Dear Editor,
Three cheers for your insightful, comprehensive editorial about
the lack of service provided to Gilroy residents by Santa Clara
County!
Dear Editor,
Three cheers for your insightful, comprehensive editorial about the lack of service provided to Gilroy residents by Santa Clara County!
As a former volunteer at the San Martin Animal Shelter, I saw many Gilroy residents bring in stray or unwanted pets, only to be asked if they lived in Gilroy. When they said they did, they were told they had to bring the animals up to San Jose. It was sad to see people’s faces drop as they were told they could not leave the animal, after trying to do the right thing. One can only wonder, when told you have to make a 68-mile round trip to drop off a stray cat or dog, how many people actually do that. The sad thing is that most probably do not. They may end up leaving the shelter and letting the animal out on the side of the road, where it can starve, be attacked by another animal, or be run over.
You also comment that Gilroy residents have to drive to San Jose to pick up their lost pets. Again, I saw many Gilroy residents come in to the shelter to look for a lost pet, only to find out that they had to go much further. Also, some people never asked at the desk, and just looked and left after not finding their pet. How many people even know their pets are in San Jose instead of San Martin? Very few. How many lost pets without microchips or tags are eventually euthanized because their owners “never claimed” them? We’ll never know.
As the editorial stated, “the current situation is riddled with inequities, and is becoming intolerable.” I would love to see a South County Animal Shelter, which would serve the needs of the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County and the cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill. Perhaps it’s time for Supervisor Don Gage and the councilmembers for Gilroy and Morgan Hill to engage in dialogue about the possibility of serving all of this area, instead of leaving large holes in the map.
Elaine Jelsema, Gilroy