Where Are All of St. Louis' Self-Righteous Animal Lovers?
Categories: Follow That Story, News
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| Everyone loves adorable pets, right? |
Wrong. At least not in St. Louis and not when it comes to the city's decrepit animal shelter that Mayor Francis Slay in February declared unfit for human -- or four-legged -- habitation.
Back then Slay said the city pound would close by summer "at the latest" and that he'd put out for bid a plant to privatize the care and treatment of the city's stray animals. Now -- with the mayor's summer deadline just a week or two away -- City Hall is suddenly turning an about face.
The Gasconade pound isn't that bad after all. As Scooby Doo might say: Rhuhhh?
Here's the deal: The city only received two bids for operating a new shelter. One of those was a collaborative deal with Randy Grim of Stray Rescue and the Animal House Fund -- a group that was raising money to build a new shelter but never came close to its fundraising goals.
The other bid came from a private veterinarian who was rejected by the city because the bid was turned in late. (Seems like a fair policy 'cause what we want is the best treatment for animals and anyone who has the audacity to turn in a bid late obviously isn't up to the task.)
That left the city with only the Stray Rescue and Animal House Fund proposal. But now as the Post-Dispatch reports, Randy Grim has withdrawn his bid. He'll take strays from the city's dog-catchers and nurture them at his Stray Rescue facility, but he won't be going in on the operation of a city shelter.
Animal House Fund says it will retrofit a building for the care of stray cats, yet the cash-strapped agency won't say when or where that will happen.
Left with no other options, the city now plans to keep the Gasconade shelter open for the indefinite future -- maybe several more months (or several more years).
So the question is: Where are all St. Louis' self-righteous animal lovers? Aren't you outraged by all this? Or are you too busy watching newscasts like this?
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