My name is Burton Fletcher; I live at 3533 Cherry Creek Road, Valdosta, GA 31605. My telephone number is 229.560.8180.
I am the president, founder, and executive director of the Burton Fletcher Foundation for Animals, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit in the City of Valdosta and Lowndes County.
I am a retired full professor of business administration. I have lifetime college teaching credentials in Business and Industrial Management, Marketing and Distribution, and Law. I am a State Bar of Georgia member and currently an Emeritus Attorney. I have a long history in education, law, entrepreneurship, and community service.
THE FOLLOWING IS MY THEME FOR? THIS EVENING’S REMARKS:
BURTON FLETCHER: We Can Do Better In Animal Welfare Management In Lowndes County
I dedicate my remarks this evening to Mr. Charles DeVane, who passed away on June 30, 2024. Mr. DeVane was a well-known hero in the animal rescue community. His passing has left a void that can never be filled. He was my friend and my hero, friend and animal welfare hero to many. All of us in the animal rescue community deeply feel his absence.
Since its formation on September 21, 2021, the Burton Fletcher Foundation for Animals has made significant strides in its mission. As advocates, public educators, and cheerleaders for the animal rescue community, we have accomplished a great deal. Our achievements, made possible by your support, are milestones and symbols of our collective dedication. We should all take pride in what we have accomplished together and let it inspire us for the future. Our collective effort has brought us this far, and I’m confident that together, we can achieve even more for animal welfare in Lowndes County.
As you all know, my passion for animals is unwavering. I am deeply grateful for the recent support that many of you, including our county commissioners, have shown for the Burton Fletcher Foundation. Your presence at our Making A Difference Award Ceremony on March 12, 2024, was a testament to your commitment to animal welfare and demonstrated your value and importance to our cause. It meant a great deal to me, and I want to express my heartfelt thanks to each of you.
This year, the Valdosta Daily Times has published 12 of my articles, two front-page stories on the activities of my foundation, and two other short articles in our local newspaper. These publications are not just a reflection of our unwavering commitment to animal welfare but also a reassurance of our dedication. We are dedicated and will continue to be dedicated, to making a difference in the lives of the animals in the City of Valdosta and Lowndes County. Our commitment is unwavering, and you can be confident in our continued efforts.
Chairman Slaughter and members of this honorable body, I am here this evening to speak about the Lowndes County Animal Shelter. There is a need for improvement, and I am here to discuss how we can work together to achieve this. Since there will be inadequate time for me to cover all my remarks, you will receive a copy of my presentation this evening.
My comments are regarding the institution, not the people. I do my best not to criticize individuals in public, as I presume they are doing their best within the institutional framework within which they work.
I have provided our county clerk, Ms. Belinda Lovern, our county manager, Ms. Paige Dukes, and each honorable gentleman and gentlelady with a copy of my article titled “BURTON FLETCHER: Animal shelter’s 2nd quarter statistics.”
This evening, I wish to discuss some points from my latest article published on July 18th in the Valdosta Daily Times.
Adoptions Through Our Shelter
| January, February, and March: | 108 adoptions through our shelter. |
| April, May, and June: | 128 animals were adopted through our shelter. |
| Eighty-four canines: | 47 adult dogs and 37 puppies. |
| Forty-four felines: | 25 adult cats and 19 kittens. |
| Total Number of Animals Euthanized During January Through June: | 358 Animals. |
| Total Adoptions, Jan. Through June: | 236 Animals. |
LOWNDES COUNTY KILLED 122 MORE ANIMALS THAN WERE ADOPTED THROUGH OUR SHELTER DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS. THE WORD “EUTHANIZED” IS TOO SANITARY WHEN HEALTHY ANIMALS ARE KILLED BECAUSE OF A LACK OF POPULATION CONTROL IN OUR COUNTY.
When Chairman Slaughter announced in a Valdosta Daily Times article published on February 17, 2024, that he was running for a fourth term, the article detailed, “Slaughter hopes to work with the county Board of Commissioners to make improvements on ordinances so they can better serve all the residents of Lowndes County. Some of the ordinances Slaughter wants to improve have not been updated for 20 years or more.”
