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My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dog already thinks I am. -
Unknown |
News Articles
Please read our 2008 news articles below. For past articles, please click
2002,
2003, 2004,
2005, 2006,
2007 or click here for 2009. |
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September 23, 2008
Fayette County Commission Approves Rezoning
Request for Fayette County Animal Rescue; Shelter to Remain Open
Rossville, TN --
September 23, 2008 -- Members of the Fayette County Commission
voted 13-6 tonight to APPROVE the rezoning request for
Fayette County Animal Rescue that would allow them to continue to
operate at their current facility. This decision supersedes the May
decision by the Zoning Board of Appeals that threatened to close the
animal shelter on September 30th.
“We are thrilled
and relieved by the decision of the County Commission tonight. We
have served our community for 10 years and have helped thousands of
animals at no cost to Fayette County tax payers. Their decision
reflects their compassion for the animals of Fayette County and
their support for Fayette County Animal Rescue,” says President Gina
Thweatt.
In May, the
Zoning Board of Appeals voted 4-1 that FCAR was in violation of the
zoning ordinance and was operating illegally. They made this ruling
about a facility that had been used in direct support of the Animal
Control, the Sheriff’s office and District Attorney for the past 10
years. The Board gave FCAR until September 30th to cease
operations or they would be shut down by the County.
In response to
this decision, FCAR made improvements to the shelter to address
neighbor’s real or perceived issues. These improvements included
canceling their highest generating fundraising event, erecting
hundreds of feet of privacy fencing, planting over $1,500 in
landscaping for visual and auditory barriers and erecting a 12’
sound barrier. FCAR then submitted an application to rezone the
property to “Special Activities”, which if approved would allow the
animal shelter to continue to operate. The tremendous efforts by
FCAR were successful and their request was approved by the County
Commission. This decision allows the only humane organization in
Fayette County to continue its mission to serve the animals of
Fayette County.
“We remain 100%
dedicated to the animals and citizens of Fayette County, and are
very pleased that our elected officials are as well,” said Delores
Provow, CEO. “There is a tremendous need in our community for
animal support services and we are looking forward to putting this
behind us and getting back to helping the animals. It has been a
very difficult few months for us but we are very grateful to all of
our volunteers, supporters and the County Commissioners.”
About FAYETTE
COUNTY ANIMAL RESCUE (FCAR) – Fayette County Animal Rescue is a
no-kill, 501c3 animal shelter serving Fayette County since 1998.
FCAR provides a wide variety of animal services such as animal
cruelty investigation, animal rescue, humane education, low cost
spay/neuter and more. Over the past 10 years, FCAR has rescued
thousands of animals from situations of cruelty, abandonment, injury
or neglect and rehabilitated them before adopting them out to new
homes. |
September 24, 2008
Fayette County Animal Rescue Will
Remain Open
By BIANCA PHILLIPS
After months of fighting with
neighbors and Fayette County Commissioners over zoning issues, Fayette
County's only no-kill animal shelter will be rezoned allowing them to
remain open.
In May, Fayette County's zoning
board of appeals accused Fayette County Animal Rescue (FCAR) of
operating illegally in a residential area. Although FCAR had been
operating at that location for 10 years, it was forced to suspend
operations. The board ruled that FCAR had until September to shut down
or find a new home for its cages and 40 or so dogs.
But last night, the Fayette
County Commission voted 13-6 to allow the facility to be rezoned so it
can remain open. The commission's vote supersedes the zoning board of
Appeal's vote.
FCAR first came to the zoning
board's attention after a handful of neighbors began complaining about
dogs barking. In response to residents' concerns, FCAR erected privacy
fencing, planted over $1,500 in shrubbery to act as a sound buffer,
and purchased bark collars for the dogs.
For more on the situation, see
this Bianca Phillips' story.
Date created: 09/24/2008
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Fayette County Animal Rescue
Ordered to Close by September 30, 2008
by Fayette County Zoning Board of Appeals
Fayette County Animal Rescue has been ordered to shut down after 10
years of serving our community. For more specific details click
here however to summarize, based on
the complaint of a neighbor, the Fayette County Zoning Board of
Appeals voted to
overturn the decision that FCAR could operate legally at our current
facility. We have been ordered to shut down by September 30, 2008.
Please Note: The Board of Directors and Volunteers at FCAR
are committed to keeping FCAR open.
