Alright MAS, you can quit lowering the bar now. I think you’ve got it pretty well in the dirt.
As far as I know, neither the mama dog nor any of her pups were ever listed online for adoption. They were never housed in the area accessible by the public. Besides webcam watchers and the surrendering party, no one outside of MAS knew they were there.
None of us knows why the dogs were surrendered. It could be a simple case of an owner who thought she was doing the best possible thing for her dogs as far as finding them new homes. Maybe finances were an obstacle. Or maybe the owner is just a horrible person, I don’t know. But it seems obvious from the webcam shots that there is some love for these dogs. Before you rush to condemn the owner for bringing her pets to MAS, let’s remember that she’s not the one who put them in the garbage bin and wheeled them to the kill room. She brought them to a shelter – a safe haven, where they would be able to find new homes. At least, that’s what shelters are supposed to be.
This literally makes me sick. Unbelievable.
omg these dogs went into that hellhole on the Saturday! on the 3rd day the puppies were put in that garbage bin and then taken and killed! That is just vile!
There was no opportunity given for them to be seen by the public! They were written off even before they were given the chance for a home!
Saturday after hours. And the shelter is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Put in the garbage can on Tuesday.
Exactly, makes me sick too. And mad. I just cant believe this…this is probably the worst one so far. Like people wouldnt adopt puppies right away if actually given a chance to see them first?? And then to dump them in a garbage can like that?? UGGGGH.
How could this rescue do this? They should be shut down! It’s just so sad and the people who run this place should all burn in hell!
This isn’t a rescue.
It is a city shelter. Oops, I mean city pound.
It is NOT a shelter.
I can’t recall who posted this originally, but here is what it seems like “MAS” stands for:
“Most Animals Snuffed”
“Many Animals Suffering”
“Memphis Animal Sh*thole”
Many things, but decidedly NOT a rescue!
Don’t understand how you can get the photo’s from
webcam? I’m from Pa so help? And it also looks like the shelter still has no help from anyone close by there. How can someone just take a bucket of puppies and kill them??? You never felt in ur heart what real love is until you have loved a pet……..I hope all the workers in that shelter BURN in H***.
This needs to be brought to the attention of the public because I don’t believe that woman had ANY IDEA what was about to happen to those little puppies and their mama. People need to know the truth. Not sure how to expose this–maybe coverage in the Commercial Appeal?
Wow, my heart is broken. What is wrong with those people? What is wrong with the city of Memphis? I just want to drive down there, confront them all and create one hell of a ruckus! I know that won’t solve things, but are those workers absolutely clueless or totally evil? I so don’t understand what is behind this type of behavior. God help those animals, please!
There is no language in my lungs to tell the world how I feel. No bridge of thought except, This shouldn’t happen.
Should I ever visit there I’ll be wearing a T shirt that says “The local animal shelter is lacking” Or something to that effect.
Why not MAS SUCKS ??? Why be so polite? You know, there are instances when being polite is too obtuse for people to get what you mean, you just have to say it. And please say you won;t visit Memphis until this has all changed!
oh my gosh. i think my face went white. what the hell? how can this be changed? I’m just sitting at my work desk in PA utterly shocked… I need to do something.
When I first started helping out at my local kill shelter they told me NOT to tell the people that the owner surrendered pets could be killed within minutes or that the shelter killed about 90% of all incoming animals. They said it made the shelter look bad and made people mad and/or sad. I kept telling people — I don’t help out any longer. I wasn’t kicked out but I wasn’t really welcome either except by a couple of the kennel workers that really cared about the animals. These people are gone too now.
Someone in Memphis should start posting these photos on Craigslist and other free ad sites to help the public realize just what is happening at their shelter.
The good thing is you dont have to live in Memphis to post on there Craigslist and THX for the idea. If you get time you should post too, in the pets section, community etc…. Spread the word!!
A trash can? A trash can? I suppose nothing that comes out of MAS should surprise me but I guess I am not quite jaded enough not to be shocked by this image. Their defense would be “We didn’t *leave* them in the trash can–we had little puppy doses of blue juice waiting for them (probably with a cardiac stick)on the other side of the door.” But it seems that it is getting to the point in Memphis that there is just as much cruelty inside the shelter as there is outside, among that “irresponsible public.”
Is it kinder to hoist a pup up by it’s one leg, or by the fur on the back (not the neck, the BACK) and carry it to the kill room? Cuz there are photos of that too…
This series of photos is especially insightful considering Mathew Pepper’s *right before and right after* web cam photo logic.
Susan, its so frustrating being so far away. Each day I see these images and nothing seems to change it is actually getting worse and seeing poor little puppies in a trash can is beyond words. I thought someone was organising a rally of some kind. Im confused about how the images from the webcam keep appearing on here, I am pleased they are so we can keep up with whats happening still. Surely there must be someone that can do something about this. I wouldnt happen here in New Zealand. I would most definitely protect and do what I could to stop it.
The time has come where something MUST be done. Do these idiots not realize they are being watched by the public on their own cameras???? Who interviews these so-called employees? I would love to wheel them in a garbage can into the flooding river!
