The Memphis Animal Shelter director, having had his shelter raided by law enforcement this week as part of a cruelty investigation, should have been on his A Number One best behavior. And yet, on his watch, the shelter killed someone’s pet this week without even contacting the owners. Finally, the Mayor has fired the director:
“You’ve got a mayor now who, perhaps to a fault, likes to be hands on,” said [Mayor] Wharton during a morning press conference at the shelter. “I am not an expert on (animal shelters), but I can walk in there and tell you if there is enough food or water in the bowl, or if they followed our own procedures.”
Perhaps the most startling bit from the article though is how the director, Ernest Alexander, came to be in charge of the shelter:
Despite allegations of mistreatment of the animals he oversaw at a shelter in Albuquerque, N.M., Alexander arrived in Memphis in the spring of 2008 after former mayor Willie Herenton launched a nationwide search for an administrator who could improve conditions at the shelter, long a source of controversy for local animal rights activists. [emphasis mine]
Either there is a conspiracy cloud hanging over this guy’s head or he brings animal suffering and death with him wherever he goes. I’m glad he’s out. I hope they also sack every last one of the employees who weren’t whistleblowers. It’s way past time to take out the trash there.