Letters: Animal shelter staff goes extra mile during overcrowding crisis
Regarding, "Outdated and Overcrowded: Is Hamilton County animal shelter saving too many dogs?" (Sept. 2): A friend and I, both retirees, find it rewarding to volunteer at Cincinnati Animal Care Humane Society doing one-off fixes and improvements. We do things like assembling propane heaters for the winter, repairing fans for the summer, installing shade sails over the play yards, mounting safety mirrors at blind corners of kennel walkways, and so forth. Working on these tasks often puts us on site when the public is not around, so I can share a candid view of the staff and operations. This is my personal opinion, not the shelter’s. No one there has seen it.
What I see day in and day out at CACHS is a kind of mission work being performed by caring and competent people. They are largely motivated by their love of animals. They are neither more nor less perfect than the rest of us. Most work hard at their jobs, and the work itself is hard. It can be emotionally draining to see innocent cats and dogs suffering because humans have abused or neglected them. It’s turned me into a passionate supporter of free spay/neuter programs and heavy fines for abusers. I’m not surprised when employees burn out and leave. The turnover reduces CACHS’s effectiveness because it loses its most important asset, experienced employees.
I’ve watched the staff go the extra mile during the current overcrowding crisis. There are way too many animals for the number of kennels. There are dogs everywhere: in cramped crates in hallways, staff offices, conference rooms, and the garage. Staff members are even taking some home with them. The crates are hard to keep clean and allow little movement, and there aren’t enough volunteer dog walkers to give them the exercise and interaction they need. The longer the overcrowding goes on, the greater the risk the dogs will develop antisocial tendencies, which makes them harder to find homes for.
I’ve seen the animal behavior team assessing each new arrival for its socialization status and potential risks. These specialists observe behavior in controlled encounters with people, cats, and other dogs. Most animals will fight if provoked, so the goal is to try to identify any particular triggers. Volunteer dog walkers and fosters are trained to observe dogs for risk indicators, like growling at strangers or kids, or straining at the leash when encountering cats or other dogs. When issues are found, the walkers and fosters work to retrain a dog and advise potential adopters.
As for scratches and bites, no one can guarantee a cat or dog will never injure anyone. Like humans, animals are not entirely predictable, even the ones you raise yourself or come from breeders. I have a friend whose seeing-eye dog bit him when its tail got pinched by a car door, despite being bred and trained for reliability and restraint. There is a risk in keeping any animal, but adopters I know find the rewards of giving an abandoned rescue a home far outweighs the risks.
I continue to find my experience volunteering at Cincinnati Animal Care Humane Society to confirm it deserves my support − as a volunteer, as a donor, and as a taxpayer. To be human is to care.
Malcolm Montgomery, Clifton
City manager search business as usual in Cincinnati
Regarding, "Interim city manager departs with $436,000 severance package," (Sept. 7): The names have changed at City Hall, but the operation has not. The city manager search, as reported, was less than ideal. The city paid a "search" firm that submitted a list of candidates, which did not include one person, excluding Mr. Curp, with the background or credentials to manage a city budget of a billion dollars. The whole process should be investigated. It appears as though our mayor had already made his selection prior to the search, which was rubber stamped by the new City Council, and now we pay the only candidate who actually had the credentials almost a half million dollars to resign.
Richard Witte, Hyde Park
Tim Ryan is the definition of moderate
Regarding, "The record is clear: Tim Ryan is no moderate," (Sept. 4): Tim Ryan is a moderate. Extremists are politicians like Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul. Voting 16% of the time with the opposition party is the sign of a moderate. He can think outside of the political box. Look at how two Republican senators who are called moderates vote against their party: Mitt Romney (3.4% in the 116th Congress) and Susan Collins (1% over the last 22 years). Maybe the guest columnist ought to check what the word moderate means.
Dottie Soper, Deerfield Twp.
Yes-man Chabot doesn't deserve reelection
I was dismayed to see, not one, but two rather bland letters to the editor in the Sept. 4 Enquirer, supporting Steve Chabot for Congress, both from Norwood.
Since Congressman Chabot failed to support either the infrastructure package to fix his constituents’ notorious Brent Spence Bridge or cap the cost of insulin − a tried and true drug required for survival by many of his constituents − why should he be returned to Congress? Do we want to reward a "yes" man, only a placeholder, who consistently votes according to directives from his Republican bosses to cut costs/taxes, rather than meet the serious, urgent needs of his district?
