Animal Talk/News

While we get absolutely no funding from our local and county government, that in no way means, we don’t receive county assistance.

Sheriff Steve Burns and Jail Administrator Neil Matthews have for years provided us with workers from the county’s Prisoner Worker Program. Overseen by Jim Lowe, this program is nothing less than a God Send to us and without it, we would be severely limited in our capabilities.

The prisoner workers assigned to our facility have become an integral part of our overall program; one from which they themselves gain immeasurable benefit. These workers do everything from cleaning kennels, assisting in facility repairs and feeding our animals to the more pleasant aspects of providing necessary post surgical attention to the animals, socializing them and providing them exercise. As a result of their assignments, these prisoners are often integrated in a small way into a part of society to which many have been heretofore, under or even unexposed. They learn, through the daily care of our animals, the importance of not only appropriate animal welfare but more importantly, how proper behavior and a good work ethic is paramount for their avoiding a return to the lifestyle and/or behavior that originally resulted in their incarceration.

This prisoner worker program provides additional all important benefits. It provides the freedom for our Manager Amy Bowman, to appear with our animals in front of elementary students to demonstrate how proper citizenship entails appropriate behavior toward animals. These appearances in our schools compliment the nationally recognized and award winning Kind News Educational Program that through our efforts and your generous financial support, is provided to our elementary students in both our City and County Schools. These workers also help provide much needed assistance to our staff when they respond to injured animal emergencies during normal business hours. Additionally, it is because of these “extra hands” that we are better able to address acute cruelty and neglect situations requiring immediate attention.

Without the Prisoner Worker Program, we would be hard pressed to conduct many of these very important functions,. Neither would our animals receive the individual attention they so desperately need and deserve. I know that the over two twenty-five hundred members of our organization along with our Board of Directors, stands with me in support of Sheriff Steve Burns and Jail Administrator Neil Matthews for their assistance in aiding us in our efforts on behalf of the animals of Greeneville and Greene County.

Finally and as one who is retired from the field of law enforcement, I am extremely gratified that we have an individual the quality of Steve Burns, serving as our Sheriff.