We are pursuing all options and we WILL be here after September
30th, next year and 10 years after that. We do not know what our
future holds and we do not know for certain that we will be allowed
to stay in our current facility, but we will be in operation in some
form or fashion. We are committed to the animals we have rescued
and house at our facility and to the hundreds of dogs that need us
today and will need us in the future. We care about our community
and will relentlessly pursue our mission of reducing the number of
neglected and abandoned animals and preventing animal cruelty in our
county.
Please take a moment to read through this site. I realize there is
a lot of information but this issue is a serious one. If FCAR is
shut down the only alternative is Animal Control, which is run by
the County. Fayette County has 2 Animal Control officers serving
706 square miles with a budget one-third less than FCARs. In the
recent County Commission meeting Mayor Taylor informed the
commissioners that Animal Control euthanizes all animals that they
take in after 3 days. Can you imagine... just 3 days and their life
is ended. Surely the animals of Fayette County deserve more than
that. Surely the citizens in our community will demand more than
that for our four-legged friend.
For more information please feel free to contact us at 901-854-2565
or
fayettefcar@hotmail.com.
Thank you for your support. We have had the best volunteers,
supporters and adopters a rescue group could ever ask for over the
past 10 years. And with your support now we can get through this
nightmare and go back to our life's work to save the animals in
Fayette County.
Click here for more information
on this issue.
Click here for a link of
Fayette County officials to contact to voice your support for FCAR.
Click here
to print out flyers to distribute in support of FCAR.
UPDATE WEEK OF 07/24/08
FCAR has filed an appeal of the decision to close down our shelter.
This is an expensive decision but one that we feel we must pursue to
save our shelter. We are also planning on attending the
September Planning Commission and County Commission Meetings
requesting the rezoning of our property so that we can continue to
operate. More details to come on dates/times of the meetings. Please continue to call members of the Fayette County Commission and
voice your support for FCAR. We also need volunteers to help
at special adoption events as we try to place as many animals as
possible while we work through these issues. Contact us for more
details.
Please consider printing and distributing posters/flyers about
our situation. We appreciate your support!
UPDATE WEEK OF 08/08/08
FCAR will be presenting our request for rezoning of our current
facility at the September County Commission Meeting. The meeting is
Tuesday, September 23rd, at 7pm at the Bill Kelly Justice Center.
Please come out and support FCAR!!!
Prior to going to the County Commission the request will go
before the Planning Commission. We'll update this site with the
date/time of that meeting when it is known.
We also encourage all FCAR supporters to go to the August County
Commission meeting and speak and support FCAR. The meeting is
scheduled for August 26th at 7pm at the Bill Kelly Justice Center in
Somerville.
UPDATE WEEK OF 09/01/08
Please cross post and forward to other
people that support Fayette County Animal Rescue.
As you all are very aware, we are requesting a
rezoning of the property that our shelter is located on to Special
Activities so that we are not forced to shut down on September
30th. We need your support!! Please plan on attending any or all
of the following meetings where FCAR will present our request for
approval. If you can only attend one meeting please go to the
9/23 meeting. That will be the final vote on our request and we
want the elected County Commissioners to see the support that FCAR
has in the community. Please tell your friends and family and
come out and support FCAR, the only no kill, no cages shelter in
Fayette County.
Planning Commission will meet on Monday, Sept.
8 at 6:30 in the Somerville courthouse.
Development Committee will meet on Tues., Sept.
9 (unsure of time) at the Criminal Justice Center.
The County Commission meets on Tues., Sept. 23
at 7:00 at the Criminal Justice Center.
Please continue to contact members of the
County Commission and voice your support for FCAR and attend these
meetings. If we are unsuccessful in getting this request approved
then we will be left with only one other option, our appeal.
We need your support and your prayers please!
Contact us at 854-2565 or via email if you have any questions.
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August 2, 2008
5K Race benefiting Fayette County Animal Rescue was
held August 2nd at Shelby Farms. A HUGE thank you to all
participants, sponsors and volunteers! For race results, click
here. |
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July 31, 2008
Run to Save a Shelter Blog from 2 Dogs 2,000
Miles, click
here to read the blog. |
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July 2008
17 Horses Rescued by Fayette County Animal
Rescue
Fayette County Animal Rescue recently seized 17
horses and charged the owner with Animal Cruelty. The horses were
severely underweight and had significant hair loss and other medical
problems. If you would like to
help, please email us at
fayettefcar@hotmail.com or make a donation to: FCAR, P.O.
