Vote Yes To Pets on April 4
Written By
Category
Insights
Posted On
03.31.17
“Humanity’s true moral test, its fundamental test… consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.” –Milan Kundera
We love our pets here at Willoughby. On any given day you can find KC, Gordon, Colby, Fritzi, Annabelle, Wiggie, Beck, Buddy or some other pooch roaming around the office. They visit, lounge, forage, play and protect us from the evils of the UPS man. At our homes we have kitties, birdies and even ratties.
Most, if not all, of us have welcomed rescued pets into our families, so we’re big proponents of our local shelters and were honored to be asked by Roshann Parris to lend our talents to local efforts to build a new animal shelter.
On April 4, Kansas City residents will have the opportunity to vote on several ballot initiatives that tackle major KC infrastructure issues. Question 3 will include funds to build Kansas City’s first new animal shelter for KC Pet Project to be located in the heart of Swope Park, by the KC Zoo, Lakeside Nature Center and Starlight Theater.
KC Pet Project has taken a municipal animal shelter with a 31% live release rate (number of animals re-homed) and raised it to 91% in just a few miraculous years. This makes them the 3rd largest NO KILL shelter in the country. And they did it in a 14,000 square foot warehouse that was never meant to be a shelter.
Some have asked why we should use $14 million dollars for homeless pets when Kansas City still has homeless people. And that’s a good question. The simple answer is that we can (and should) do both. Kansas City has a strong commitment to its homeless population and passage of this initiative won’t stop or reduce it. We have enough room in our hearts and our wallets.
A community thrives on its humanity, its empathy and its search for justice. This applies to all the creatures that live within it. How we treat those who are beholden to us says a lot about who we are.
Voting YES on all three GO Bonds on April 4th not only helps KC’s animals but will add vital street and sidewalk repair to make us more biker/walker friendly, improve flood control and renovate many public buildings, including bringing them up to ADA compliance.
There’s a lot of responsibility in being a world-class city and Kansas City is being recognized more and more for our quality of life. Let’s take the next step and RAISE THE WOOF in the process.
To learn more you can visit these sites:
https://kcmo.gov/infrastructure
http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article127536154.html