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You should tell what you know about this person who is the director to the newspaper , local media anybody that will listen to you . Raise a stink and make sure the mayors office gets a whiff of it too . You raise a stink and the mayor who is looking to get re elected will have this guy out of that position so quick it will make your neck snap . I know this because we did so in a town where we used to live and the mayor had this guy out of office so quick and he made his self look good of course . The mayor also had a talk with a few people and had the rules changed rather quickly such as no one under the age of 18 could work there and must have some expierience with animals .
getting the media involved is a great idea. any news reporter worth their salt would jump on a story exposing cruelty to animals at a local shelter. and during an election, the local politicians are going to react swiftly to negative publicity. go to the papers but also to tv news. and sad but true, you'd be surprised how many people who don't care start to care when a news story tells them to. plus it'd be a way to attract attention to the issue from people who do care about animals and were not aware of the problems at the shelter.
Wow I don't even know what to say except that what you have told us makes me sick.
I guess I live a sheltered life here so find it hard to belive that that stuff goes on in this day and age.Our animal control /shelter is great. There is a volunteer group called K9Pals that takes care of all the dogs, another group that takes care of the cats and a third group that does the bunnies. The animals are sometimes there for months and treated very well. Some of the volunteers even take some of the dogs to agility class! They also foster out some animals if needed. The community really supports them and the type of behavior you describe would not ne tolerated for one minute here. It breaks my heart to hear that in other areas things are so bad.
Could you not get a group like HSUS, ASPCA, or Best Friends involved to help change things?
I almost didnt respond. Because Ive had a horrible day, and when I walked in and read your post, it was the last straw. Boy, the tears came hard. Poor gentle souls who leave this world never knowing a kind hand, just a harsh existence....but then I got angry...I think you need to go over the heads of local politicians, go to your congressman. Keep a log with dates of when things have occurred...and yes, I know Peta is crazy, but I would contact them. If possible hire a young 20 something animal lover to work cleaning cages, undercover, with a hidden camera....I know Im throwing out crazy ideas, but something radical needs to be done, and soon ! The local tv station doing a story is a great idea, but I would caution you to only contact them when you have the bad stories nailed down, witnesses, and others in your town willing to collaborate, otherwise you wont have the credibility needed.
I feel physically sick.
My shelter coordinator is the one that's been working with them for years, trying to get change. When she contacted me and asked me to attend one of the meetings - I did - I was very impressed with her. She had a very moving speech. After that some changes were made - they had to have their visitiation hours and owner surrenders were given 3 days.
Her concern is when she started this she tried making people know what was going on and out of spite the Director just started killing every animal that came in. The commissioner basically told her it's his job to eliminate unwanted animals and he had no problem with that.
She felt so bad, like it was her fault they were killed, so since then she's been trying to place nice and get them to agree to small, slow steps forward. I told her then I'd step back and leave it be and let her handle it her way in the hopes that there would be forward movement.
But this is over the top. I'm talking to her Saturday. She said when her husband got to the shelter no one was there. The doors were locked up and he could still see two puppies wiggling in the drain - they'd left the premises and never moved them back in with their mother. He said the mother looked beyond terrified, understandably.
There's been more than one occasion she found the staff there at the local VFW enjoying a drink - in uniform, in their animal control vehicle, on company / tax payer time. She's guessing they may have been there again, but her husband had tons of other animal errands to run and didn't have time to go see. He went back about 30 minutes later and someone was there so he pulled them out.
They are now safely at their house and I"ll pick them up tonight on my way home or have hubby get them this afternoon. Momma is a JRT mix, as are puppies I"m sure. 10 puppies by the way!! Holy................................. wow!!
So, at least they're safe. But she and I will talk on Saturday. I did tell her to have her husband get a photo inside the shelter of the puppies in the drain. I'm getting the trainer to do a statement and we're compiling all the other info of abuse and neglect that's gone on that we know of. I'm hoping she agrees that this is the last straw, and if so we'll go to the Nashville media with the info and the photos of the puppies.
