GregMercer.ca Newspapering and other adventures

Hey Merc, congrats on the site, good stuff. Love the croke post, I would say bet on croke games but limit it to 50 cents per game and play the gord father or big dookie. There is a recipe for success

A September 16th editorial written by Greg Mercer entitled, “Where are the claws for pet owners?” failed to recognize the reasons for the rally held downtown Guelph on Saturday, Sept. 12th. The editorial appears to ignore the serious issues that go far beyond the high number of animals euthanized regularly at the shelter.

Mercer referenced comments made by a GHS Board member that suggested GHS “put the humane back in humane society” and said that the animals needed a voice. The comments were taken out of context since they were in direct response to the use of T-61; an inhumane method of euthanasia recently agreed upon by the majority Board members.

The opinion piece also failed to mention the upcoming membership meeting that plans to address the many issues and concerns that the group has repeatedly put forth.

The splinter group, GHSPETS, is not “outraged” at The Society, as suggested by Mercer, but does criticize the majority Board members for their lack of transparency, accountability and compassion in making decisions on behalf of the organization that has a negative effect on the welfare of the animals.

The group acknowledges overpopulation of cats at the shelter, but stresses the problem is further impacted by the lack of management, vision and initiatives offered by the majority Board members, who they say have hindered attempts to address the problems by striking down suggestions to provide the solutions.

The group supports the need to hire a progressive Executive Director to begin re-implementing programs and initiatives currently abandoned. Since established in 1973, the shelter needs a new building to accommodate Guelph’s demographic growth and meet the needs of a community that has almost double in population, aside from the considerable increase in pet ratio per household.

So far, the interim management and majority Board members have refused to implement progressive programs to educate the public and promote adoption, which include; spay and neuter clinics; public adopt-a-thons; foster programs, media alerts, Sunday hours, or the Meet Your Match program, for which the organization has spend hundreds of dollars in training staff.

The group is also seeking to replace their in-house vet, since euthanizing animals in a way that is considered inhumane by many experts in many countries around the world contradicts the Society’s mission statement.

The splinter group agrees that irresponsible pet owners have contributed to the cat overpopulation, but believes that directing “outrage” toward them, versus educating them, will not help the immediate situation nor encourage positive change.

It’s unfortunate that the writer did not use this platform to address the issues, or educate and inform those readers who do care about this desperate situation. Drawing far-fetched parallels of a progressive and organized social movement using institutionalized strategies to an individual on disability that may be suffering from metal health issues offers no benefit to anyone, least of all the animals.

A writer’s obligation is to provide readers with a well-balanced and unbiased account obtained from pertinent sources, so that the reader may draw an informed conclusion. The community needs to be provided with an opportunity to share the burden and collectively seek solutions to help those without a voice.