Chairman Slaughter said, “It’s time to update a lot of those ordinances…We started working on that this past year, and certainly there will be a lot more ordinances to come that we will need to look at. We have ordinances we want to improve in animal control, and some of our noise ordinances.”
That was more than five (5) months ago, and I have not seen or heard anything since. My rhetorical question is, “Are we any closer to moving forward during the past five months than we were before then, and if not, why not? Why do we have so much delay?
- Lowndes County Animal Welfare Commission:
We need a Lowndes County Animal Welfare Commission to oversee our animal shelter.Just as various commissions focus on specific areas of government and report to this honorable body, a Lowndes County Animal Welfare Commission would allow us to laser-focus on animal welfare management in Lowndes County.
Let’s face it: this honorable body has many responsibilities that demand your attention. Respectfully, you don’t have adequate time to be a specialist in animal welfare.
The Animal Control Board makes life-or-death decisions for an animal after a dog bite incident, but no civilian group oversees the shelter. This needs to change.
Albert Einstein is credited with saying, “If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always gotten.”
If you are satisfied with the number of animals being killed in our shelter for space, then you do not need to do anything. If you love animals and value their lives and want the number of adoptions through our shelter to exceed the number of animals euthanized, then you should act and take real action.
- Animal Rescue Organizations Are Hurting And Need Your Help
Killing animals as a means of animal welfare regulation seems odd to me. Our shelter killed 358 animals during the first six months of this year.
Before killing an animal, it seems reasonable to attempt to save that animal’s life by posting pictures on Facebook and elsewhere to inform the community that this animal will be killed on a particular day unless it is fostered or adopted. I have seen many animals saved in this manner. Lowndes County does not do this, preferring to kill animals without broad notice to the public.
Killing should not be done in secret. If it were out in the open for all to see, there would be more spaying, neutering, adoption, volunteering, and donating to animal rescue.
There would also be more transporting to areas where the ratio of animals to humans is more favorable.
Killing is what we do when an animal is destroyed because we failed to do everything within our power to reduce the number of animals entering our animal shelter. It is not euthanasia but unadulterated killing.
Lowndes County is better than many other South Georgia counties. Wikipedia states that Lowndes County has the largest population in the 18 counties referred to as Southeast Georgia, with a total resident population of 416,498 in 2020. We are in a position of leadership.
Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Tift, Turner, and Ware.
In 2022, the median household income of Lowndes County households was $52,821. More recent statistics lower the median household income to $50,405—source: ESRI Economic Forecasts. Of the 50,200 households in Lowndes County, 15.0% of Lowndes County families live in poverty—
source: www.georgia-demographics.com, and www.georgia-demographics/lowndes-county-demographics The weighted average poverty threshold for a family household of four persons was $26,496 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, “Poverty Thresholds.” www.georgiadata.org
The federal poverty level for individuals in 2024 is $15,060, $20,440 for a family of 2, $25,820 for a family of three, and $31,200 for a family of four. www.healthcare.gov.
With a population of 50,200 households and a 15 percent poverty rate, this equals 7,530 families in our county below the poverty rate, or approximately 18,106.80 Lowndes County residents who live in poverty.
These people love animals, too, but can you blame them for not spaying and neutering their animals when they don’t have adequate food or housing?
What is our county doing to help these folks spay and neuter their animals?
I am unaware that Lowndes County is donating money for spaying and neutering. If it is, I don’t see it in the budget.
The county isn’t providing money to our animal rescue organizations, either.
However, our county will kill animals for free and without questioning the motives of the owner or the health of the animal, and so far as I can tell, without trying to save any of these animals. I think this doesn’t seem right.
- Improved Citizen Participation Will Generate Better Decision Making
I don’t believe this esteemed body, our excellent county manager, or the honorable director of our animal shelter have all the answers.I know I don’t have all the answers, but I believe there needs to be much improved communication and a better flow of information between citizens and our government leaders.
Our county needs public hearings, focus groups, and citizen oversight of our animal shelter.
