Ultimately, the reason supporters of the Hawkins County Humane Society found themselves pleading for more money at the courthouse in Rogersville recently has to do with state law, this section in particular: “TN: § 5-1-120. Counties, by resolution of their respective legislative bodies, may license and regulate dogs and cats, establish and operate shelters and other animal control facilities. …”

Contrast that with Virginia state law: “VA: 3.2-6546. B. The governing body of each county or city shall maintain or cause to be maintained a public animal shelter. …”

In Tennessee, counties may (or may not) operate shelters. In Virginia, they are required to. And if a state requires something of its counties, it should help pay for it.

The Hawkins County Humane Society is a small, donation-funded nonprofit and has operated an animal shelter at 5180 Hwy. 11W, Rogersville, since 1989. It does not euthanize animals as it works hard to improve the lives of homeless and abandoned animals in the community while trying to find them homes.

Supporters are urging the Hawkins County Commission’s Budget Committee to provide more funding for the shelter. Demonstration organizer Elana Stanley said the HCHS has submitted three funding requests starting at around $800,000 and decreasing to $400,000 to expand its building.

At the last Budget Committee meeting, a motion to give the shelter $400,000 failed. Stanley said the shelter needs help because it is over capacity.

“The workers are overworked, and the animals are overwhelming,” Stanley said. “They do two to three rescues a week, which is horrendous. They have very limited space, and when they have to turn away animals from the entire county, they get cussed at.”

As the only animal shelter in the county, the HCHS handles all of the animal control cases as well as rescues and dropoffs, an incredible amount of work for folks who do it because they love animals, and because no one else is. According to Stanley, the shelter does try fostering but is still overcrowded. “And if they don’t have the Humane Society, can you imagine the animals running around loose and rampant without somewhere to take them?” she asked.

Karen Mahon, another demonstrator, said that people expect the shelter to take in all of the county’s unwanted animals. But the shelter is not an agency of county government, though certainly commissioners try to help.

HCHS Board President Susan Roffol said the county “has a problem, and we’re the only resource for animals. What would you do if we had to close our doors?”

Good question.

Across Tennessee, there’s no law that says a county has to have animal control or a shelter, which can leave some counties without animal services and others with under-served government shelters or local efforts constantly in need of money. It’s always been that way and will always be that way until the state takes over what is a legitimate function of government and supports it.

Each year, the Animal Legal Defense Fund publishes its state animal protection laws ranking report. Each state is ranked based on 20 different categories and placed in a top, middle or bottom tier. In its overall grade, Tennessee is placed in the middle while Virginia is in the top.

We can do better.

-Kingsport Times News