OMG!!! these nazi bastards!!! they take the babies 2 their mama after those 2 drop them off….then they toss them into a garbage can them MURDER them!!!!i guess mama was MURDERED as well???
n this place is a “shelter”??? this just breaks my heart..if those 2 woman only knew what “the shelter” was gonna do 2 those babies n their mama~problably b4 they got back into their car……would they really have “dropped them off”????? MAS should b closed down…………..
i’m so sorry precious mama~u’r babies NEVER had a chance……now u’re all in a better place, run free, precious ones.
dru
Just to clarify: If you will look at the date and time stamp at the top of the photos it was a different day and time that the puppies were put into the trash can.
And that means what, exactly, Arlene? That makes it ok that it was a couple days later? I f**n don’t think so, girl.
Arlene… the shelter is CLOSED on the two days between the time these photos were taken… So essentially, they were brought in at 5 pm on Sat & killed at noon the next business day! Even worse, it’s not like people saw them and didn’t want them… In the 3 hrs of operation that they were open, the dogs were kept in an area where no one can even see them to try to adopt them…
I am so ashamed to say that I’m from Memphis.
OK, today I have gone from speechless to completely enraged, to tears. It really just keeps getting worse & when will it stop?!
This makes me physically ill. I dont even have words to express the burning hatred I have for these people at MAS. Has anyone contacted the media? Which news channel is it again that seems to be interested in reporting this horrific stuff – I know one of them does it occasionally. UGH this makes me want to SCREAM!
I’m getting ready to contact the Commercial Appeal and see if they’re willing to expose the truth about owner surrenders at MAS. Need your collective opinion–does it look to you like there’s one woman (owner) surrendering the pups and the other one (who carried the mama dog to the kennel area) is a shelter employee judging by her blue shirt and knee-high rubber boots?
I see two women bringing in the dogs and one worker in the blue top.
okay, thanks.
Fabulous idea – I highly doubt that when the women dropped off momma and her pups, she was told that the dogs would never get to the “adoptable’ area and would be quickly killed….I wonder how many people would actually surrender their animals (and it is hard not to judge, but we try not to)if they knew their beloved pets might be killed before they left the parking lot (slight exaggeration)? 99% of the people,including some volunteers (yes, I know this pisses them off to hear this) are there for ALL of the wrong reasons – NO ONE who works/volunteers there can possibly think THIS is okay- yet, apparently they do. We need to get this information out to the public!!!
Done. Contacted reporter who has covered MAS in the past at ABC 24 News. Contacted
reporter who covered distemper outbreak for Commercial Appeal. About to contact the
Powers that Be (mayor, shelter director, etc–entire list).
Jeanne, who is the reporter? Perhaps we should be putting just as much energy into pestering the media as we are pestering the brick walls running that town.
@SarahMC–not sure where this reply is going to show up–didn’t see a reply link under your post. The reporter is Jeni DePrizio at ABC 24 News. Her e-mail is jdiprizio@abc24.com. She is willing to tackle stories about MAS without sugar coating. The reporter I contacted at
the Commercial Appeal is Jody Callahan at
901-529-6531. If you want to e-mail Jody go to the Commercial Appeal staff list at
http://www.commercialappeal.com/staff/ and click on her name. They don’t list her actual e-mail address but you can use their e-mail form to contact her. Thanks!
She is also on facebook — https://www.facebook.com/people/Jody-Callahan/1309816860
Someone in Memphis needs to get all these pictures to the State Attorney General. Stop messing around with the local city idiots. They couldn’t care less about this little problem. I would do it but I’m in North Carolina. Here’s a link: http://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/ And contact the Govenor too: http://www.tn.gov/governor/
Absolutely right. Contact the State Attorney General and also the State Vet. They should be listed under the State Ag or Health Department.
Memphis: START YELLING ABOUT THIS.
Are you effing kidding me!!! Who the F*CK does that? Sick people your supposed to be saving these animals and helping them and instead your killing them!! I work with a rescue and foster dogs I currently have 6 2 of which are my own. The girl that runs the rescue bless her heart takes in the moms with litters so they aren’t killed even though she already has enough dogs and cats at her house plus her two children but you don’t see us getting rid of them. Thats a shelter for Gods sake they have the space and the means to take care of them. I bet if that lady knew what was going to happy to those poor animals she would have kept them. I am completely outraged by this something seriously needs to be done!! I honestly feel that the things people do to animlas should be done to them. They should be stuffed into a trashcan and taken to a kill room what makes a puppies life less important than theirs? we are all animals aren’t we?
Just got an e-mail message from busy, crowded shelter in metro Atlanta area–said someone just turned in some puppies and would rescues please come get them so they don’t have to be put in the kennel area where they might get exposed to sickness. This shelter has a ton of problems but they CARE and it shows. MAS has no excuse, none. They are running a death camp for pets.
Actually, the door in the very last picture is the one that separates the stray area from the adoptable/healthy hold/court case hallway and outdoor cages… so, yeah… just thought you should know everytime you claim a dog is going to the “kill room” you’re way, way off. Anytime a dog is being walked in the direction of the “kill room” they are ACTUALLY going to either adoption/healthy hold/court cases/outdoors. This is coming from someone who is at the shelter weekly.
