A Happy New Year?

2016 is here, we've turned the page on 2015. 2015 ended on a very bad note in the town of Shawnee, especially for Delilah, Brutus and Elroy. These were the three dogs who died in a retaliatory gassing back in December. This led to more unpleasant events for those involved with the animal shelter. The shelter supervisor was put on administrative leave and news stories about these events were seen everywhere. The question of whether or not Randy Newton gassed the animals on his own initiative or on the order of his boss, Chris Thomas, grew from a whisper to a roar. We may never know for sure, either way it won't bring back the three innocent dogs who lost their lives in the gas chamber that day in December. With luck, the questions raised from this incident will prevent it from ever happening again.

 The new year has brought with it hints of possible change at the Shawnee shelter, potentially big change! An entirely new shelter administration may be on the way in soon! With a new administration, hopefully the desperately needed changes will also come to the Shawnee shelter. This is a bit hard for me to believe since the attitudes and behavior of many people connected with the animal shelter seem to belong in "The Hills Have Eyes". I would certainly love to see it happen though!

 One thing we know for sure, the winds of change have begun to blow through Shawnee. The events of last month and the resulting attention, in the media and of course, social networking, have forced the city and shelter administration to address the issue. Hopefully this really will result in a new and much improved shelter administration and policy. Perhaps Shawnee will become a no kill town, at the very least, may we never again  see innocent animals killed in anger or spite.