Harry's Gang: It's a puzzle why we don't have an animal shelter

When a new lawyer gets into town, they’re often inundated with requests from local organizations, asking us to get involved and volunteer with their group. It’s a great way to quickly become a part of the community and to show some dedication to the people who will, eventually, become your clients.

At least, that’s how it happened to me. When I started working at the Newby law firm in 1999, it wasn’t weeks before I had been “volunteered” for all sorts of local groups, from the Relay for Life to the CDIC, a local community economic development group. I was asked many times over the years to join the Friends of Animals, especially from “The Lindas”: Linda Quarnstrom, who owned WKLK at the time, and her friend Linda Towne, a former nurse, chiropractor and current owner of the Vision Pro chain around here. Those two were hard to resist — and they were relentless in asking for help with their pet project, Friends of Animals.

That was an interesting group. It was started privately, by local do-gooders who saw a need that just couldn’t be filled by the city or county governments. For years, they were very active in placing strays and caring for animals, and in prevention, education, and support for animal rights. Even though it wasn’t really my cup of tea, I did volunteer a decent amount occasionally when a lawyer would be beneficial to them (and when the Lindas persuaded me to help). It was a shame when the organization folded a few years ago due to, in my opinion, growing too fast.

When Friends of Animals went away, it left a void that hasn’t been filled. There’s no animal control in Cloquet anymore, and it shows. There are too many strays, and it’s a burden on the police who get called all too often to deal with animal control issues. It’s not really the cops’ job to act as animal control, and their time is better spent on other police work. So, it would be nice to see some kind of revival of the Friends of Animals.

Recently, a concerned citizen asked Cloquet city administrator Tim Peterson about the lack of a pound in Cloquet. Tim shared his response with me and gave me permission to pass it along: “The City of Cloquet, Carlton County, and most all other cities and townships in the area were supporters of the Friends of Animals. We all contributed both our vocal support, but also financially each year. However, that organization closed based on their own decision due to several different factors. I would also like to point out that representatives from each governmental entity met with the Friends of Animals organization on multiple occurrences to try and make it work; however, this proved unsuccessful.

“We would still surely be supportive of a shelter. In fact, the City of Cloquet continues to budget funds for animal control that could easily be sent to an organization that fulfills that shelter need. But the City of Cloquet does not have the resources to own and operate this shelter. That is why we have programs to spay, neuter, and microchip pets. These programs have been very successful and help return pets to their owners quickly and safely.

“The City would absolutely be interested in supporting a private organization that wants to start, own, and operate a shelter.”

I think such an organization could happen again, just like it did years ago with the Friends of Animals. They could even call themselves “Friends of Animals.” I know a certain local lawyer who would be willing to help them organize, legally. But someone needs to step up and take the place of the original organizers. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of dedication to make such an organization work. But I’m certain there are plenty of people out here who can do it. All it takes is one strong leader to take charge.

And there’s plenty of people left over from the Friends of Animal days who, I bet, would be willing to meet with the new team and help guide them in the right direction. Tim suggested that if a group did form, they should contact the city’s Economic Development staff to help find a suitable location for a shelter. That office is terrific, and would certainly be a good resource for a new Friends of Animals. So would many other groups, I’d bet, from the Rotary Club to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to service organizations of all kinds.

Carlton County can certainly support an animal shelter. It has in the past, and should be able to do it again. Other small counties in our area can support a shelter, like the Lake County Humane Society in Two Harbors and Arrowhead Animal Rescue in Cook County, and those are both run by volunteers. With the right group, it can happen here, too.

I bet even the Lindas would be willing to meet with the new group.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News community newspaper and an attorney in Esko who hosts the cable access talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7. His opinions are his own. Contact him at [email protected].