Dear Editor,

I wish that we could spend more time trying to prosecute the felons that have dumped cats at various locations throughout Blanco County rather than pursing the charitable acts of persons who have been feeding and caring for these victims of human irresponsibility. Animal abuse is a felony in the state of Texas and the dumping of animals is surely animal abuse.

Spaying and neutering of cats has been proven to improve the lives of stray and feral cats, but we need to do more.

Why is it that Blanco County has no animal control officer and no animal shelter? Our nearest animal shelters are all out-of-county, in Austin, San Antonio, San Marcos, Fredericksburg, Marble Falls, and Leander. Why hasn’t our county done anything for animal welfare? We are spending our tax dollars on accommodations for city and county offices… and nothing, zero dollars, for animal welfare. This shows a blatant disregard for the Texas State Law on animal abuse and a complete lack of responsibility in caring for our beloved companion animals. We need to do better.

How about donating one of the abandoned county or city buildings to the Blanco County Cat Coalition and hiring one of them to run an animal shelter? It would be a tremendous step in the right direction.

Carol Schlachter

Johnson City, TX