I'll contact the other animal wefare groups. I'm not sure how much they can help. Most of the help relies on the sheriff's office getting involved and, well, his paycheck comes from the same place the animal control paycheck does and I'm sure he doesn't want to risk losing his job. Not sure if he'll help, but I'll certainly be looking into it!
Photos aren't great. It's them in the kennel with a warm blankie and their mommy in the back of my shelter coordinators car on their way to her house. She called me when she got them home and said they smelled exactly like the drain they came out of. I told her to give them a bath. Never recommended for 24 hour old puppies, but better than getting sick from the sewer drains. She's got them all dried well and under a warm blankie with mom and has a heat lamp in the area to keep it warm for them. I'm sure they'll be ok. But of course I worry.
the Director just started killing every animal that came in. The commissioner basically told her it's his job to eliminate unwanted animals and he had no problem with that.
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There's been more than one occasion she found the staff there at the local VFW enjoying a drink - in uniform, in their animal control vehicle, on company / tax payer time.
Where the heck do you live? I am astonished that there are places in the US where these attitudes prevail. It would be great if you could get the commissioner to make these statments in writing or on tape or if his view are public knowledge. I doubt his mandate from the city council ( or from wherever he derives his authority) is to "eliminate unwanted animals". This is a sad example of one person taking his twisted personal views and confusing them with his responsibilities under the law. If he hates dogs/animals, perhaps he should not be working with them. Would we elect someone who hates children to be the commissioner of the board of education? I dont see why vunerable animals deserve anything less.
And municipal employees DRINKING on taxpayer time? And then getting in their tax-payer funded van and DRIVING? And no one in town sees this as a problem? Seriously?
Sorry for the rant. This sort of gratuitous human cruelty really makes my blood BOIL!!!
Last edited by NewinScal; 07-28-2010 at 03:00 PM..
i had been following this thread since it was posted, but was unable to post anything that would have been printable and coherent.....
your last post .... about those babies STILL in the drain and no one there..... my stomach literally LURCHED..... so glad the husband went back a little later and they are FINALLY safe..... those poor babies and that poor momma dog .... i bet she was all but hysterical......
i think the idea of documenting the abuse and neglect, by whatever means necessary, and then taking it to the Nashville media is a GREAT one.... and while you're at it... take it to the Memphis and Knoxville media outlets too....
and if any of your pals are members of the vfw, a couple of pictures of the uniformed employees in their swilling their drinks would just be the cherry on the sundae..... maybe a videotape of them drinking, and then walking out to the COUNTY OWNED vehicle and then getting in and driving away.....
It's hard to believe that there could be so much apathy. Can you say where this is...even a general location?
Thanks. We're in very rural middle TN, at the base of the Cumberland Plateau.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewinScal
Where the heck do you live? I am astonished that there are places in the US where these attitudes prevail. It would be great if you could get the commissioner to make these statments in writing or on tape or if his view are public knowledge. I doubt his mandate from the city council ( or from wherever he derives his authority) is to "eliminate unwanted animals". This is a sad example of one person taking his twisted personal views and confusing them with his responsibilities under the law. If he hates dogs/animals, perhaps he should not be working with them. Would we elect someone who hates children to be the commissioner of the board of education? I dont see why vunerable animals deserve anything less.
And municipal employees DRINKING on taxpayer time? And then getting in their van and DRIVING? And no one seees this as a problem? Seriously?
Sorry for the rant. This sort of gratuitous human cruelty really makes m blood BOIL!!!
I talked to my shelter coordinator. She said they've got way more than this on them that's even worse. She wants to break the story open after the elections, which is a few weeks away. I trust her - she and her husband are fabulous and do so much for the animals in this area - but I'm not sure what her thinking is on waiting until after the election. Seems to me right before an election when politicians are willing to do anything on the planet to keep their cushy jobs would be the ideal time. Waiting for an e-mail response from her. I'm just glad she has finally said that working with them isn't going to work.
Rant away. I'm in the boat right next to you. Angry and sad all wrapped into one.
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Can you say where this is...even a general location?
Seems to me right before an election when politicians are willing to do anything on the planet to keep their cushy jobs would be the ideal time. Waiting for an e-mail response from her. I'm just glad she has finally said that working with them isn't going to work. 