Heather, I don’t see how I could possibly be “way, way off” for 2 main reasons:
1. Strays don’t get taken out of their cages. 2. MAS kills 77% of its pets
So basically, even if I just resorted to saying “kill room” every single time I saw a photo of a stray out of the cage, the odds are I’d be correct. It’s impossible to be “way, way off” supposing that pets are being killed here because ALMOST ALL of them are.
OK Heather,
I have a reader in Memphis interested in fostering this mama and 4 pups. Can you please give us their ID #s so she can call the shelter and place a hold on them?
I think your reader who can foster needs to either a) call the shelter herself or b)better yet go down and ask, that way she is getting the correct info instead of hearsay.
Of course Heather can’t furnish you their ID# or cage # because the momma and the pups are D-E-A-D! Notice that Heather wouldn’t dare address the fact that the puppies are in a TRASH CAN! She is one of THOSE volunteers that will continue to tell you what a wonderful place the MAS is and there is nothing wrong that goes on there…Heather, PLEASE, wake up – get out of your fantasy world- you are doing more harm than good to the animals at MAS!!! Soooo- what is the cage and ID# of the momma dog and her pups?! EXACTLY!!!!!
I can give you an update after I’m there Saturday. There is a hold on all animals that come in as strays or surrenders before they’re adoptable to the public–that’s a long-standing policy that we volunteers have no control over. That’s why they’re not immediately listed. I see strays and surrenders move to the adoptable hall daily. You can always call the shelter to ask about them, but I won’t have access to their ID numbers til Saturday.
Beth, since you think we’re doing such harm to the animals, why not volunteer your time to come help? What excuse are you going to throw at me? Because everyone on this website sure has a lot to say, but when it comes to acting, well, that just doesn’t happen if it requires leaving the computer. Every comment I’ve ever left here, I’ve asked people to come volunteer themselves, or at the very least come visit the shelter. How many times has that happened? Zero. You’re not doing anything for the animals behind a computer screen.
Heather, How can anyone call the shelter regarding the dogs without the ID #s? Do we just ask for the garbage can family and they’ll know which dogs we are talking about?
Sure. Call the shelter and tell them you’re inquiring about some dogs you saw on the webcam. Or you could always go visit the shelter to check on the situation yourself. That’s the best bet. But I forget… you have a list of excuses why you can’t do that.
Gee, I dunno. Last year (2010) there were 11,930 members of the garbage can “family” at MAS. Might be kind of hard to find those particular puppies and their mama, no?
@Heather, if I thought I could “make a difference” by walking in the shelter door, I’d be on a plane to Memphis tomorrow. But I’m not that naive. Are you? Srsly?
Did I say you could make a difference by walking in the door? No. So don’t put words in my mouth.
I’m done here. I simply commented to inform you all that, despite what’s written, the “kill room” is not in this hallway. I’m tired of reading these captions that are straight-up lies. I’m there every week. I know the layout of the building. And these puppies were NOT going to the “kill room” in the picture. They were either going to healthy hold, the adoption hall, or outdoor cages. I’m sorry, you don’t have to like it, and you can argue all you want, but it’s a fact. Those are the only things through the doorway in the last picture.
I’m not wasting any more time commenting here. You people will believe whatever you want, even flat-out lies that are posted here. What a waste of time. Nothing being done here is constructive. Instead, I will continue giving 4 hours of my time every Saturday showing these pets some of the only love they’ve ever known, and helping them find their forever homes. Seems MUCH MUCH more productive to me. Thanks for wasting part of my afternoon.
@Heather, working toward shelter reform is not a waste of anyone’s time. Working on behalf of the no-kill movement is not a waste of time either. I’m glad you go to the shelter for a few hours every Sat. and help the dogs. I’m assuming you mean the ones hand picked by Friends of MAS to go to the adoption area. My concern is that the majority of dogs at the shelter NEVER GET THERE in the first place. I’m working on behalf of the strays and owner surrenders in the rest of the shelter–the ones who die there without a chance. And they won’t get a chance without significant changes being made to the shelter’s administration and policies.
Why have none of you concentration camp defenders caught up to the 21st century? A lot of amazing things are accomplished with this new tool we call the Internet. Blogging *does* help with respect to many different causes. What’s the use in (in most of our cases) flying to MAS to stand around watching paid employees abuse animals? Clearly your volunteerism isn’t stopping these atrocities. And they won’t stop until a critical mass of people learns about it and demands change. Recruiting more people to turn a blind eye to injustice? Does not actually stop the injustice.
These puppies are in cages #28 and #29 in the adoption area. Their pictures were posted on the FMAS site today. There are 8 of them.
For those that don’t know, all owner surrenders have to be held for 24 hours before they can be adopted out as the owners have that amount of time that they can come back and reclaim their animals within that 24 hour timeframe.
@Linda, wasn’t the 24-hr hold for owner surrenders the old policy–which Matthew Pepper changed? Thought he did away with letting owners come back for their dogs if they changed their minds. No?
No more 24 hour hold for owner surrenders.
http://www.abc24.com/news/local/story/Animal-Shelter-Makes-Changes-To-Prevent-Disease/8T7UDhdfvEKlsfTHWMlPFQ.cspx
@ heather who seems to be a volunteer.
As you know the layout of the shelter, just where is the euthanasia room?
Since we are looking in the wrong area for it, where is the right area?
