Not to sound cliche', but my heart breaks for you hearing that.  Nothing is worse than losing a pet.  Don't who you are but hope it helps in some small way to know that I fell for you.

In reference to not knowing how to speak to local governtment, has anyone just called the county comission to see when their next public meeting is and how to go about speaking at it?  I know for certain that the deputies are not allowed to get involved in any kind of politics.