in the wild,

vote for the "animal rights" extremists' endorsements. They are

about abolition, not animal cruelty as claimed.

Early voting in Tennessee is going on now through October 28.

VOTE NOVEMBER 2ND! Our animals lives truly do depend upon your

participation in this electoral process.

Cross-posting encouraged

TENNESSEE: Vote "YES" On Proposed Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment!

From the National Rifle Association:

TENNESSEE: Vote "YES" On Proposed Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment!

The proposed Right to Hunt and Fish constitutional Amendment, on the November 2 Ballot, will amend the Tennessee State Constitution to forever recognize Tennessee's sporting heritage and the great contributions that hunters and fishermen make to conservation and wildlife. The National Rifle Association has spearheaded efforts to provide truly meaningful protections to sportsmen across the country. These meaningful protections embedded in the proposed Amendment are the result of the NRA's effort to enshrine in the Tennessee Constitution the people's long cherished right to hunt and fish. It is expected that nearly one-quarter of all states will have adopted similar amendments by year's end. Tennessee’s Right to Hunt and Fish provides permanent safeguards against attacks from the radical animal "rights" extremists whose ultimate goal is to end all hunting in America.

Hunting and fishing has a rich heritage that is woven into the very fabric of the Volunteer State. The proposed Amendment will allow your kids, grandkids, and future generations to have the opportunity to experience the outdoors in the spirit of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. The flourishing wildlife populations and sound conservation in Tennessee are the result of what hunters and fishermen do.

PETA opposes the Right to Hunt and Fish in Tennessee, which should be reason enough to vote Yes on November 2. They have been quoted as saying that the proposed amendment is a “solution in search of a problem” and that no one is trying to ban hunting or fishing. Soon after these statements, PETA sent a letter to UT-Chattanooga asking that the University ban its fishing team because fishing is a “blood sport.” The fact is that PETA and extremists like them are the problem and this Amendment is the solution. Making hunting and fishing a permanent part of Tennessee’s Constitution will help to fend off attacks from anti-hunting extremists who continually attempt to advance their emotional and political agenda.

For more information, please visit: http://www.nraila.org/righttohunttn/

Vote "Yes" on the Right to Hunt and Fish amendment and tell the anti-hunting radicals that the Volunteer State is off-limits to their anti-freedom agenda!

IMPORTANT! Chattanooga: City Council Eyes Changes to Charter, Ordinances

Heads up!!!! If you live in Chattanooga or the surrounding areas this is something that you should watch carefully. Make sure that any changes are done fairly. These changes could affect you and your dogs, cats and other animals since they will impact the way that McKamey seizes animals and your right to appeal. Whether you are a kennel club person, a breeder, or just a pet owner, this pertains to you!

If you let the city write whatever they want they will make it easy for McKamey to seize animals and hard to appeal. You see they didn't even have an appeals process in place when they originally wrote the laws regarding McKamey. Pay attention to what they're doing now or you might not be able to get your animals back, or you'd have to spend thousands of $$$$ to try.

Carlotta

City Council Eyes Changes to Charter, Ordinances

October 12, 2010 10:52 PM

Jana Barnello

Recent court cases have exposed problems with the Chattanooga City Charter and city ordinances. Council members are talking about when and how to fix those problems.

Two big stories over the summer showed where city laws and rules aren't what they should be - the Recall Ron movement and the the Pet Company court case. Councilman Andrae McGary asked the rest of the city council at Tuesday's committee meeting to consider going through the charter to make sure they're up to date with the law. It was an idea proposed back when a Hamilton Court Judge ruled that state not city charter recall rules applied to a recall effort of Mayor Ron Littlefield.

"It just raised a lot of questions as to, 'Are there other areas that we may have overlooked that really are not applicable but we think they are?'" McGary said.

Any charter changes would have to be put up for a public vote in 2012. However, McGary's other concern could get addressed much sooner. That concern is with the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center.

When it was created, the city put no appeal process in place for animal businesses that lose their license. A judge's decision to throw out McKamey's case against the Pet Company left taxpayers footing the bill to care for the seized animals. Something that might have been avoided had that appeal process been in place.

"I'm not sure I understand the technicalities of it, but I know to be able to appeal,and what that looks like. That's not currently in our charter and it needs to be," said McGary.

Discussion on both issues will start in the Legal and Legislative committee chaired by Councilman Peter Murphy. Murphy says they'll start with McKamey.