The Kill Room can be across the border in Mississippi for all it matters. The numbers speak for themselves: an animal who has the misfortune to end up in the “care” of MAS has less than a one-in-four chance of making it out alive.
The euthanasia room is on the far right side of the shelter in the clinic. These webcam shots are showing the far LEFT side of the shelter leading into the adoption/healthy hold area or the outside kennels.
It just sickens me. I’m sitting at work when I get this email with pictures. Crying is not something you’re supposed to do at work but I just lost it. It is heartbreaking that we have a “shelter” that is this heartless! It’s bad enough that they went to the kill room apparently without the public even knowing they were there, but a trashcan? Really? Even if they were possibly sick…a trashcan? MAS just doesn’t live up to the definition of “shelter”.
WTF do you think happens to owner surrenders at most big city shelters, people? This is an awful series of photos, but this is what happens. Animal shelters are not adoption agencies. There is not a line of people waiting to give your unwanted pet a loving home after you drop it off at animal “services.” Animal shelters are animal disposal units. They are overwhelmed, underfunded and badly run, in most cities. Spay and neuter, spay and neuter, spay and neuter.
Leanne,
Many people are demanding better than the “animal disposal units” you describe. Many of us want every community in the US to model itself after Washoe Co, NV and the numerous other no kill communities around the country. It can be done, it’s already being done.
I live in Washoe County. The Nevada Humane Society is connected to Animal Services. I have volunteered and rescued from both. Washoe County Regional Animal Services works hard to save lives. Yes, they work with the humane society to save, they also work with rescues to save lives. They go out of their way to save lives. Plus they go out of their way to return loose pets so they don’t have to go to the shelter.
So yes, animal services can do more then just kill.
Yes, we need to preach spay neuter until we drop BUT every so called animal shelter should be forced to put up warning signs in foot high letters that say something like this.
WE KILL OWNER SURRENDERS FIRST!
WE CAN KILL YOUR PET IMMEDIATELY!
WE KILL 77% (or whatever the percentage is) OF ANIMALS THAT COME THRU THESE DOORS.
DO YOU STILL WANT TO LEAVE YOUR PET?
Full disclosure just might help motivate people to spay or neuter their animals. I have worked in shelters, volunteered in shelters and worked rescue for over 40 years. Never once have I ever seen such a sign or heard a shelter employee any place tell someone surrendering an animal the real facts.
First, your comment that the shelter “kills” owner surrenders first is a flat-out lie. Over half the dogs that get adopted every day are owner surrenders. Second, at this shelter, every time an owner surrenders a pet, we ask for as much detail as possible to assist in the adoption process. We explain to them the more we know, the more we can do to help them get adopted by knowing their history. Do you know how many of these “owners” want to provide additional information? MAYBE 1 out of every 10. There are well over 100 owner surrenders a day here, several repeat offenders and several who bring in up to 8 pets at a time. The owners sign disclaimers when they surrender their pets. You would know these things if you got off the computer for a minute and came to visit the shelter.
I know many of you are not in Memphis, so you cannot come to the shelter and see first-hand the overwhelming number of pets dragged, dumped, and left without a word, many of them in disgusting condition. We need more staff and volunteers to clip, wash, de-flea and de-tick the babies. While my ideal would be for every dog and cat to get adopted, we simply do not have the number of adopters needed to pull these precious dogs and cats daily. I agree that some of the staff are definitely not in the right job. It’s plain to the volunteers, too. It doesn’t mean that every volunteer is useless or complicit. We can (and do) express our sorrow and displeasure at the high euth rate, the cold employees, and the lack of space in the adoption area. A group of volunteers has started a facebook page with more photos. It is not the volunteers or FOMAS who decide which animals get moved to adoption. Our volunteer force is growing, but as you can imagine, it had dwindled to almost nothing because of the deplorable conditions. We are each giving the way we know best, and I think it is counter-productive to be nasty (and here I’m addressing Beth specifically) to the people who work with the dogs and cats after their “regular” jobs and caring for their own pets and families. Some of us foster, some photograph, some walk and hold, we’re all trying to help. I have never heard anyone say that there is nothing wrong with what goes on there. I still hold out hope for moving to a no-kill environment, but it is going to take some HUGE changes, I agree. It’s just very hard to be criticized for helping because it isn’t what someone else thinks is the best way. Your righteous indignation is sometimes misdirected, with all due respect. Thank you for caring about the animals, seriously.
Claire,
Thank you for volunteering. When you say “I have never heard anyone say that there is nothing wrong with what goes on there”, I’m guessing you may be unfamiliar with the “Friends”. They continually say there is nothing wrong at the shelter. For example:
Numerous people have reported that any comments or questions posted to the “Friends” FB page which are anything less than “We love you Friends!” are immediately deleted and the commenter has their posting privileges revoked. All this gives outsiders the impression that there is a “head in the sand” mentality among the volunteers.
It is obvious by the amount of photos available, day in day out, that there are things wrong at MAS. Uncaring employees, untrained employees and SOME volunteers (FMAS) that serve to just cover thing ups.
I will say, considering the many photos and horror stories, it would be impossible to volunteer there and think all is good and fine.
If a volunteer sees something wrong and keeps quiet and does not write a letter of complaint (keeping a copy) thethey are just as guilty.