I also don’t believe this honorable body actively or effectively involves the community in your decision-making processes before they are submitted to it for an up-or-down vote, and citizens are given very few minutes to comment. In the professional world, we caution: “Garbage in; garbage out.”We Need Real Action In This County If We Are Going To Reduce The Killing Of Innocent Animals.
- What can we do to increase the adoption rates in our Lowndes County Animal Shelter?
First, we should adjust and increase the hours our shelter is open. It should be open when parents and their children can visit together. I recommend that our shelter be open every Saturday and Sunday.
What Is The Paradigm Of Our County Regarding Animal Welfare?
When I was a full-time college professor teaching courses in management and marketing mostly, I heard the word “paradigm” used a lot, and I also used it a lot. A paradigm is a standard, perspective, set of ideas, or thinking pattern. It is how we look at the world. It is a word often used in academia, business, and the scientific ,community. </span
Status Quo Management Does Not Serve Us Well.
I might also point out that “status-quo management” by our shelter, or this commission, is too common when progressive management is needed.
Why rock the boat unless there is a groundswell of emotional voters or organizational members sufficient to challenge those in power? Sadly, even when correct, single voices have little power without significant followership. It is a rule of life.
Change is uncomfortable for everyone to some degree. The stronger the opinions, the stronger the resistance to change will be. Those pursuing change are often treated as adversaries rather than the heroes they usually are, and no one should experience retaliation for seeking change.
Lowndes County Appears To Be Acclimated To Its Faults Regarding Animal Welfare.
Animal Rescue Organizations Are Drowning In Animals
As a full-time professor of management and marketing, I lectured on how we become acclimated to our faults and how individuals and organizations become acclimated to issues and situations and, in doing so, become complacent. They overlook essential details that might be visible to the outside eye. Our animal shelter would benefit from outside eyes. We are not as progressive in Lowndes County as some smaller counties that are more proactive in animal welfare management.
I don’t want to go negative, so I will jump into Nathan Winograd’s article and amplify some of his points.
Nathan Winograd is the foremost advocate for animals nationally. If you love animals and want to reduce the killing, I highly recommend subscribing to his newsletter.
His July 19, 2024, email is titled “A crisis of ‘shelter’ managers’ own making.”
It is common in animal rescue to hear people in the know speaking of how they are “drowning” in animals available for adoption. Winograd refers to this as a “code red” moment. He speaks my language and that of many others when he notes the decline in adoptions and funding.
Winograd’s “The No Kill Advocacy Center” argues that we need “creativity, ingenuity, and technology” with “online applications,” “meet-and-greets,” “home delivery,” and even “drive-thru fostering.”
We need real dollars for animal sterilization services. I recently read comments on Facebook pleading for financial assistance and arguing that $50.00 per animal is more than they can afford to sterilize feral animals.
Suppose a citizen in our community wishes to catch a feral cat. In that case, the county should fund the spaying and neutering of that animal at the lowest possible cost so that it can be returned to the area where it is trapped.
We need the support of our community, and those doing good deserve our support. If the county’s only solution is to kill that animal, then the community is not going to be a participant in the killing of that animal.
I consider $50.00 a bargain, but those are my values and financial reality, not the reality that many others face. Many good-hearted people want to help animals but need more economic resources. Their situation needs and deserves respect. It is cliché at this point, but there is merit to the phrase, “Your perception is your reality.”
In my article in the Valdosta Daily Times highlighting the second quarter’s statistics for Lowndes County, I used our county’s numbers to prove that we are killing many more animals in the shelter than we are adopting through our shelter.
Shelter Staff Need To Be Proactive And Take Animals Out Into The Community.
I would like to see shelter staff take animals out into our community, where the people are, for off-site adoptions. We spend more than 1,000,000 annually on animal control and need better results.
Our Shelter Should Be Open When Citizens Can Visit With Their Children.
Our animal shelter should be open during evenings and weekends when people are off work. Many businesses close during the week and stay open when people are available. Our animal shelter is primarily open during regular working hours but must be open for more than 22.
The Current Hours For Our Shelter Are Not The Best For Adoptions.
