New shelter in Clarksville to accommodate acreage growth

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It has something to do with coming home every day and experiencing the unconditional love of a pet.

In our own home we have Luigi, a Bichon Frize, and Gepetto, a Maltese Terrier mix, and they are a delight.

Dogs, cats… Whatever kind of pets you have in your home, you might agree that they are family.

Treating you as such is very important to me.

We, humans, exist primarily to be the stewards of other living beings and their habitats in this cycle of life. I believe that.

To act otherwise, or even to mistreat or neglect them, is a severe waiver of basic human responsibility.

A large and growing progressive-minded urban community like Clarksville-Montgomery County needs to lead and set an example in this area.

There are new developments at the proposed Montgomery County Animal Shelter that, based on what we’ve been told so far, can hopefully help us take a big leap forward and continue to lower euthanasia rates while still providing comfortable temporary habitats for pets offer up for adoption.

After passing a new budget for Montgomery County earlier this summer, Montgomery County Animal Care & Control director David Kaske said the funds will go to the shelter’s design phase in fiscal year 2022-23.

Dianne Waring is holding Currie, a 5-year-old Jack Russell who is currently available for adoption, at the Montgomery County Animal Shelter.  Photo by Liam Kennedy/Gannett

Even better, a lengthy site search has led us to what seems to many people a logical location for the new shelter, on property the county already owns.

There’s a valid argument that it all makes sense in many ways amid an ongoing county budget squeeze.

“The new budget includes $750,000 for the design phase of the new shelter,” Kaske said. “We will be working to finalize the design of the new facility this year.”

And here’s this: The county has agreed on a plan to share the property between the new shelter and the proposed site for the North Clarksville branch of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library at the corner of 101st Airborne Division Parkway and Jordan Road .

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The benefit of this plan, where the shelter and library share ownership, Kaske said, is that being able to conveniently share client bases may be a bonus for both departments. And maybe even program together.

Perhaps it symbolizes that literacy and genuine caring for pets are values ​​that go hand in hand in a civilized, progressive community.

For now, Kaske said the primary architect for the new shelter will be Texas-based Shelter Planners of America, which has expertise in creating shelter designs and designs.

They will be working with Clarksville Architect Jon Clark on the project. Kaske said the national company has been running a similar conservation project in Williamson County.

The Montgomery County Animal Shelter is designed with community participation in mind to make it both pet and people friendly. The department will collect your contribution.

The important consideration is this: The new shelter is designed to help the community better manage instances of pet overcrowding, which is a common problem at the existing Clarksville shelter on Spring Street downtown.

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Just like any other local government function, Animal Care & Control must address the realities of dramatic population growth, including the costs involved.

The challenge is to efficiently balance financial reality with the responsibility we have for animals that cannot help themselves.

The county board has also taken on the responsibility of managing a separate animal shelter in Fort Campbell, joining forces and hopefully streamlining humane, community-wide management of strays and pet donations – and more importantly, successful pet adoptions.

It has taken some time to get to this point, but what might be most encouraging is a greater emphasis on the “animal care” part of the department name for this branch of county government.

Kaske and its employees want to live up to this name.

Jimmy Settle, Clarksville-based business and government reporter, poses for a portrait in downtown Clarksville, Tennessee on Thursday, November 19, 2020.

Reach Jimmy Settle at [email protected] or 931-245-0247. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to TheLeafChronicle.com.

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