Dear Editor,

I am writing this letter to discuss what I believe is a problem in Montevallo that needs to be addressed.

Since moving to the University of Montevallo, I have noticed cats and dogs running around campus and town every day, some looking like skin and bones and others just scared.

Friday morning in particular, I was walking to my class early in the morning. It was freezing outside and I saw a kitten, partially concealed by bushes, curled up on the ground and laboring to breathe.

The kitten was so dirty it was hard to tell what color it was. As I inched closer to get a better look, the kitten hissed and feebly tried to get up and run. Instead of scaring it more, I went on to class wishing there was something more I could do for that kitten and many more animals like it. This is why I am writing to you.

Shelby County is the fastest growing county in Alabama, and yet there is only one shelter. While the Shelby Humane Society does euthanize animals on a regular basis, each year it cares for approximately 5,000 animals.

Recently, shelter officials have increased the number of animals it saves by ten percent and in a recent news release said a total of 1,171 animals left the shelter, which is 106 more than left the shelter in 2010. Nearly 475 of these animals were adopted.

While the number of animals helped in this one shelter is high, there are still animals not getting the chance at a better life they deserve, and we have the power to help. If a no-kill shelter were built in Montevallo it would be a wonderful opportunity to bring the community together. Building the shelter itself would not be cheap, but once built it would be a nonprofit organization and would run off donations, actual adoption fees and the hard work of its volunteers.

Not only would it be a great place for Montevallo students to do volunteer work, but it would be saving lives. The result would be a blessing to everyone in this community including the animals living in it.

Savanna Gunn

Montevallo