The current hours for our shelter are Monday and Saturday, 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Tuesday through Friday, 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and intake hours are 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Our Shelter Is Open Only For 22 Hours Per Week.
Thus, our shelter is only open and available for adoption 22 hours a week. Except for the afternoon on Saturday, I don’t believe it is open during the critical times when moms and dads can visit conveniently and with their children.
I don’t have children to consider as part of my adoption process, but if I did, I would take my child or children with me so my children could be an indispensable part of the adoption process.
Shelter Hours Should Be Convenient For The People It Serves.
Shelter hours should be convenient for the public rather than the staff. Our shelter is a service center, and serving others requires considering the needs of the people and the animals we serve. Instead of the current limited and inconvenient hours offered, we can turn around our statistics and adopt more animals than we are killing.
Our Shelter Is Located In An Inconvenient Location, Requiring More Creativity To Increase Adoptions.
Let’s face it: our shelter is in an inconvenient location for most citizens in Lowndes County, and for most of us, it must be a planned trip. That location was chosen for the new shelter without market research and citizen polling to choose the best location from the perspective of the public you serve.
Our shelter team will never be as effective as it would be if staff waited for the public to come to them instead of our staff taking animals to where the public is located.
PetSmart, Tractor Supply, our gyms, and other nonprofit groups would welcome a relationship with the county, just as they welcome working with the Humane Society, USA Rescue, and others.
It is not convenient to shop out in the industrial area, as it is within the heavily populated area of our largest city, Valdosta, where we can conveniently drive a short distance while shopping in a comfortable location.
What Is The Status Of Our New Lowndes County Animal Shelter?
I hear many rumors about our new animal shelter, but the county is keeping the public in the dark, as far as I am concerned. The latest number I have heard is that the new shelter, as proposed, will cost $10 million.
How about informing us where we stand and involving the public in decision-making, please? Don’t we have a right to be informed by our county officials and representatives on the Lowndes County Commission?
An article titled “Lowndes County breaks ground on Animal Shelter” appeared in the Valdosta Daily Times on May 18, 2022. There were numerous laudatory remarks from county officials in that article. Now, that was 798 days ago, or expressed in another way, two years, two months, and six days ago.
The public has a right to know what is going on, both good and bad, and to have an opportunity to share their ideas on the building’s location, building design, and cost, meaningfully participating in how our animal shelter is run. The public has a right to this information without filing an Open Records Act Request.
The public has a right to meaningful participation in building our new animal shelter and how we manage it. Please do not deny us what we should know and what we have a right to know.
I know there were bids for the new shelter after the groundbreaking ceremony. How many requests for bids have we had, and were we satisfied or dissatisfied?
Please look at what you said in that article and let me and the public know exactly what is and is not occurring. The public should not be governed in darkness, with decisions announced after fait accompli without meaningful input.
If anyone reading this letter of submission to our county commissioners needs to be made aware of the meaning of fait accompli, I will define the term. According to the Oxford Dictionary, fait accompli is “a thing that has already happened or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving them with no option but to accept it.”
There is a vast difference between how the City of Valdosta governs openly and Lowndes County. I don’t address these observations to be disagreeable but to point out that I believe, as a professional with some management expertise, that there are better ways to govern.
To conclude, I have a few questions for you to ponder. Please give them your due consideration.
- What does Lowndes County lose by changing our shelter’s service hours?
- What do we lose by having a commission overseeing our Lowndes County animal welfare?
- 3. Will Lowndes County be a progressive or reactive community in addressing animal welfare issues, including building location, design, and costs?
- Will Lowndes County have leaders who allow its citizens meaningful participation in decision-making, or will they be kept in the dark until the issues are finalized and brought forward to our county commission for an up-or-down vote?
- What do we want the legacy of our Lowndes County Commission to be regarding animal welfare or decision-making in general?
- Will our county govern in a closed or open manner, and how will you improve the process?
Conclusion: “The righteous care for the needs of their animals.” Proverbs 12:10 This verse suggests that believers should be concerned about the well-being of animals as stewards of God’s creation.
Respectfully,
No comment yet, add your voice below!