Just like the germans who kept quiet when Hitler built the Autobahn, helped the economy, etc. They kept quiet about the bad things that were happening. Because they saw some good.
They did not speak up and when things got so bad that the bad overpowered the good it was too late.
It does not have to be this way and it isn’t in a lot of areas. Change your attitude first and the rest will follow.
There are so many ways to get these animals out alive, but the first thing you have to do is decide that’s what you want. Clearly, in places like MAS, they have no desire to get the animals out alive. Otherwise, they’d be doing something about it.
We need to storm this death camp in mass and put all the employees in huge, filthy dumpsters. Fill the dumpsters with water, lock the steel lids shut and see how long they can tread water.
Next will be whoever is in charge of this mess and the city council or whoever is responsible for hiring the monsters who work there.
Of course we could just start at the state capitol and work our way down. That would probably be the most effective anyway.
File a lawsuit against this outfit for cruelty to animals (just a thought)
– Insurance carriers hate lawsuits and MAS’ insurance coverage could then be in jeopardy – can’t operate a business with no coverage -….when you hit ’em in the pocketbook…they will pay attention.
I just dont get why PUPPIES were killed? Puppies are usually the first things people want to adopt! Stupid morons. GRRRR.
There’s another urgent baby down there, I got this in an email today from someone else.. I guess if no one rescues him he will be killed because he’s freakin’ terrified of the shelter.
I have a gorgeous little dog that needs help. He was an Owner Surrender and is not adjusting to shelter life very well. He is highly unpredictable and needs socializing before he can be placed in a forever home.
225717 – Pomeranian, “Smokey”, black/white, male, 3 yr old, Owner Surrender on 05.02.11. Due to space limitations, if we could get Smokey placed before end of business on 05.05.11 it would be very helpful. Please let me know if you can help with this dog. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to our four-legged friends. As usual I will try to pictures up later through the Friends.
Tracy Dunlap, Sr. ACT
Memphis Animal Services
3456 Tchulahoma Rd.
Memphis, TN 38118
(901) 362-5310
tracy.dunlap@memphistn.gov
He’s posting pictures through “Friends”? Well gee, I hope the person willing to save this dog is not among the legions whose posting privileges have been revoked by “Friends”. Otherwise, they’ll have to try their luck calling the shelter which I hear is hit and miss.
No, he did not post this thru FMAS. This email was sent out to the Pet Placement Partners members, rescue contacts, etc. And so everyone knows, everyone of the dogs on that list was adopted. Tracy sends out these type of emails constantly to try and get the dogs out of the shelter.
As for the webcam pic stating the puppies were going to the “kill room”. Sorry but the euthanasia room is on the other side of the shelter. The area that these dogs were heading to was either the adoption healthy hold area or outside kennels. Contrary to popular belief not every dog going down a hallway at the shelter is going to the euthanasia room. In case some of you don’t know the clinic where they spay/neuter the dogs for adoption is in the same area as the euthanasia room. Most of the pictures I have seen posted here stating the dogs are going to the kill room are inaccurate as they show the dogs going down the hallway going to the adoption area or the outside kennels. Please get the information correct before blasting it out all over the internet. While there is always room for improvement at the MAS they are not all Hitler’s and most workers there are trying their best to get the dogs adopted as are the volunteers that work there.
This Is Sick…And I Wanted To Physically Hurt the Man Who Carried The Puppy By The His Skin Of His Back In Prior Photos….These People Need To Be Fired And Prosecuted….The City Needs To Clean House….
Conditions and policies at this shelter are NOT going to improve until there is a regime change. No one with decision making power (Mr Pepper, Ms Hooks or Mayor Wharton) gives a damn about the animals. And Mr Pepper doesn’t ‘write up’ employees so he can’t/won’t fire them — they’re unionized.
Believe me people … it’s WAAAAAAAAY more political and complicated than any of you realize. These people aren’t going to be bullied into changing. A complete turnover of personnel through shelter privatization is the animals’ only hope.
Unless the city contracts with a no-kill to manage animal services, I would be very wary of privatization. Google Berger Blanc for a horrifying look at animal services run by a private for-profit company.
I like the idea!!!!! Oh, and by the way, Heather – I was a volunteer but had to quit because I saw so much wrong-doings at the facility- I spoke my mind and made enemies – I was told that if I spoke to anyone outside of MAS about what goes on in there, I would no longer be allowed to volunteer- I saved them the trouble and left! So, you see, I HAVE a spine and I know what is right- the inhumane treatment of the animals (just look at the pictures), the fact the dogs in the stray area never see the light of day to make it to the adoptable area because “someone” decides they aren’t adoptable . I could go on and on- Ethel hit the nail on the head by comparing MAS and Hitler’s regime…Until there is a new leader with new employees (and some volunteers) , the animals don’t stand a chance….Take off the blinders- it’s not a pretty picture- if you REALLY care, do the right thing!
Well, I’m sorry but, I DO Blame the so-called “Loving Lady”! Was it not her Dog who was pregnant? For a Hand shake and a pat on the head from me….Who can tell me Just How The “Loving Lady” Could have avoided putting to death the momma dog and her pups?
Come-on all you thumb wearing humans, Who made all the decisions for the Dog in the first Place ????
