The Thomas County Board of Commissioners held their monthly meeting on Tuesday morning, where several supporters of the Thomas County-Thomasville Humane Society addressed the Board about not taking action to renew the current contract.
The contract, which was drafted in October of this year, outlines the expectations of the Humane Society to include patrolling and responding to calls for dogs and cats running at large, or stray and to impound said animals; responding to calls for animals suspected of rabies, responding to calls of humans bitten by rabies vector animal species; providing animal control services for Thomas County and the surrounding communities and providing adequate shelter space, while providing humane care for dogs and cats while impounded, among other things.
The humane care for animals is where the Humane Society and the Board of Commissioners differ, according to Humane Society Director, Chandler Giddes.
“I think at the root of this disagreement is our mission of saving lives and serving this community differs from the county’s,” Giddes explained. “They quantify their mission as public safety and that’s a great mission and we support that, but every animal that doesn’t have an owner or potentially animals that do have owners pose a public safety threat.”
Giddes went on to say that it’s the Humane Society’s responsibility to draw the line of what their response to those animals should be.
“Ultimately, they are unwilling to talk about other options and money and see euthanasia as a cheaper, better option, which is not something we support,” Giddes said. “The understanding from the Commission is that after five days of a stray hold, the animal is no longer the County’s responsibility and while I understand that, our solution is not going to be to euthanize our way out of animal overpopulation.”
This year alone, the Thomas County- Thomasville Humane Society has received 1,300 animals from around the county.
Giddes said he realizes the Humane Society cannot adopt their way out of 1,300 animals, but feels uncomfortable euthanizing that many animals, as most of the animals they take in are strays.
“We function as an open-admission shelter,” he said. “Any Thomas County resident can present a stray animal to us in hopes of impoundment. That’s the service they’re paying for; it’s the sheltering and enforcement aspect and both of those pieces will go away if the contract is not renewed.
Knowing what was at stake, Giddes addressed the Commissioners on Tuesday, specifically Chairman Mark NeSmith and County Manager Michael Stephenson.
Giddes began by saying he had spent many sleepless nights, wondering if the day would come where he had to speak out on the issue.
“I think we were all on the same page in the beginning,” he said. “We all hoped their would be a resolution and an agreement made to continue this three decade long relationship. As I stand here today, I still hope this is possible.”
Giddes said he believed the Humane Society had far exceeded their contractual obligation and served the community members far beyond what was expected.
“I think we have elevated animal services to a discipline in this town,” he continued. “I’m just disappointed that after three decades this is the position of this governing body. I think life-saving is important and the human-animal bond is something we can all appreciate.”
Giddes went on to point out that the Humane Society had saved the County an “endless pit of money” due to pet overpopulation.
“We are so progressive and successful in so many ways and I don’t think animal services should be put by the wayside, I’m hopeful in the coming days before the end of the year you can learn more about what we do, the impact we have and the services we offer” he concluded.
Humane Society volunteer Colin Dougherty then addressed the Commissioners as well, encouraging each of them to visit and see the important work happening.
“As a volunteer for the Humane Society, I see the great things they are doing and I think we owe it to the Humane Society to continue their mission and support them,” he said. “As a community, we are better than that. If we walk away from this relationship, there will be euthanasia of animals that is preventable here.”
Dougherty pleaded with the Commissioners to think about what the community would lose if they decided to end the contract, including the great programs like K-9s for Warriors, which the Humane Society supports.
Despite hearing from both Giddes and Dougherty, the Commissioners made no other motions on the contract renewal. Both parties have until the end of the 2022 year to come to a mutual agreement. Otherwise, Thomas County will be forced to provide animal services as obligated by the state of Georgia through another outlet, forcing the Humane Society to become a privately-run entity.