Box 44, Rossville, TN 38066.
*NEW*
The case of FCAR vs. George Blackburn for
17 counts of animal cruelty was concluded on 07/29/08. The
defendant, George Blackburn, was found Guilty! and was sentenced to
the following:
- The max of 11 months, 29 days in jail,
suspended with time served
- Supervised probation for one year
- $1,700 fine
- Restitution to FCAR to cover costs for caring
for the horses
- He cannot own a horse until 2018
After much review and discussion, FCAR decided
to turn over custody of the 11 horses that were stolen and found
in AR to the rescue group that has been caring for them. They have
done an outstanding job caring for these animals and already have
found permanent homes for most if not all of them.
We do still have 3 horses available for adoption
(3 have already found forever homes!). We have the following:
- Tippy - Grade; 3 year old mare
- Sonoma - Paint/Pinto; 4 year old mare
- Applejacks - Grade; 10 year old mare
Their pictures are posted on are on this website
under "Adoptables" or on Petfinder (click
here). We will posting additional information on their
temperament, personality, etc. very soon. The adoption fee is
$500.
If you are interested in adopting or know
someone that is please contact us! And thank you all again for
your support during this effort to save these horses. They had a
rough time but we sure did get a happy ending!
For local
TV news stories please go to:
That was then...
This is now...
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July 3, 2008
In the Dog House
Fayette County Animal Rescue is ordered to suspend operations.
By BIANCA PHILLIPS
Almost all the dogs held at Fayette County Animal Rescue's
five-acre facility in Rossville have touching stories. Tiffany, a
sweet-natured black pit bull, was shot in the hip. Another pit
bull named Derrin is missing all the hair on his back after his
former owner poured acid on him.
Tiffany, Derrin, and about 40 other dogs live comfortably at
Fayette County Animal Rescue, the area's only nonprofit no-kill
shelter. But if a handful of the facility's neighbors have it
their way, the dogs will soon have to go.
In late May, the Fayette County Board of Zoning Appeals ruled
that the animal rescue operation was operating in violation of
residential zoning codes and had until September to shut down or
find a new home. The decision came after neighbors complained
about barking dogs.
Fayette County Animal Rescue director Gina Thweatt plans to
appeal the board's decision at a Fayette County Commission meeting
next month.
Though the shelter has been operating in the same location for
10 years, neighbors didn't start complaining about the noise until
last fall.
"We're not against animal rescue, but we can't stand the
constant barking," says Marsha Baker, whose home is located a few
acres away from the property. "There's a proper place for
everything, and we just don't want this in our neighborhood."
Thweatt says the dogs, who are housed in outdoor kennels, only
bark at feeding times or when a stranger is on the property. When
this reporter visited, several dogs barked for a minute or so but
stopped shortly thereafter.
"We've started making some changes to help with the noise.
We've put bark collars on the dogs, and we planted some shrubbery
[in front of cages] to act as a buffer," Thweatt says. "We changed
our employees' schedules to make sure no one was feeding really
early in the morning."
The group has served as the county's main rescue operation, but
due to the zoning board's decision, it has stopped taking in new
animals. All dogs are now being placed in Fayette County's
official animal shelter, which can only house 10 canines at a
time.
"I know that our animal control officers have called Fayette
County Animal Rescue numerous times to aid in taking in abused
animals," says Jim Gallagher, the only person on the four-member
zoning board to vote in favor of the shelter. "They recently aided
animal control officers in a puppy-mill situation, and they had
room for 26 [cocker spaniels] that were seized."
Fayette County Animal Rescue is holding adoption events in
Memphis nearly every weekend to make the move easier if the
Fayette County Commission doesn't overturn the zoning board's
decision. The next adoption event is scheduled for Petsmart near
Wolfchase Galleria on Saturday, July 5th.
Date created: 07/ 3/2008
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June 14, 2008
Lemonade Stand Raises over $300 for Fayette County
Animal Rescue
 Savannah
(pictured at left with her sister) contacted Fayette County
Animal Rescue with the idea to have a lemonade stand to raise money
for the abused and neglected animals of Fayette County. On
June 14th, they setup in front of Walmart in Oakland with a colorful
umbrella, table and lots of lemonade. Savannah, along with her
sister Isabella, mom, dad and grandma's efforts raised over $300 for
the animals at FCAR.
