A New Shelter in Virginia Beach

I'm going to probably catch sam-holy-you-know-what from my conservative friends over this one, but before accusing me of taking a step on the Liberal side, let me state my case-then decide for yourself.

I even took it upon myself to make sure that at some point in the future, others will know what we went through to get this shelter and how it all came to pass, but more on that later.

Well, the new shelter opened today and it is far and away the best shelter around-and it should be for the price we paid but hey, we went with a sub-standard shelter for so long, I would simply consider the additional cost a "stupid tax" and be done with it.

Of course, there are detractors to the price and while I appreciate their concerns, I will tell you that an animal shelter is a facility that just can't be slapped together and requires special surfaces, equipment and now, add security measures because sadly, some of these animals coming into the shelter are considered "evidence."

Hopefully, the days of parvovirus outbreaks are going to fade into a bad memory and in the near future, more adoptable dogs and cats will be heading out the front door rather than the "back door" but it was a day that has been long-awaited and finally realized.

I'm sure you will read and see more about this new shelter as the days pass and congratulations to the Friends of Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center for seeing a long-held dream finally realized.

Now on to something else.

I started making noise for a new animal shelter back in 2004 and I have related the story of how I became involved in this issue several times throughout this blog. I even took it upon myself to write a mini-book I suppose you could call it that included newspaper articles about the old shelter, photographs, state veterinarian reports and lots of other interesting things, sealed them all up with an 8GB flash drive containing all the documentation in a large piece of PVC pipe, capped, then sealed the ends and hid them somewhere within the shelter as it was being constructed. I watched it being entomed by the construction workers, so I know it's there.

Look all you want, but only I know where it is and that's a secret that will be going to the grave with me. I do however know that it will be found one day, opened and seen by future generations because this is the kind of history that gives an insight that the newspapers or the "official" accounts just can't or won't relate.

Tell your kids and your grandkids about it-it will make a heck of a news story at some point in the future.

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