Animal services panel

Editor: This letter is in response to Angelique Fry’s letter to the editor dated Oct. 16 regarding what she views as a lack of a “real” Animal Services Advisory Committee and transparency in the legislative process of the city of Petaluma.

I am one of the 10 Petaluma citizens who currently volunteer their time as members of the ASA committee. I have had the pleasure of serving on this committee since June 2008 and arrived in the midst of the three-year process of negotiations and collaboration needed to create a better city policy regarding its non-human residents. The committee met monthly during this period, meetings whose locations and times were clearly published on the city’s Web site and at the shelter for anyone who was interested enough to inquire. The first agenda item at each meeting is reserved for public comment, and we have gladly taken the time to listen to as many as 30 Petaluma residents at one meeting regarding the new legislation and other issues of concern.

In my 16 months of service, I have never seen Ms. Fry attend a meeting or reviewed any written correspondence from her. What I have, unfortunately, witnessed is committee members and shelter employees being subjected to personal attacks, unsubstantiated vile accusations, and vitriolic rhetoric, including profanity and kindergarten-level name-calling, from people too caught up in their own personal issues to consider the long-term good of the whole. There are no black-and-white answers to the pressing issues that face us, and considerations that are often diametrically opposed, such as that of the feral cat and the wild songbird, require ongoing careful analysis and compromise on both sides.

The new legislation increases the number of potbellied pigs allowed in a residential home, which was Ms. Fry’s original issue, and provides for collaboration between the caretakers of feral cats and animal services personnel, among other improvements. It was worked on for nearly three years with compassion, patience and deep concern for the animals and people it will eventually legislate. Nothing was done in haste or without the utmost consideration and transparency.

This energy of the committee members is also put into real-time action, and all of the committee members are devoted caretakers of multiple animals, the majority of which were rescues or abandoned strays. I and other members have adopted or care for feral cats and volunteer our time not only on the committee but also with other animal- or community-related causes.

If anyone is interested in making a difference in the lives of the citizens of Petaluma, both human and more than so, the Animal Services Committee has vacancies that need filling, as do several other city advisory committees. Information about how to apply and expected time commitment is available on the city Web site.

In the meantime, as always, the character of a person is measured by their deeds much more so than their words.

June Gerron, Petaluma