Editor, Times-Union: Today my sister, who lives in Warsaw, and I took my 13-year-old grandson to the Humane Shelter in Warsaw to adopt a dog. What we observed while at the shelter made me very sad. The three of us spent the better part of two hours assisting the one volunteer who was trying to clean the overcrowded cages of 140 dogs. We would take them one at a time outside on leashes to get some exercise from the small crowded cages that they were confined in. Dogs do not like to go to the bathroom in their cages and some of them were very happy to relieve themselves outside.
The shelter desperately needs volunteers to do just what we did today ... come and walk these dogs. The overcrowded conditions with dog cages stacked on top of other cages is pathetic. There must be people in the Warsaw vicinity, with all the surrounding farms, that could adopt a dog and give one of them a home. There were mutts and registered dogs there with one thing in common ... a need for a home.
The lady at the shelter named Terese was so wonderful and helpful and worked so hard to try to make these poor animals comfortable. She said they not only need volunteers to help with the animal care but they need blankets, rags, cleaning supplies, rawhides, toys, etc. I don't know how this facility is funded but it seems that they could use double the space that they currently have.
One last thing, please have your pet spayed or neutered. While we were there today during the two hours, 20 new dogs were brought in, among them a mother dog and six newborn puppies. Shame of the owner of these dogs. Incidentally, we adopted an adorable golden retriever dog who will be moving to her new home in Florida next week.
Ruth Armstrong, Niles, Mich.
Thanks To CCAC
Editor, Times-Union: As another season of softball play at the CCAC starts winding down, I would like to take an opportunity to thank everyone that is involved in running the CCAC and the different leagues, adult and youth, for all of their efforts in making this another great summer for the participants. While the majority of players simply show up and play, there are a number of people who volunteer their time to run these different leagues and spend many hours making sure that everything runs smoothly for the enjoyment of those players and their families.
As a participant in different leagues that play at the CCAC, I hear from other players that we have a beautiful sports complex that is the envy of surrounding communities. We should all be very proud to have such a wonderful place to play softball and soccer and be thankful that we live in a community such as Warsaw that has the vision to create such a place for us and our families to enjoy. While I hear complaints all of the time about the cost of playing at the complex, if you think about it, where else can you get a whole summer's full of family entertainment for the cost of a player fee? The expenses to maintain a park of this caliber are great, but everyone involved is very cost conscious when it comes to making decisions.
I was shocked to read a letter to the editor earlier this week where a mother claims that she may have to move her daughter to another league because she couldn't get a bottle of water. Those of you who have played at the CCAC for a few years know that there have been problems with the concessions in the past, but that has been solved with reasonable pricing and availability. Maybe the concession stand itself was closed, but there is no reason that anyone cannot get bottled water or drinks if they want them because there are also vending machines placed outside each concession building and out on the soccer fields where drinks may be purchased at any time.
The extremely hot weather of the last few weeks has made playing rather uncomfortable, but on most evenings there are families and friends enjoying an evening of fun at the CCAC, which doesn't cost anyone to watch. There are concessions available at a reasonable price. There are restroom facilities, playground equipment and a wonderful, clean, safe environment for people of our community to enjoy. To all of you who participate, thank you for supporting our complex and making it another great part of Warsaw that makes us all proud to live here.
Mary Anne Brumfield, President Warsaw Girls Softball League
