Bradley County meeting to consider stray animals problem

photo Volunteer Angela Kimsey takes a moment to visit with a cat while she cleans up a the SPCA of Bradley County Animal Shelter.

If you go What: Stray animal concerns and proposalWho: Bradley County Sheriff's Office and SPCA of Bradley CountyWhere: Bradley County Justice CenterWhen: Monday, Oct. 27, at 5:30 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Stray animal concerns will be addressed Monday at a special meeting of the Bradley County Sheriff's Office and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Bradley County.

The purpose of the meeting is "to discuss the possibility of a joint proposal" of the sheriff's office and the SPCA on stray animal response and care, according to a recent announcement by Sheriff Eric Watson.

The announcement came a couple of days after the sheriff's office had addressed the Bradley County Commission, presenting documentation alleging more than 260 failures to respond to animal pickup calls had been made by the SPCA.

According to the SPCA's $80,000 annual agreement with the county, the nonprofit organization offers sheltering for all county animals and provides animal pickup services to county emergency responders.

In a recent meeting, SPCA board member Dan Rawls, a county commissioner, expressed displeasure with the actions of the sheriff's office.

"This stinks to high heaven," said Rawls, who said the documented call failures were a "set up" and amounted to "misinformation."

All of the call logs he reviewed dated back to July and earlier, before a significant change in board membership and shelter administration that occurred in August and September, he said.

In addition to that, the call logs Rawls reviewed were not necessarily routed to 911 directly from county emergency responders, but instead were initiated by residents calling about stray animals.

Resident requests for stray animal pickups are not covered in the SPCA agreement with Bradley County.

Rawls said the SPCA continues to be the target of sabotage, especially by detractors who have relatives who work for Cleveland Animal Control. He cited what he called those residents' desire to see the county renew a longstanding animal control agreement with the Cleveland municipal shelter. Rawls did not name any specific saboteurs.

"I would never vote return to the city -- never," Rawls said. "I don't care what happens, because I don't feel we should ever be allowed to reward someone who sabotages something that has an honest mission."

SPCA board members also want clarification about contactual requirements regarding its acceptance of animals.

Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.

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