"This event
has inspired me and given me hope that our next generation has great
potential to do whatever it is that they make up their mind to do to
make our world a better place, not only for us but for the animals."
FCAR Volunteer Cheryl Whitt |
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June 1, 2008
Fayette County Animal
Rescue Ordered to Close by September 30, 2008
by Fayette County Zoning Commission
Fayette County
Animal Rescue has been ordered to shut down by the Fayette County government
after 10 years of serving our community. For more specific details please visit
our website at
http://fayettefcar.com however to summarize, based on the complaint of a
neighbor, the Planning Commission voted to overturn the decision that FCAR could
operate legally at our current facility. We have been ordered to shut down by
September 30, 2008.
Please
Note: The Board of Directors and Volunteers at FCAR are committed to keeping
FCAR open and are diligently pursuing all options to do so.
FCAR WILL be here
after September 30th, next year and 10 years after that. We do not know what
our future holds and we do not know for certain that we will be allowed to stay
in our current facility, but we will be in operation in some form or fashion.
We are committed to the animals we have rescued and house at our facility and to
the hundreds of dogs that need us today and will need us in the future. We care
about our community and will relentlessly pursue our mission of reducing the
number of neglected and abandoned animals and preventing animal cruelty in our
county.
If FCAR is shut
down the only alternative is Animal Control, which is run by the County.
Fayette County has 2 Animal Control officers serving 706 square miles with a
budget one-third less than FCARs. In the recent County Commission meeting Mayor
Taylor informed the commissioners that Animal Control euthanizes all animals
that they take in after 3 days. Can you imagine... just 3 days and their life
is ended. Surely the animals of Fayette County deserve more than that. Surely
the citizens in our community will demand more than that for our four-legged
friend.
We remain optimistic
that our County government will understand the value that our organization
brings to Fayette County and allow us to continue to operate. Unfortunately we
have been forced to temporarily stop all programs except our Adoption Program
and Fundraising until this matter is resolved. Examples of programs temporarily
stopped include: Animal Cruelty Investigations, Animal Rescue, Humane Education
and Community Outreach.
The community can
support FCAR in any of the following ways:
§
Adopt
an FCAR Rescue – With the future of our shelter uncertain we feel that it is
imperative that we place as many of our animals in forever homes as soon as
possible. Please contact our shelter at 901/854-2565 or view our upcoming
adoption events and adoptable animals at our website (http://fayettefcar.com).
§
Call or
write members of the Fayette County government, especially members of the
Fayette County Commission, Planning Commission, Mayors and Council members. You
can find their names and phone numbers at
http://www.fayettetn.us/ listed under "County Depts."
§
Make a
tax-deductible donation to assist with the mounting costs required to keep our
shelter open. Donations can be sent to FCAR, P.O. Box 44, Rossville, TN 38066
or made online at
http://fayettefcar.com.
§
Watch
our website for information on public meetings regarding the future of FCAR and
attend in support of our organization
§
Volunteer with FCAR and assist in our efforts to stay open. We need volunteers
to help with fundraising, adoptions, mailings and public relations.
§
Become
a foster parent for an FCAR rescue. Animals that have been in foster homes
are far more likely to be adopted in a shorter period of time.
§
Pray
for FCAR and all of the animals in Fayette County.
§
Contact
FCAR for posters & flyers that you can distribute in our community
For more
information please feel free to contact us at 901-854-2565 or
fayettefcar@hotmail.com.
Thank you for your
support. We have had the best volunteers, supporters and adopters a rescue
group could ever ask for over the past 10 years. And with your support now we
can get through this nightmare and go back to our life's work to save the
animals in Fayette County. |
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April 28, 2008
Sixteen Horses Seized in Animal Cruelty
Investigation
Recently FCAR and the Fayette County
Sheriff’s Department seized sixteen horses and a colt from their owner. The
owner was not feeding the horses and giving them proper care. They are all
underweight and starving. Many have lost an enormous amount of hair due to
malnourishment. An “on site seizure” was done, meaning that the horses are still
on the owner’s property, but they are under the care of FCAR. Volunteers have
been feeding the horses and taking care of them. A veterinarian has already done
bloodwork on the horses, and they have been dewormed. They will be vaccinated
this week. Some of the horses were a little bit afraid of the volunteers, but
they are starting to warm up to people now. The owner was being investigated for
a few months, and was given time to comply with some demands. He chose not to so
he will appear in court April 29 and face 17 counts of animal cruelty.
