Bristol Facts

A letter to the Bristol Phoenix

To the editor:

Referendum # 3, the $2 million bond issue to complete funding of a new animal shelter in Bristol, has generated the volume and type of comment that would be expected from an informed and sophisticated electorate. The issue has been embraced as a necessary expenditure to demonstrate the responsibility of a society and a municipality to the animals we value more and more as companions. The issue has also been vilified as an unnecessary expenditure, extravagant if you will, when the status quo seems to serve the needs of the Town of Bristol quite nicely.
The focus needs to be squarely on bringing the standards of an essential municipal service to a level consistent with other services and consistent with the demands and responsibilities of a town the size and scope of Bristol. Unlike schools, public safety complexes and government offices, for over thirty years the existing Bristol Animal Shelter has occupied a site nearly invisible to most residents. In colonial times, the “pound” was in the center of town, serving a useful purpose to contain livestock for retrieval by their owners. In more recent times, the “pound” was often co-localized with undesirable town services, a landfill or transfer station. It is no wonder that the animals who found themselves at such a pound were often treated like the refuse of society. Today’s modern animal shelters offer a safe and humane alternative to dogs, cats and other pets lost, abandoned or mistreated.
Bristol is trying with this bold move to replace years of inattention. A great society is capable of operating successfully on many fronts. Providing for the health and welfare of society’s animals and society’s people are not mutually exclusive goals. Work with the dedicated and talented group of people, The Friends of the Bristol Animal Shelter, to make Bristol the showpiece of animal care and control in the State of Rhode Island.

Edward M. Wakem DVM