Hamilton continues support of animal aid organizations

By Kathryn “Chazz” Hirschfeld
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Both the Marion County Humane Society and Hoof or Paw will continue to receive financial support from the City of Hamilton for their efforts with animal control within the city and surrounding areas.
The city approved the continuation of payments of $600 per month for each organization at its Jan. 4, meeting.
The council had previously agreed to pay for the first three months, and upon review of services, decide at a later date whether they would continue with the remaining donations.
The vote was unanimous in favor of maintaining financial support.
“We’re going to continue on,” Hamilton Mayor Bob Page noted. “Thank you for what you are doing.”
HoP Director Calen Weston was present for the meeting and thanked the mayor and council. She noted her organization would continue with their efforts already underway.
“We’ve already purchased a kennel for emergency use,” she said, “and a microchip scanner.”
Regarding the kennel, Weston noted her priority had been to make it available to law enforcement for emergency situations.
“I want them to have access to our facilities 24/7,” she said. “Our goal is to have two kennels at the shelter they could go to anytime they need them.”
She noted HoP would only request basic information from the officers putting animals into the kennels.
“We’ll only need to know where the dog came from, the officer’s name who brought it in and the date,” she said. “We want to make it easy for them, with one less thing to worry about, and one less stressor they have to deal with.”
Hamilton Police Chief Jordan Carter noted the kennels are there on an emergency basis in case persons with pets are arrested.
“If we do make an arrest and there’s a dog, and there’s nothing we can immediately do with that animal--in that incident--we’ll bring it down to the Hoof or Paw kennels,” he said