News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A new organization has formed in hopes of establishing an animal shelter in Jackson County.
Friends For Jackson County Animal Shelter presented plans to the County Commission for the first time Monday night. Director Mark Pack said the group hopes to address an epidemic of animal dumping in the county.
“It is pitiful to see the animals come starving to death,” Pack said. “Literally, you go on to any of the Facebook pages of lost animals, you see these starving dogs and cats and no one’s doing anything about it. So, going back to my engineering roots, how can we do something about it?”
Pack said the group’s primary goal is to establish a physical animal shelter to provide care and affordable animal adoptions in the Jackson County community. He said that they would also like to provide spaying, neutering, vaccinating, and microchipping services. Pack said that they would partner with other animal groups in the county to hopefully make that happen.
Pack said while he’s not asking the county for funding, he hopes to get aid and support in other ways such as publicity or volunteers. He said that if the organization, the county, and even the city of Gainesboro come together, they could do a lot of good for animals in Jackson County as well as act in accordance with state regulations.
“I propose that we can have an animal shelter in this town, I know you don’t have the money but I’ll get to that in a little bit,” Pack said. “Under state law, the county is responsible for all animals within their jurisdiction. That means placing, that means regulating, everything (…) You’re responsible to provide food, shelter, and medical care for animals in your jurisdiction.”
Pack said that the group officially filed its official 501c3 Monday morning. He said that the next step is to procure a grant write and apply for funding. He said the county and the group could be eligible for more than 2,000 grants.