"According to the trial judge - the substitute trial judge - they don't have the power to decide whether McKamey can or cannot hold an animal so there's that problem. We may have to assign it to a board or create a new entity," said Murphy.

Murphy says changes to ordinances involving McKamey could be written and adopted in a few weeks.

Another city law that could see some changes is about chickens, and whether you can own them in the city limits. They'll discuss that next Tuesday with representatives from McKamey.

MSN in Memphis; Elsewhere in Tennessee?

Doing a little catching up here today. Memphis passed a law requiring mandatory spaying and neutering last week. Such a bad idea!

From Eyewitness News Memphis

http://tinyurl.com/2fm5r64

New Law Mandates Pets Be Sterilized

Reported by: Jeni DiPrizio

Email: jdiprizio@myeyewitnessnews.com

MEMPHIS, TN-- If you own a cat or dog in Memphis, you have to get your pet fixed. A new law requires the animals to be spayed or neutered.

“Just like all the problems in Memphis there is no magic wand that will act as a cure, but this is one step to create a better environment for animals and citizens,” said Memphis Animal Shelter Director, Matthew Pepper.

Every year the shelter euthanizes 16,000 animals. Pepper hopes the new law will reduce the number of pets put to sleep. He added, “I think over time, spay and neutering is the long term solution to the problems we face in this community.”

Under the law, almost all cats and dogs are required to get sterilized. Pet owners can pay a $200 license fee to avoid spay or neutering their pets. Guide dogs, police dogs and breeders are exempt from the new law. Veterinarians can also exempt dogs for health reasons.

Pet owner Donna Malone thinks the law is a bad idea. “Basically this law says we don’t trust you to do what you need to do with your pet,” said Malone.

Malone believes the new law is unfair to poor people who can’t afford the added cost of sterilizing their animals, “People will end up having to surrender their pets because they can’t afford what needs to be done.”

Memphis City Councilman, Shea Flinn said the new law is a secondary violation. Animal control officers won’t search for violators. Officers will only issue a citation in connection to another violation. “The veterinarian is not going to rat you out. If your dog is in its backyard behaving you are not going to notice the change,” said Flinn.

If a pet owner is ticketed for violating the law, it is a $50 fine.

I know that Donna Malone and others in Memphis have worked their tails off trying to convince the city council that MSN is a bad idea but this time it must have been like talking to a brick wall. MSN has never worked anywhere it's been tried. It increases owner turn-ins to shelters, which leads to more animals being euthanized. It causes more people to break other pet laws because they don't want their pets registered. It means that people won't vaccinate their pets for rabies and other diseases because they don't want to risk a trip to the vet or let someone know they haven't gotten their pet spayed or neutered. MSN leads to widespread disregard of all animal laws in a city and lower compliance. Many of the places that have tried it have revoked it. The ASPCA, the AVMA and virtually every other major animal organization opposes MSN. And, yet, people and clueless local politicians keep forcing it on people. Good luck, Memphis. I hope you and your pets and pet owners survive the next few months as MSN is implemented.

What's also bad is that when one city or town puts MSN into effect, it immediately sets off other places where clueless people want to have MSN. Case in point: east Tennessee.

If you go to the site make sure you read the comments. There are some good ones.

From VolunteerTV.com

http://www.volunteertv.com/news/headlines/104034969.html

Some hope for mandatory spay neuter law in East Tenn.

One Tennessee city is now telling pet owners, they have to spay and neuter their cats and dogs. The Memphis City Council approved the ordinance Tuesday, and some around here hope similar ordinances spread around East Tennessee.

Posted: 6:13 PM Sep 29, 2010

Reporter: Heather Haley

Email Address: heather.haley@wvlt-tv.com

Some hope for mandatory spay neuter law in East Tenn.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- One Tennessee city is now telling pet owners, they have to spay and neuter their cats and dogs.

The Memphis City Council approved the ordinance Tuesday, and some around here hope similar ordinances spread around East Tennessee.

Everyday Young-Williams Animal Shelter houses nearly 400 animals, hoping to find each one a home.

Executive Director, Tim Adams said, "If you're going to try to control or get a handle on the over-population problem in your community, truly the best way to do it is through aggressive spay neuter."

But last year, nearly 17,000 pets came into the shelter, "And 12,000 and some were euthanized," added Adams.

Memphis has the same battle with the pet population, so the City Council approved a mandatory spay neuter ordinance for dogs and cats.