Well, let’s see, she could have not lost her job, or her home, or her husband. She could have dumped her special needs child or perhaps the grandkids that were left for her to take care of. Any number of things I suppose. She could have won the lottery. As I don’t know this woman and I gather neither do you I don’t feel I can decide she’s the villain here. She might have been irresponsible or not, for all I know she found the pregnant dog and sheltered it til she gave birth. Let’s not throw stones at her, I prefer to deal with the devil we know, from webcams at least.
Or maybe the loving lady adopted that momma dog from MAS a year or two ago…but they didn’t enforce the spay/neuter requirement. So maybe it’s MAS’s fault that those puppies were born!?!?
We can go round and round and round here. Truth is, we don’t know if the loving lady owned the momma dog. Maybe she was doing MAS’s job and picked them up out of the alley behind her apartment complex. And it’s nice to hear that the the room at the end of the hall isn’t the kill room. GREAT! Are those puppies still alive? Why aren’t they posted? Why can’t the lead ACT lady send out a message about THIS family in addition to the little pom that is scared?
There is SO much more that could be done! And no heather, I am not flying down from Alaska to be told to butt out! (Which is what local Animal Control likes to tell volunteers that don’t suck-up appropriately.) I don’t need to come down and walk through your *shelter* I have 14 foster dogs here to take care of. But I am thinking maybe webcams in our local animal control might be enlightening…they have them in the parking lot to see who drops off animals in the after hour cages.
These puppies are listed on the FMAS FB page and are in Cage #28 and #29. There are 8 of them left as 1 was adopted already.
I feel sick to my stomach after reading this that is so wrong I dont know how you can sleep at night knowing you killed helpless animals because your too damn lazy to actually do you job! This place should be shut down if thats how they’re handling business!
OMG this makes me sick these poor babies didnt even get a chance. this is really uncalled for. how can people be christians and do something so evil?
right. only NON-christians do evil things.
There is a parvo outbreak.
There is a distemper outbreak.
BUT the cure is not “puppies in a trash can”.
@ heather who seems to be a volunteer.
As you know the layout of the shelter, just where is the euthanasia room?
Since we are looking in the wrong area for it, where is the right area?
Evil people do evil things. I read your post a couple of times and I don’t want to get into a religious battle. You have your views and I have mine. But please understand that while I do not consider myself to be a “Christian”, I do believe in doing the morally correct thing.
Perhaps I mistook what you were saying. If so I apologize, but I just wanted to state that there are people who are not “Christians” that do not condone actions such as these or any other.
Vancat, we don’t know her story. For all we know, she’s been foreclosed on. Or they were the neighbor’s dogs and he died. Or he moved in the middle of the night, leaving them behind. Or she found the momma as a pregnant stray and kept her and the puppies until they were adoptable (or for as long as she could afford them), then brought them to the shelter for a shot at homes.
This woman clearly did not think she was sending this mom and pups to their deaths. She thought that the word “shelter” meant…you know…”shelter”.
Or maybe she was just a careless animal owner who didn’t bother to get her animal spayed or at least keep her up where she couldn’t get pregnant and produce a litter of 9 puppies. Sorry but if you spent any time at this shelter you would know that this goes on day in and day out. I have actually been in there when someone brought in 3 adult dogs and 2 puppies because they were “cleaning up their backyard for a cookout and these dogs were in the way”. Let’s not paint all of these people as saints when they are mostly uncaring pet owners. These animals are disposable to them. They know they can get another one anytime they want.
Wow, maybe there is something different about people in Memphis, but in my experience, I don’t think that people who come to a shelter are “mostly uncaring pet owners.” Many of them might be overwhelmed (either temporarily or permanently) or without resources or knowledge but if they were truly uncaring, they wouldn’t have made their way to the shelter in the first place.
Yea right, she couldn’t care less, that’s why she took a “last photo”. THINK or THWIM Linda please.
This is just so sad to see and people may say they are going outside and or whatever, and if that is the case, then why did they put them in the trash can…..hello….clue. i just hope someone deals with this. i know i would but i am located in california and i too am dealing with the devore shelter that is killing inoccent animals that has only been there for 4 days.
Being that there were 8 puppies total, they probably used the can to move them all at once. Would much rather see them do this than pick them up by the scruff of their necks and carry them.
Linda,
The pups we are talking about here are a litter of four. Not eight. Not Akita mixes. Not checked in yesterday. Please stop trying to say these puppies are something other than what we see in the photos.
@Linda: Which part of “It’s an f-ing garbage can!” do you not understand? I hope you are not trying to defend this as being the lesser of two or more evils because it is not justifiable *under any circumstances.” There are some actions at MAS that might be ambiguous or even “understandable” in a particular context but this is not one of them!
Exactly. Why do we suddenly have to choose between hauling puppies to the kill room by their forelegs or putting them in the garbage bin? I want a third option. That doesn’t involve a kill room.
Low life p.o.s. humans at that ‘shelter’ should be gassed like the maggots they are.
I can not believe how many people think the life of an animal is more important than a human. If each dog comes in with 8-10 puppies every day, who is going to adopt all of them. Most people can’t afford to take care of multiple pets with today’s economy. I’m sure everyone here is going to go to their near by shelter and adopt a few dogs, till they are all empty.
