RESCUED PUPPY ADOPTION - Mind Your Own Business

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
Date: Sep 23 2017 12:42 PM

DOTHAN:   

Rescued Puppy Adoption--Mind Your Own Business

I have been silent up to this point about the sale of 60 dogs seized from a puppy mill raid last March.  I can no longer contain myself, so here it goes.

The Dothan Police raided a puppy mill on the north side of Dothan and seized numerous dogs and exotic birds.  They had Big Ben Wildlife Refuge care for the birds, and the Dothan Animal Shelter along with local rescues and volunteers care for and rehabilitate the dogs.

Following a guilty plea agreement, the birds and dogs were turned over to the Dothan Police Department to do with them what they thought was best.  The birds were given to the Jack Hannah Zoo (Columbus, Ohio) last week.

Chief Parrish decided to have an adoption in the form of a silent auction at the Civic Center.  He formed a committee that included Commissioner Beth Kenward, Attorney Ben Irwin and local rescues and animal advocates. The  event is set for Thursday, September 28.  All of the money from the adoption will go toward a new animal shelter. Not long after the date was announced, social media exploded with opinions and opposition. 

I have noticed that many local people are in favor of it because they trust our City's plan.  They know we need a new shelter, and they know we have qualified volunteers here that can rehabilitate the dogs. Most of the opposition has been led by an attorney from Georgia named Amanda M. Grantham. She runs the Georgia Bulldog Rescue. She has been wanting to get her paws on the bulldogs from day one. When Chief Parrish refused to give them to her, she mounted a barrage of out of state crazies to bombard local City and State officials to stop the process. Some of these emails come as far away as North Carolina and California.

Side story - During Hurricane Irma, we had people coming up from Florida with their pets that couldn't stay at shelters because they were not equipped to take care of pets. We had evacuees willing to ride out a catastrophic storm sleeping in parking lots because they had no place to take their pet. This was confirmed by the briefings given to Dothan - Houston County Emergency Management during Hurrican IRMA.

Dothan Police Chief Steve Parrish told me in the Emergency Operation Center that his new shelter plan has a place to accept evacuated pet. 

Trust and support what the City is doing with these puppies. They are physically and emotionally ready to have a new home.  

The big picture looks much brighter than the narrow vision of Atlanta Attorney Amanda M. Grantham.

She needs to concentrate of Georgia and not "rehabilitating" bulldogs that are already rehabilitated only to turn around and adopt them out at what I expect would be a "nominal fee".  

Kudos to Commissioner Kenward for taking a lead on such a sensitive issue.

And if you want to tell Amanda M. Grantham to mind her own business, you can email here at[email protected] or call her at (706) 993-5719.

She has started a social media campaign with people from most everywhere but Dothan - Houston County. Comments from Atlanta ( HA) and California telling us in Dothan - Houston County what to do.

Amanda, the City of Dothan and Houston County is fully capable of handling our issues. And apparently Atlanta ain't. So take care of yours and we will handle ours.

We have a VISION that will become a reality.

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