President of the Board for the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley, Pat Hackett said, "As a tax payer, I'd like to see something done instead of using our taxes to euthanize these animals. As a Veterinarian, I'd like to see these animals not be destroyed, and as the president of the Humane Society, I'd like to see us come up with a solution."

The Memphis City Council is providing exemptions. An owner can buy a $200 permit to keep their pet fertile, and if an animal is registered with an approved organization, such as the American Kennel Club, then they can skip spaying or neutering. Or, if a Veterinarian says the surgery would harm a pet.

Adams said, "It simply makes it a little more difficult for the back yard breeders, to do what they're doing. The responsible breeders, I'm sure if the law is passed, the only way it's passed, is if the responsible breeders have a way out."

Hackett said, "If it works in Memphis, it will probably spread to other cities."

Adams with Young-Williams Animal Center, encourages city and county officials around the region to look to Memphis as an example, and hopes similar laws will be discussed soon, but he says there needs to be exemptions for the responsible breeders, for it to pass.

I think the key point in this article is the statement that "if it works in Memphis, it will probably spread to other cities." Considering the way that Memphis has been running its animal control operation and its shelter, the chances of the city succeeding with mandatory spay neutering are zilch, even if it was a viable plan. Considering that MSN doesn't work anyway, I expect Memphis to fall flat on its face with MSN. Don't be surprised if the number of animals euthanized in Memphis shoots up in the next year — or if they start refusing to report their numbers, or make excuses.

As for having MSN in Knoxville or other parts of east Tennessee, know that there are people here who will fight it to their last breath. So far MSN has been defeated several times in Johnson City, Greeneville and other places where people have tried to launch it in the eastern part of the state. We've been preparing for Knoxville for some time, if necessary.

Chattanooga: Pet Company animal cruelty case dismissed

According to another article, McKamey also has to pay court costs.

Carlotta

From the Chattanooga Times Free Press

http://tinyurl.com/36uej27

Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010

Pet Company animal cruelty case dismissed

By: Joan Garrett

An animal cruelty case against a local pet store, which was being

tried for the second time in city court because the first judge

recused herself and declared the case a mistrial, was dismissed by a

senior judge Monday.

City attorneys said the ruling means that McKamey Animal Care and

Adoption Center will not recover the $40,000 spent caring for the 84

animals taken from the Pet Company this summer.

“If this ruling stands, no action will be taken against the Pet

Company,” said Krystal Freiberg, an assistant city attorney. “We

haven’t decided if there will be anything else done.”

The animals, which were taken to McKamey because a Tennessee

Department of Agriculture inspector found them without water and

rolling around in their own feces in extreme heat, were sent back to

the Pet Company last week, said Paula Hurn, operations director at

McKamey. The animals were taken to a veterinarian and not the store,

officials said.

In a ruling, Senior Judge Donald Harris said the retrial of the Pet

Company’s case violated laws against double jeopardy because the pet

store never consented to the mistrial.

“It appears the City Judge [Sherry Paty] without forewarning the

parties as to her intent, entered the courtroom, read her prepared

order and then left,” the ruling read. “Under these circumstances,

this court cannot find the Pet Company had an opportunity to object

prior to the declaration of a mistrial and recusal of the city judge.”

The city’s case against the Pet Company, a pet store in Hamilton

Place mall, was set for retrial after Paty said she couldn’t try the

case because Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield had sent her an e-mail

attempting to sway her.

Paty called the communication “an improper, unethical and perhaps

contemptible disregard for the separation of powers.”

Littlefield has said he thinks the city has been slow in dealing with

the Pet Company, and he wants the store out of business for good.

“This order doesn’t contradict McKamey’s findings, and certainly

Judge Paty recognized the condition of the store,” said Mark

Litchford, an attorney representing the city. “She said the

conditions of the store necessitated the animals’ removal.”

Contact Joan Garrett at jgarrett@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6601.

SAOVA Letter Regarding Proposed Memphis Dog Ordinance

Sportsmen’s & Animal Owners’ Voting Alliance

Carlotta Cooper, Tennessee Director

address

address

August 22, 2010

Memphis Public Services & Neighborhood Committee Members

and Memphis City Council Members

125 N. Main

Room 514

Memphis, TN 38103

Dear Committee and Council Members:

I’m writing to you on behalf of the Sportsmen’s & Animal Owners’ Voting Alliance (SAOVA), a national organization that represents the interests of hunters, sportsmen and pet owners, in opposition to the publicized spay neuter ordinance that you are said to be considering for Memphis. We have numerous supporters in the Memphis area and we strongly believe that this ordinance would be harmful to all dogs and dog owners.

