STOP MASS KILLING AT THE HANDS OF CAPT. MARK THOMPSON, CLAYTON COUNTY-Georgia Animal Control Shelter

-Termination and replacement Of : Capt. Mark Thompson, the Clayton County Animal Control Commander  

For the past two years, Clayton County has killed more shelter pets than anywhere else in Georgia. The animal control unit is run by the police department. Their kill rate is roughly 80%.

Capt. Mark Thompson is responsible for this mass killing. He has no compassion and has no knowledge on how to run an animal shelter. He does not have the best interest for the animals or the people of the community. The number of euthansias has only increased in the past years. ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-UNKNOWN AUTHOR

We urge  Governor and the Mayor of Clayton County..to investigate this shelters practises on animals.
And why...all of the animals that come through its doors, arent being given the chance at living.
Especially being the "owner surrendered" animals..why are these poor animals just killed asap.?

WE THE UNDERSIGNED urge you to ..PLEASE help the animals at the Clayton County Animal Control in Jonesboro Georgia...USA.
We desperately want to get the word out about the animals that are not being seen by anyone.
In this shelter they are heartsticking the "owner surrenders" almost every day. These poor animals arent even being given any option of adoption by rescues or the general public.
THE HEARTSTICKING procedure is even being done by people who aren't even vets...and the animals arent sedated first. Imagine the horror!

These...owner surrenders have NO rights and NO time.
They come in ..and they go down.
The Animal Control officer went down the line in Jonesboro on a recent Saturday morning..and
told every owner in line what was going to happen to their animals..
STILL...NOT ONE PERSON LEFT THAT LINE AND TOOK THEIR DOGS HOME.
This is just irresponsible pet ownership too..:((
People think when they take their pets to the shelter ( for whatever reason) ...that they will be adopted ..this sadly IS NOT ALWAYS the case..as many shelters deem the "owner surrender" animals unadoptable, and kill them quickly.
Many shelters..think..hmm..there must be something wrong with the animal..if their owners now- dont want them..then nobody else will.
-RECENT VISITOR OF THE SHELTER unknown

-REVISE animal control ordinances, restrictions, and laws: see below 

(“The annual registration costs for keeping animals declared dangerous, or vicious by the court system — for biting, maiming or killing other animals or humans — will be $1,000. Previously, the annual registration cost for dangerous animals was $100.” RIDICULOUS Shouldnt there be a large fine for unaltered pets. Not a $25 slap on the wrist for an accidental litter?!?!Overpopulation is the problem not dangerous dogs!!!!

-Propose a spay/neuter sweep throughout the community

Start fundraising projects to get spay and neuter vans on the streets offering free spay/neuter for the community, sweeping through all of Clayton County, City by city, block by block until this problem is under control. Provide resources to pet owners of Clayton County on how to be responsible pet owners. EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SPAYING AND NEUTERING THIER PETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


The address of the shelter is:
1396 Government Circle
Jonesboro, Georgia

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/GA18.html

CONTACT THE CLAYTON COUNTY COUNCIL...
http://www.co.clayton.ga.us/departments.htm

CONTACT THE GEORGIA GOVERNOR- NATHAN DEAL

CONTACT : CLAYTON COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT- OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS- CAPTAIN CRAIG HAMMER, COMMANDER see contact info below
Citizen complaints may be lodged in person at the police headquarters building located at 7911 North McDonough Street, Jonesboro, Georgia 30236, by mail by sending the complaint via U.S. Postal Service to Clayton County Police Department, Attention: Office of Professional Standards, 7911 N. McDonough Street, Jonesboro, Georgia 30236, or by telephone by contacting the Internal Affairs Unit at 770-477-3603 or any officer of the Clayton County Police Department.



Past Articles on Clayton County Animal Control.... 

Bad Ideas at Clayton Co Animal Control
-
Capt. Thompson wants to reverse this trend and kill fewer pets – an aim we can all support. But instead of using the methods proven in other counties to save lives, he has inexplicably opted to make it more difficult for the public to adopt pets from the shelter:

One of the changes is to require a background check for people wanting to adopt.

“Typically an adoption would have been performed in 15 or 20 minutes, simply at the counter. Now it may require a day or so,” said Thompson.

Before a person can take home one of the dogs, an animal control officer will have to go to their home.

Background checks to weed out people convicted of animal cruelty are ok by me. If the ACOs just want to look at your credit score or use a teenage shoplifting conviction as a means to deny your adoption application, I’m opposed. The background checks need to be done responsibly.

I am not a fan of home visits prior to adoption for many reasons. In this case, home visits mean an ACO must be available to visit the home at a mutually agreeable time between the potential adopter and the ACO. For the average working Joe, this presents a challenge. But assuming something can be arranged, it needs to be done in a timely manner. People generally look for a dog when they are ready for one – not a week or a month in advance. If the home visit can’t be arranged within a short period of time (Capt. Thompson says “a day or so”, I have my doubts), I think it’s likely adopters will go elsewhere – perhaps to a newspaper ad or flea market.

Scheduling a timely home visit and running background checks requires sufficient manpower to get the job done. Clayton Co AC doesn’t have that manpower:

Thompson would like to see two to three more people added to his staff, but right now animal control is one person short and the county confirms there is a hiring freeze.

From the Clayton Co AC website:

Why is it taking so long for you to get to my call for service?

The Animal Control Unit handles between 50 and 75 calls a day for service. The Unit generally runs two trucks on the road for the entire county. [...] Please understand our dilemma and have patience, we have many more calls for service than we can handle.

Does this animal control unit, one person short and under a hiring freeze, sound like they are prepared to enforce the new adoption regulations they themselves imposed – and all within “a day or so”?

“We want to make sure an animal is not taken from us and then simply let loose or discarded because someone underestimated what it took to take care of an animal of that size,” said Thompson.

So you’d rather kill a pet than risk someone underestimating the amount of care it will take to provide a good home? Heaven forfend someone underestimates something in life.

I think Capt. Thompson is underestimating the amount of work it will take for his AC unit to enforce these rules. Most importantly, he is underestimating the number of adopters who will be driven away from the Clayton Co shelter under these new protocols. And that means even more killing at the deadliest site for friendly pets in the state of Georgia. - AUTHOR UNKNOWN