A newspaper in NC posted a series of pretty damning reports on the county shelter yesterday titled “Lincoln Co. Animal Dis-Services“. It’s a lot to digest but if you want a lesson in the politics of Good Ol’ Boys and how the community’s pets are negatively impacted by same, you should read all the stories. Here are the highlowlights:
Thousands of local animals put to death, but county accepts dogs from Alabama – Even though Lincoln Co kills thousands of its community’s pets every year, when HSUS asked them to take 10 dogs (one in whelp) from a case they worked in AL, the shelter accepted. The paper asked Animal Services Supervisor Jack Kerley why the shelter took in these 10 dogs:
“We were doing a favor for the Humane Society of the U.S.”
A favor for HSUS apparently does not come with an obligation to keep the dogs alive:
Kerley said he is hopeful that the dogs will be adopted but admits that they may be gassed to death if they are not adopted, even though the Humane Society of the United States deplores putting pets in the gas chamber.
[…]
Kimberley Alboum, state director for the Humane Society, said she was glad Lincoln County graciously stepped up and took the dogs.
Anyone poll the dogs on their level of gladness?
***
In April, Kerley and 7 armed police officers seized every animal living on the property of a local resident. Included in the haul were 30 hogs who were supposedly malnourished. But apparently they also looked delicious because several were “hauled to a butcher shop and turned into sausage and barbecue for animal shelter employees including shelter manager Patty Lackey”. The owner denies they were malnourished and says the shelter can only account for the whereabouts of 6 hogs. When questioned about the “missing” 24 hogs, “Kerley says the county is not required to keep records on livestock, only domestic pets”. So I guess that’s that.
***
The shelter manager, Patty Lackey, was only promoted to the position this year.
Although the county requires a safe driving record for employees who use county vehicles, Lackey had a 2004 DWI conviction in Mecklenburg County and at least two speeding convictions when she was hired.
She was again convicted of drunk driving in 2009 and served a week in jail. Her pay raise and promotion to manager came less than a year after her release.
***
Joann Hager is an area rescuer working for shelter reform. The county has a long history of legal battles against her:
Lincoln County sued her for violations of the animal control ordinance.
She won.
She then sued Lincoln County for violating the state’s open records laws.
She won again.
Just moments after she left the county manager’s office last June where she sought an investigation of Animal Services she was arrested for assaulting animal shelter manager Patty Lackey.
Case dismissed. Hager won again.
The county has spent tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money in legal fees fighting Hager, and she has spent thousands of her own dollars either defending herself or taking the county to court.
Too bad, so sad the woman demanding shelter reform has the money to defend herself against the county’s trumped up charges. Boo hoo.
***
In violation of NC law, uncertified workers, including manager Patty Lackey, have been killing pets at the shelter. Kerley says the records indicating this are wrong. Also in violation of state law, pregnant pets and sick pets are routinely gassed at the shelter. Kerley says these records too are wrong.
***
NC law requires shelters to maintain records including the name and address of anyone adopting a pet. But the newspaper “studied hundreds of animal shelter records and found many instances of incomplete or obviously false documents, something that Animal Services Supervisor Jack Kerley admits has occurred”. One adopter for example, was listed as “Dick Tracy” with no address, phone number or any other identifying information. The paper tried to locate Dick Tracy in Lincoln Co but came up empty.
***
Less than 24 hours after the paper ran the series exposing corruption at the shelter, the supervisor, Jack Kerley, announced his retirement at the end of the month.
What paper posted the original article about the corruption at the shelter? I have firsthand information about how corrupt this shelter is.
You can click on any of the links to get to the site – It’s called News at Norman.
I’m just wondering when all this BS is going to come to a head in southern shelters. I have gotten dogs from this shelter many times. When I arrived the first time Jack Kerly called me a yankee so that just shows their mentality.
I’m not sure that it will come to a head. Rather, it may be a case where we have to fight for legislation (such as Oreo’s Law) to mandate improvements. Even then, change may not come, but at least we’d have the law on our side to challenge any non-compliance.