By imposing a 29-pound weight limit and requiring dogs weighing 30 pounds or more to be spayed and neutered, eight of the top 10 breeds registered by the American Kennel Club would have to be spayed and neutered in your city. These breeds include such family favorites and hunting dogs as Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers and Beagles.

Mandatory spay neuter laws have been tried in many places in the last couple of decades and they have failed everywhere they have been tried. One notable place they have failed has been Asheville, NC. Although Asheville was initially held up as an example of success, the city and Buncombe County no longer release their shelter intake numbers. The last numbers they reported several years ago showed that, after implementing mandatory spay neutering, they only took 15 fewer dogs into their shelters than the year before, when there was no MSN.

The fact is that when mandatory spay neutering is implemented people stop following ALL local dog ordinances because they are afraid they will be turned in for not having their dogs spayed or neutered. This means that dogs go unvaccinated and unlicensed. Unvaccinated dogs represent a public health risk. Cities lose money for needed animal control services.

If mandatory spay neutering is enforced, many people will surrender their dogs to the shelters or turn them loose because they simply cannot afford to have their dogs spayed and neutered. This means more dogs in shelters and more dogs euthanized. The number of dogs killed in Memphis would escalate. Is that really what you want in your city?

SAOVA suggests stronger enforcement of existing leash laws. We understand that animal control in Memphis may be understaffed but instituting mandatory spay neutering will only create an additional burden on your animal control staff if they must try to police the reproductive status of people’s pets.

We would also like to point out that mandatory spaying and neutering of dogs over 29 pounds is unfair to sportsmen who hunt with their dogs. Virtually all breeds of hunting dogs weigh over 29 pounds. There are many clubs for sportsmen in Shelby County, as well as individual hunters. They live in your districts. Sportsmen use dogs for hunting or retrieving fox, raccoons, birds, and waterfowl, to name a few. Hunting dogs from all over the United States compete each year in the National Bird Dog Championship just outside Memphis. These hunters support the state by purchasing hunting licenses and hunters spend billions of dollars annually on equipment. These hunters do NOT want to pay a $200 fee to keep their dogs intact. Hunters have protested attempts to impose mandatory spay neuter laws wherever they have been proposed throughout the state. There is currently no city or town in Tennessee with a mandatory spay neutering ordinance.

Trying to fund animal control by means of $200 fertile animal permits is a very shortsighted policy. There is a large amount of material that shows that spaying and neutering pets, particularly at a young age, can cause health problems to dogs. Owners should have the right, without prejudice, to keep their pets intact. Decisions to spay or neuter should be made by an owner in consultation with their veterinarian. These are health decisions for the pet.

http://www.theriogenology.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=59

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf

Virtually every major animal organization now opposes mandatory spaying and neutering, including the following:

American Dog Owners’ Association:

http://www.adoa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=29

Alley Cat Allies:

http://www.ncraoa.com/PDF/Alerts/position_msn_2007%20AlleyCatAllies.pdf

American College of Theriogenologists and The Society for Theriogenology:

http://www.theriogenology.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=59

International Association of Canine Professionals:

http://canineprofessionals.com/Articles/Mandatory%20Sterilization.pdf

American Herding Breed Association:

http://www.ncraoa.com/articles/MSN/AHBA.pdf

National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors, Inc.

http://www.nadoi.org/position3.htm

The American Veterinary Medical Association:

http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/animal_welfare/population_control.asp

and

ASPCA

http://www.aspca.org/about-us/policy-positions/mandatory-spay-neuter-laws.html

A $200 fertile animal permit also punishes good breeders. These are the people who belong to kennel clubs, offer dog training, and rescue and foster dogs. You need these people in your community. Instead of punishing them by trying to create an exorbitant permit fee you should be trying to work with them to find good solutions. They are the people with the most knowledge about dogs in your community. They are not the problem. They are your greatest resource.

We hope that you will reconsider and find a better solution for the animal control issues in Memphis. Voluntary spay neuter programs have been very successful in many areas. There are many grant programs and organizations that provide funding for communities in need. These programs have been proven to work much better than mandatory spay neuter programs.

If I can be of any assistance please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Sincerely,

Carlotta Cooper