SPRING-Montgomery County Precinct 3 and 4 Commissioners James Noack and Jim Clark along with Animal Shelter Director Dr. Todd Hayden and Assistant Director Mark Wysocki hosted an open forum at the Precinct 3 Commissioner’s office on Monday afternoon.
The meeting, moderated by Montgomery County citizen and local attorney Eric Yollick, provided residents with a platform to ask the commissioners and shelter directors questions or comment on issues that they felt needed to be addressed.
“I wanted to have this open forum so residents could come in with questions and leave with definitive answers to their questions,” said Commissioner Noack. “Transparency and communication are crucial and we must provide as much of that to our residents as we can throughout the process of improving the shelter.”
A main issue of contention was the reporting and statistics regarding the number of animals euthanized at the shelter. Residents left the meeting with a better understanding of that process after Wysocki and Dr. Hayden provided additional insight into the reporting of those numbers. Dr. Hayden explained that every animal (dead or alive) that enters the shelter is assigned a number and that number is included in the final reporting.
“That was one question that I wanted to make sure was answered,” Noack said. “I have gotten tons of questions about the daily reports I post on my Facebook page so I wanted to make sure we cleared the air and left no questions in regards to that issue.”
The open dialogue between residents and Montgomery County officials proved to be productive and many left with a better understanding of what is going on during this process at the shelter.
‘The key is unity,” said Noack. “In order for this to work, we all must set aside our differences and work collectively to save these animals.”