The world is definitely a better place with people like Joann Hager in it. The secret to rooting out cockroaches like Kerley and Lackey is to turn the spotlight of public awareness on them. These people can only thrive, like cockroaches, under cover of darkness.
I always liked Patty Lackey until I read about the whole BBQ thing. I think, for awhile atleast, she did make an honest effort to get the dogs out. I know many times she transported animals to the airport to catch flights to rescues up north. Maybe she went rogue…who knows. Kerley on the other hand is just a good ole boy trying to kill animals in the most smoothest fashion he can. Question is how do we expose this place and make it better?
Man, I am SO glad that I don’t live (and work) in that area! Thanks to your reporting, my life and neighborhood seems downright progressive and happy! Is there anything I can do to help Joann Hager? I’d be willing to help some of the critters, but it’s a long haul and I’m up to 40 degrees below zero today with two frozen vehicles. But in my heart and my mind, I’m there, I care, and I’m on her side!
Does anyone have Joann Hagers contact info?
Joann Hager’s Email is Joannhager@att.net. This woman has been put through hell and could use the support of caring people that want to stop this abuse of the animals of Lincoln County, NC. We need all of the help we can get at Lincoln. There is much more to clean up there, not just Jack Kerley we need help with the shelter supervisor as well. She actually is the one that has been running the place.
So chain of command there is:
George Wood
Female Supervisor
Jack Kerley
Patty Lackey
????
Me too Joann Hagers contact info? – I want to help in some way too.
For years I traveled throughout the Eastern bloc counries of the Soviet Union. I saw many of the concentration and death camps of WWII. I can freely state, without hesitation, that these places in our country are almost identical replicas of what I saw in my travels.
It is to the shame of our country that these neanderthals are allowed to continue like this. God bless Joann Hagers for her persistence and tenacity in fighting these shameful throwbacks to that horrible era in human history.
I hope the state officials step up and prosecute Kerley under felony-level animal abuse violations to send a clear message to all these backward cities and towns that this era is being stamped out.
I’m looking for someone with connections to the Lincoln County Commissioners:
Alex Patton
Bruce Carlton
George Arena
James Klien
Carrol Mitchem
Hi ANIMAL CONTROL Officers came to my home Wednesday accusing my dogs of something I can prove they Did Not Do They Were Home inside my home
The 2 Officers Never once got out of the AC Truck & Checked my dogs for any blood any kind of dirt never did a.DNA Nothing just sat inside the truck accusing my dogs of something They Could Not have Done when I stated that neither had a drop of blood on them their COMENT TO ME WAS THEIR BIG DOGS THEY LICKED IT OFF BEFORE THEY GOT HOME O & THEY TOLD ME THAT THE PERSON WHOSE DOG SUPPOSEDLY KILLDOG THAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY KILLED HAD SHOT AT & WAS PRETTY SURE THEY HIT ONE WELL MY DOGS BEING SHOT AT R GOING TO THINK O NO WE BETTER STOP & LICK THIS BLOOD OFF BEFORE WE GET HOME .. I REFUSED TO TURN THEM OVER SO I WAS TOLD R TO ME I WAS THREATENED THAT OPEN SEASON WAS DECLARED APONE MY DOGS .THEY RETURNED THURSDAY & THREATENED TO CALL THE SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT IF I DIDN’T TURN MY DOGS OVER!! I HAD TO PICK UP MY 2 DOGS & PUT THEM IN THOSE CAGES ..IT niHAS BEEN VERY STRESSFUL ON ME & I KNOW MY DOGS R JUST TERRIFIED THEY R NOT qiopNORMALANIMALS & I TRIED & TRIED TO TELL THEM THAT THEYI’M EXSTREAMLY CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR WELL BEING & STATE OF MIND THESE UNEDUCATED OANIMALCONTROL WORKERS R .WE WEN TO AC TO ASK & TO SEE R DOGS BUT THEY WOULDN’T TELL US ANYTHING NOR WOULD THEY LET US SEE THEM WE WERE TOLD TO LEAVE R THEY WOULD CALL THE SHERIFFS .I CALLED ALL DAY SATURDAY NO