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Rescue groups, residents urge Mount Pleasant to address animal-shelter intake and euthanasia rates
Summary
Local rescue Let Love Live and area residents urged Mount Pleasant officials to adopt stronger ordinances and enforcement to reduce high dog intake and euthanasia rates at the county shelter, and said the rescue will limit future assistance without legislative action.
Evan Panhasi, vice president of Let Love Live Rescue, told the Mount Pleasant City Council during public comments that the local shelter’s dog intake and euthanasia numbers are disproportionately high and that his organization will limit assistance unless the city and surrounding jurisdictions adopt stronger laws and enforcement.
“Using those numbers, I’m estimating full 2024 results. For dogs only, there’s an estimated 1,400 intakes and 597 euthanasia, with a euthanasia rate of 42 percent,” Panhasi said, urging action by local leaders.
The appeal came during the meeting’s public-comment period, where multiple speakers described stray and neglected animals in the city and county. Panhasi compared Mount Pleasant’s per-capita intake to Houston’s, saying the local shelter takes in about one dog per 29 residents versus Houston’s one per 70 residents, and urged ordinances that include “serious enforcement tools.”
Polly Parker, a Cookeville resident who said she fosters animals, announced a stakeholder meeting at the county agricultural extension office and invited officials, law enforcement and rescue organizations to participate. “We want to come together and work as a united community to help solve this crisis,” Parker said.
Renata, a volunteer with Let Love Live, described seeing widespread neglect in the region and framed the issue as one of “compassion and accountability.” An unidentified county resident described witnessing animals chained without shelter and stray dogs harmed by coyotes.
Panhasi said Let Love Live has rescued roughly 4,400 dogs since 2020—about 875 a year—and that the rescue will no longer take animals from jurisdictions that do not show legislative action to curb irresponsible pet ownership. “We will no longer spend our resources on communities that do not make an attempt to stop the copious amounts of suffering happening,” he said.
Council members did not take formal action on the animal-shelter remarks during the meeting. The city manager’s report and agenda items that followed included budget and development items; officials did not announce any immediate policy changes in response to the public comments.
Speakers and rescue representatives invited further discussion and said they had provided contact information to city staff for follow-up.
