Animal services concerns

Dear editor:

I have a serious concern about the hours for the Hot Springs animal control. Their hours for a citizen to visit and adopt a dog or cat are noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Many of my working friends have told me they went to the animal control city pound in an attempt to adopt a dog or cat and found they were closed!

Most people that work will have working hours from 7 or 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The majority of folks that are looking to adopt a dog or cat, and best candidate for an adoption,

will be a person that is working! The adopting people have to pay a fee to adopt these dogs from the city pound!

With their limited space, city animal control puts to death hundreds and probably thousands of adoptable animals a year due to the fact they are only open five hours per day five days a week! I don’t know if animal control even keeps a record of how many animals they put to death in a year? If so, I would like to know that figure.

The animal control city pound hours are all working days for the general population! The animals deserve better treatment then this and something needs to be done about the hours the animal control city pound are open! They need to be open at least four hours on Saturday and this information advertised to the public. If the city can’t afford to pay one or two attendants to work at least four hours on Saturday, then cut out the Friday five-hour day! They need some Saturday hours!

I just don’t like knowing so many of the poor animals are being put to death at the city pound due to the very limited hours they are open for adoption.

I hope other people will take notice of this travesty for our beloved animals and voice their opinion on these hours of operation for adoption. The animals deserve to have a home and a loving family too! Give working people the opportunity to adopt them!

I live on Buena Vista Road and will soon be annexed into the city. Fred D. Kelsay Hot Springs