How about some fresh air, some fresh ideas from Greg Landsman, who brings a successful background fighting to improve educational options for our children, as well as the independence to focus on what will best serve the constituents of Ohio’s District 1.
Ellen Frankenberg, Finneytown
Biden's attack on MAGA Republicans smacks of totalitarianism
Joe Biden's attacks on "MAGA Republicans" and what they supposedly stand for smack of totalitarianism to me, and I'm a Democrat. A Republican friend of mine who doesn't like Donald Trump at all, calls himself a MAGA supporter and, as he explains it to me, it simply means he puts American interests ahead of the globalist policies that the Biden administration has been pursuing. I can't disagree with his definition and don't understand what has happened to the Joe Biden I voted for.
Jane Carlson, Hamilton
Girls too often discouraged from pursuing their interests
Regarding, "Say something before it's too late. I wish that I had," (Sept. 4): Enquirer columnist Jason Williams knew a young woman who had the potential to be a successful professional basketball player. Recruiting of her abruptly stopped when she was a junior in high school. Years later at the age of 32 she died of a drug overdose. Williams' column about his friend brought me to tears. Not because I knew the young woman, but because her story is not unusual. Girls are too often discouraged from pursuing their interests and failing to fulfill their potential because of the sentiment that (whatever) is not a proper pursuit for a girl. If that is the case here, the blame is on us and the loss is ours.
Priscilla O'Donnell, Over-the-Rhine
New Turfway Park is nice, but not fan friendly
The new Turfway Park facility is very nice but is not race-fan friendly. Basically set up as a casino with some off-track betting interests, there are basically no grandstands for horseracing people to watch live racing. Not a good place to bring kids either.
I guess Churchill Downs thinks that high-end rollers will play 800 slots that don't even resemble typical slots and maybe they are right, but families spend money too and eliminating 1,000 people a night is really rolling the dice. Belterra gaming and race track a much friendlier venue and has a place for everybody.
Lee Eyerman, Amelia
J.D. Vance only cares about getting elected
Regarding, "The record is clear: Tim Ryan is no moderate," (Sept. 4): J.D. Vance is a carpet-bagging fraud who is entirely supported by billionaire Peter Thiel and his Silicon Valley cronies. He has zero interest in what is right for Ohio and cares only about being elected.
I would only ask you to look at what Vance had to say about Trump until he needed his backing in the Republican primary. I doubt you could be more hypocritical!
Gerry Daly, Lakeside Park, Ky.
Voters must do a better job vetting candidates for office
Our country is being governed by people who have never been officially vetted. When someone chooses to run for office in either state or national government, are they ever vetted? Most of the time, the candidate is someone who is wealthy, has rich supporters who want someone in office to help them, or is a high-profile personality of some kind. Millions of dollars are spent to put these people in office. Some of those dollars come from entities from outside of the U.S. who have ulterior motives for influencing elections.
Many times candidates know nothing about government, history, laws, foreign affairs, handling large amounts of money or the military. Some are just high school graduates. These people may be fine but should be properly vetted for the job for which they are seeking. Being a sports figure, TV personality, movie hero or public figure does not qualify a person to run our country. A candidate's personal affairs, past business history, tax returns, education and physical and mental health certainly are very important. Knowledge of many aspects of running a state and law are a requirement all should have.
Politics has become a dirty organization of people who are hungry for power and will do and say anything to accomplish that goal. I am shocked at the lies that are supported by intelligent, otherwise good people just to keep their powerful positions. These men and women are supposed to be representing their constituents and espousing truth no matter what powerful leader is telling them to say and do. They throw around any kind of gossip they can find to degrade those they want to attack and hide indiscretions of those they want to support. Government is not a game between two teams. It determines our future. We, the citizens, are the winners and losers.
We depend on these politicians to do the right thing. Their actions influence whether people live or die, fail or succeed, eat or starve, and deserve rights or not. Every aspect of our lives is in their hands. Yet, we don't care enough to vet them before we give them that power. Things have to change. It cannot wait. Our democracy is at stake and those who value it must act now.
Shirley Gallagher, Mason
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Letters: Animal shelter staff goes extra mile during overcrowding crisis
