TOP DOG CATCHER
By: Pat Hunter
March 31, 2009
Can you imagine Loudon County Mayor Doyle Arp catching stray animals and transporting them to the shelter in his county car as Mayor Jerry Cunningham? Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham is pictured below as Top Dog Catcher, gloves and all, accepting a surrendered dog, which was later transported to the Loudon County Animal Shelter.
Loudon County Animal Shelter Loudon County Animal Shelter door
The same Loudon County Animal Shelter with the sign on its door that says "WE ACCEPT LOUDON COUNTY RESIDENTS ANIMALS ONLY." Click to See Timeline and Voting Record of Commissioners.
The stray animal arrangement with Blount County was supposed to be temporary and only last 6-months. Two years later, why are Loudon County taxpayers still subsidizing the care of Blount County strays?
According to the Maryville Daily Times, eight (8) stray animals were transported to the Loudon County Animal shelter last Friday March 27, after Blount County animal control officers called in sick, Mayor Cunningham and Blount County Finance Director Dave Bennett filled in for the day.
Taxpayers subsidize cozy arrangement with Blount County
Blount County - Friend or Freeloader?
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"County Mayor Jerry Cunningham accepts a surrendered dog at the old Hubbard School on Friday when he filled in for the county’s animal control officers, who were sick. County Mayor Jerry Cunningham and Finance Director Dave Bennett stepped into the breach on Friday when both of Blount County’s animal control officers called in sick.
Dogcatchers for a day:
County executives fill in for animal control officers
By
Joel Davis
of The Daily Times Staff
Originally published:
March 28. 2009 3:01AM
Last modified: March
27. 2009 11:50PM
County Mayor Jerry Cunningham and Finance
Director Dave Bennett stepped into the breach Friday when both of Blount
County's animal control officers called in sick.
The two men spent the day accepting surrendered animals from
county residents at the old Hubbard School and
then
transporting them to Loudon County.
"Both of my animal control officers called in sick this morning," Cunningham
said. "(Friday) is surrender day at Hubbard. I told Dave 'there are just too
many people who had called in that they were bringing (animals to surrender),
and if we didn't show up, we'd catch it. I said 'let's just go out there and do
it.' We went out there and did it."
"I'm about to wind about it up for the day," Cunningham said, with a laugh, when
reached by cell phone on Friday.
What did he think of the experience?
"I don't want to do it full-time," he said. "We got about eight of them and took
them to Loudon County."
Animal control has been a problem since the previous County Commission declined
to continue funding a contract with Maryville for animal control services. The
Loudon County Commission is accepting Blount's animals at the Loudon County
Animal Shelter for $4,000 a month until June 30, 2009.
"The service we've been giving, it's been kind of pitiful," Cunningham said.
"We're tweaking a lot of things. It's a work-in-progress. We're hoping to give
our citizens better service on animal control than in the past. "I've been very,
very dissatisfied with it. We've implemented some new policies, and I think that
folks will see a drastic improvement, but I won't be patrolling for strays
tonight."
The county has been involved in a public-private partnership to build a new
county animal shelter. The Smoky Mountain Animal Care Foundation, which is
raising funds for the effort, recently received a $25,000 grant from The Charles
and Sue Fouche Charitable Foundation to go toward construction of the new Blount
County Animal Center.
The estimated cost to build the facility as designed is $1.6 million. The County
Commission previously appropriated $430,000, which includes $80,000 raised by
the SMACF and $350,000 in seed money that the commission authorized in 2007,
that will allow the core of the facility to be built.
The general contractor for the animal shelter is Carico Construction of
Louisville. The animal center is set to open in three phases. Phase I consists
of operational kennels and limited office space. The animal shelter is being
built behind the Boys and Girls Club, 241 Currie Ave.
For more information about the Blount County Animal Center project, contact Rick
Yeager at-621-0539 or Chris Protzman at 824-1700. To learn more, visit
www.smacf.net.
In normal circumstances, Blount County Animal Control will respond to calls at
228-0024 Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On Fridays, an animal
control representative is in the parking lot of the old Hubbard School, 3509
Tuckaleechee Pike at the corner of the pike and Hubbard School Road, from 8 a.m.
to 2 p.m. to receive animals. County residents may bring unwanted dogs or cats
there to be surrendered during those times."
SOURCE: The Maryville Daily Times
http://thedailytimes.com/article/20090328/NEWS/303289984
03-31-2009