I am getting really sick and tired of people bashing Terry Sampson for the Animal Shelter. I have been there with my children several times over the seven years we have lived here and none of us left horribly upset about the condition of the shelter.

My family understands that Terry is doing the best he can with what little space he is given to work with. The only thing my kids were upset about was the fact that some people go pick out a puppy or kitten because they are so cute, but when they become adults, ill or realize they can be a handful, the owners don’t want to deal with them anymore and back to the shelter they go. Or worse, they drop them on the streets. People are willing to spend $1,000 on a new set of rims for there car, but won’t spend $75 to take care and be responsible for there pets.

Now I would like to ask the city officials a question. Has Terry talked to you over the years about the cramped quarters at the shelter and the need for a larger shelter with area for the animals to exercise or go to the bathroom? Has he told you of any concerns about the city rapidly growing and with it, the stray and surrendered animal population growing? In my opinion, I am sure he has probably stated concerns about the direction the shelter is going, and now people are pointing there finger at the wrong person.

I think you have known for years that this was coming and didn’t care enough to do anything about it. Now that it is on the front page of the paper you act like you want to do something about it. I’ll watch to see what you do for these owner-abandoned animals. More importantly, how did you find it the budget to spend thousands of dollars to save an oak tree along with hundreds of thousands of dollars to have someone come in and tell you how to get more tourists in town, when you knew how desperately a new shelter is needed? You could have asked residents here for free! The money you have spent wastefully over the years could have built a state of the art Animal Shelter with automatic flushing potty areas (if there is such a thing), in a more easily accessible area. My family and I praise Terry for a job well done with what he is given to work with. 

Margaret Schrum

Oak Harbor