We are asking the community to help us with
this large seizure. We need donations of good, quality hay and cash donations to
help pay our vet bill. We also will need foster homes until the horses are ready
for adoption. Volunteers are also needed to feed the horses. If you can help,
please call the shelter at (901) 854-2565.
Please mail your tax-deductible contributions
to FCAR, P.O. Box 44, Rossville, TN 38066 Tax ID# 62-1836008. |
March 1, 2008
Sporting dogs often find themselves homeless
when hunting season ends
By
Bryan Brasher,
Commercial Appeal
Fayette County Animal
Rescue was one of the rescue groups interviewed in this article in the
Commercial Appeal. Click
here to read the article. |
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February 11,
2008
Neglected Cockers Going to Their New Homes!
As I’m sure you may have heard by now,
Fayette County Animal Rescue, with the assistance of the Fayette County
Sheriff’s Department, seized 26 cocker spaniels from a puppy mill. The dogs were
rescued in December of 2007 and many have recently been adopted and are now in
their new homes. Out of the 26 that were rescued, 17 have been adopted or
pre-adopted. Five are heartworm positive and must go through treatment, and one
of those must also have eye surgery. Therefore, only 4 adults are waiting on new
homes at this time.
As expected, most people were interested in
adopting the puppies that were six to eight weeks old. Two of the pregnant dogs
delivered a combined total of 11 puppies, (bumping our total of cocker spaniels
to 37!) and they have already been pre-adopted. So we were a little concerned
about the adult dogs finding homes. However, not only were some of the adults
adopted quickly, but so were the dogs who were not very socialized. Several of
the cockers were very shy because they were not used to being around people.
However, we placed them in foster homes and that made such a difference.
Through all the media coverage, you may have
seen pictures of the two male dogs that were matted the most. Usher is a
reddish/brown male and Dally is a white male Usher is three years old, and the
lady who groomed him said he had probably never been groomed. It was so
hard to watch him get groomed. It took a few hours and he panted the entire
time. Dally handled his grooming better, maybe because he is only two years old.
The groomer shaved off two and half pounds of hair from each dog. Usher did not
even look like a dog when we got him. Now he and Dally both are so handsome!
And, best of all, they both were adopted into wonderful homes. Both dogs were
very shy and afraid of everything when they arrived, so we are very thankful to
the kind people who adopted them.
We have plenty of other wonderful dogs who
also need good homes! Visit our website to see pictures and read stories of our
rescues. Your perfect companion may be only a phone call away. (www.fayettefcar.com)
Mail your tax-deductible contributions to
FCAR, P.O. Box 44, Rossville, TN 38066 Tax ID# 62-1836008. |
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January 14, 2008
Puppy Mill Owner a No-Show in Court
Nadine Weightman, accused of
twenty-seven counts of animal cruelty, did not appear in court Tuesday, January
8, as ordered. Therefore, Judge Mike Whitaker issued a warrant for her arrest.
After her cocker spaniels were seized by FCAR in December due to their horrible
living conditions, she went back to her hometown in Michigan. She had informed
the assistant district attorney that she would back in Fayette County for the
hearing. I have been in contact with an acquaintance of Ms. Weightman’s, so the
day she did not show up for court I asked her if she could locate her in order
for Ms. Weightman to sign a surrender form for the dogs. Fortunately, Ms.
Weightman did sign the surrender form and it was faxed to us last week.
Therefore, FCAR has legal custody of the cocker spaniels. We can now spay and
neuter the dogs and put them up for adoption. However, many of them need surgery
for other medical problems, so not all of them will be ready for adoption right
away.
Surrendering the dogs to FCAR
does not get Ms. Weightman out of her legal troubles. She is still facing the
animal cruelty charges and must answer to those, as well as to why she did not
appear in court. If she gets arrested in Michigan, the Fayette County Sheriff’s
Department will be notified, and we will proceed from there.
Now we have to spay/neuter all of
them and perform other necessary surgeries. Therefore, we are still in dire need
of donations. If you can assist us in any way, we would greatly appreciate it.
If you cannot help us financially, feel free to volunteer and come to the
shelter and spend some time with these, and our other wonderful dogs. They love
having visitors. Wouldn’t you want someone to give you a little extra love one
day?
Mail your tax-deductible contributions to
FCAR, P.O. Box 44, Rossville, TN 38066 Tax ID# 62-1836008. |
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