I don’t think the life of an animal is more important than a human. I just don’t want to see pets needlessly killed in shelters.
gsps3,
I know that in our county we have a FREE spay/neuter & rabies vaccination clinic every month…some months we hold two clinics. We also issue vouchers so that people can use any Vet in our county and receive a 60.00 discount on a spay/neuter & rabies vaccination…yet irresponsible, ignorant people still insist on allow pets to breed….I’ve met college educated people who are so irresponsible and ignorant as to say, “I don’t believe in Vets”….What does that mean….Is It Like You don’t believe in Santa or the Easter Bunny….There’s A Vet On Every Corner Here…Open Your Eyes…Oh, No, They Mean…”I Don’t Care! I’m Irresponsible and Ignorant! Pets Are Disposable Property!!! Poor Sick Irresponsible, Ignorant Slobs!!
There is hope! I met a man at one of our free clinics. He had been laid off from is factory job and was out looking for work when he saw a dog tied to a tree in an overgrown yard. He noticed the dog was panting and he stopped…the dog had no water…not even a bowl. This unemployed factory worker with a 10th grade education went to the dollar store and purchased a bowl and bottled water the drove back to the abandoned house and gave the dog water. He talked to neighbors on the street who said the family who lived in the home had been evicted days ago and had left the dog.
This unemployed factory worker with a 10th grade education drove back and forth to this house for four days leaving food and water for a dog and notes for the dog’s owner! On the fourth day the man took the dog and left his fourth and final note…..two weeks later he received a call from a man who said…”Oh we forgot Henry…You can take him to the pound.”
This unemployed factory worker with a 10th grade education has had Henry neutered, his shots UTD and Henry is now.
Henry now lives in a loving home and his person has been called back to work…He made a donation to our organization that covered the cost of Henrys Vet bill plus that of another needy pet!!! This Is How A Responsible Person Conducts Their Life….!
You are arguing with a strawman, son. Begging for kind treatment of animals is not the same as thinking the life of an animal is more important than a human; it is thinking the life of an animal is more important than an inanimate dish rag or plastic doll.
I, for one, cannot believe how many people, like you, think humans are SO MUCH more important than animals that they are entitled to mistreat them.
I don’t think animals’ lives are worth more than humans, I think ALL live is equally precious. Don’t drag the discussion down to this old and tired level please.
I know that many people don’t believe in God & I do not want to offend anyone here, but what I’m thinking is….there are worse things than dying, because we all will. I just hope/pray/wish that there is a much worse place,(eternal hell),than this heinous planet for animal abusers, & THAT ALL ANIMALS GO TO HEAVEN!!! What’s pathetic is that those ‘humans’ probably go to church, ‘to praise the lord’, to the courthouse, ‘to protest for their ‘civil rights’,& to the parks to enjoy the splendor of nature. What a backwards ignorant culture. Why can’t animal shelters be run by people that love & respect animals???
I have to wonder how here jn North America how any community can tolerate any kind of abuse ,neglect ,comprimise of standards ,disregard for a living breathing species and expect any other community /country /culture to recipicate …We should be leading by example and showing the rest of the world because as we know ..they are watching . … Great job Memphis ..Not..
I’m numb and speechless!
Frankly, there is nothing left to say…there are no words to explain or change MAS! I want to make a point though. I attended the Mphs. City Council Meeting when the spay/neuter law was passed! One of the “long time” council members had to have the words spay and neuter defined as she unashamedly admitted that she did not know what those words meant! I found that shocking. Well, if that is not gross ignorance (knowing it was coming up for a vote) I don’t know what is. I truly believe that if MAS was required to use the work KILL instead of euthanize in their surrender agreement some people would not turn their animals over to MAS. I know that everyone in Memphis knows what KILL means (verified by the number of KILLINGS in Memphis) while there is a large number of citizens that DO NOT know what EUTHANIZE means….so change the word to what it is… KILL! Now back to MAS…until the citizens of this city band together with the common goal of having a SHELTER that is humane and one to be proud of it will not happen! What a shame to have what used to be a great and beautiful city, voted, I believe twice, the cleanest city in the country to now be one of the worst places in the country to live. MAS is nothing but a reflection of our city government and the apathy of it’s citizens. Citizens can change ALL that is wrong!
@Claire: You *are* doing a very good thing by volunteering, and I am sorry that it can feel like “no good deed goes unpunished” in the face of the widespread criticism. You are not the target–the blame starts with Matthew Pepper and then moves up the food chain from there. I mean we are talking about an environment where Demetria Hogan, a convicted felon and ACO, filed suit against Advisory Board member Cindy Sanders when Cindy tried to suggest moving Ms. Hogan to daytime hours so that the limitation on her writing citations (given that she is a convicted felon) wouldn’t be such a obstacle. Clearly we are dealing with a degree of institutionalized dysfunction that goes far beyond the norm. You can’t change corrupt things single-handedly–and volunteers who disagree with the status quo and advocate too assertively for change can find themselves quickly “disinvited” from volunteering in many animal shelters.
@Susan,
I agree with you but the blame must move both ways. Most of the employees, FMAS, Matt Pepper, Janet Hooks, LaSonya Hall and Mayor Wharton.
