Dear Editor,

I hope this letter finds you well. I wanted to reach out about increasing the funding of the Tama County Humane Society-a decision that could mean the difference between life and death for many innocent animals who depend on human compassion. It is known that the Tama County Humane Society greatly relies on donations, volunteers, and temporary fostering.

Last week, I visited the Tama County Humane Society looking to adopt another cat. I witnessed something heartbreaking: an old sickly cat, her eyes were filled with hopelessness and despair, as she had given up on life. She had been turned in by a woman who found her outside wounded, close to death. The shelter staff said she had lived her whole life in the shelter, never experiencing a loving home. Without adequate funding, shelters like ours are forced to make impossible decisions about which animals receive medical care, which get enough food, and sadly, which ones are turned down from the shelter.

Every dollar our community invests in animal shelter funding is an investment in our shared humanity. It says we are the kind of people who cannot protect themselves. It ensures that no animal must spend their final days in fear and deprivation. Our community can do better. We must do better. I urge every reader to contact their local representatives and demand increasing funding for our animal shelters. These voiceless animals are counting on us to be their voices.