The problem with the raid was that they just moved up the food chain and only went after the supervisors.
I would like to put these people in a garbage bag and take them to the kill room, tit for tat
I meant garbage can
It is just the Memphis Animal Slaughter House–MASH not MAS and that’s a fact. Until there is a complete turnaround of hearts and minds of those in charge, there will be no changes. I praise God for all the good rescuers and volunteers that go there daily and save animals. I cannot do it; it sickens me so.
Here we all are so let’s make a difference so this doesn’t happen again EVER!!!!!!!!! Why do those people work with animals?? They should be rotting with Osama
Im getting a little tired of all of the “Well if its such a big problem to you then YOU come down here” comments. Dont you think if I lived in Memphis and didnt live on the other side of the country that I would? Do you think I have a never-ending supply of money to go down there every single time I see one of these posts? Get real. The point of this website is for those already living there or who can get there easily to do something about the situation in a more positive way. Not everyone here can do that though because not everyone lives there. Those who DO volunteer here are the key people in helping these poor animals out first and formost and everyone else is secondary. You can not pass off responsibility. If there was a shelter here that had as many problems as MAS does, youd better believe Id be there a lot quicker.
I’ve just realized that Mayor Wharton has blocked me from his FB page…
Congratulations!
WOW – you made the Warhton List! Congrats are in order – you should make a bumper sticker: “I told the truth about MAS-now I’m on ‘Wharton’s List’ “. hehe
My heart bleeds. These poor little mites and their mama never had a chance did they. How do these people sleep at night knowing how much death they dispense? It seems to me that what is happening in our world is reflected in what is happening to our animals. Violence, brutality and death all around us, both human and animal. If only we could all act together to improve our world and our animals worlds.
As a former City of Memphis employee, I can tell you that it is almost impossible to get an employee fired, especially one that is protected by the Union. I know that Matthew has written up the employee that was carrying the dog by the skin of his back for not only that but other infractions he has committed. He is doing his best to get that employee removed.
As someone who spends a lot of time at the shelter rescuing dogs, I can tell you that it has improved tremedously under Matthew Pepper. Before it took an act of congress for rescue groups to get dogs out of the shelter. We were low man on the totem pole when it came to getting the dogs. Matthew works very closely with the rescue groups and works hard to get the animals adopted out or returned to their owners. With the previous director you could never find him at the shelter nor get an answer back from him via a phone call or email. He never walked the shelter, that is why he was charged with animal cruelty when the puppy literally starved to death while at the shelter. Matthew walks that shelter at least 3 or more times a day. Not unusual to see him in there cleaning out a cage or doing anything else that is needed done. If you think the workers are bad now you should have seen the way animals were treated before Matthew came here.
Good–I’m glad that things have gone from horrific to merely horrible. But at $92K per year, Matthew Pepper *should* be reachable and responsive and willing to do whatever it takes. Congratulating him just for showing up suggests low expectations.
Right on Susan!
And you would think that there would be photos of Pepper walking the kennels at least 3 times a day.
I saw him at the shelter the Saturday he ordered the mass euthanization of the dogs.
Oops, no, my bad. He said he was at home that day cause it was his day off.
He has not been at the shelter since last Wednesday due to the flooding. He is at the emergency shelter that is being operated by the ASPCA and the local SPCA.
He is at an emergency shelter making sure other animals are safe and clean and dry and fed and watered.
Meanwhile. Back at HIS shelter.
Puppies in garbage cans.
What a caring guy. What a prince.
If this is BETTER, then I really can’t imagine what it was like before. There’s a long way to go, though, before this place is truly a shelter.
“I know that Matthew has written up the employee that was carrying the dog by the skin of his back for not only that but other infractions he has committed. He is doing his best to get that employee removed. ”
If getting him removed is a slow process, how about just reassigning him to another duty within the union? Preferably one not at the shelter (surely there are other city jobs that need doing?) or where he’ll have contact with living things.
As much as it break’s my heart to see innocent puppies being killed by authorities, it hurt’s more to know people still do not get their animals Spayed or Neutered. And also the Government does not bother to regulate animal breeding. As long as no one does anything about it, these sites are useless. Yes it break’s are hearts, yes we care what happened to them, and yes we pray it doesn’t happen again. yet over and over again we see this type of thing and everyone shed’s their tears. Yet I don’t see anyone lobbying their local official’s for stricter laws against Puppy Mill Breeder’s or regulating the Spay and Neuter laws. They just ask as if everyone in the world uses common sense. I’ve seen people with seemingly high level education’s walking their beloved pure bred’s into shelter’s because the kid’s didn’t take the time to house break them, or they chewed up Daddy’s favorite golf clubs. No one seem’s to get that Dog and cats are social creature’s. Dog in general are pack animals and shouldn’t be separated from family member’s or they’ll act out. Education should be a must for any pet owner. People should be made to sit through ‘ How to care for your new puppy or kitten video’s before they pay the cashier. And copies of these video’s sent home for the customer to use as learning tool’s. Breeder’s should be placed in a category of stricter rules and regulation’s such a being required by law to have a breeder’s licence and restricted to the amount of liter’s they can breed per year. Stiffer fine’s and mandatory jail sentences need to be imposed for 1st, 2nd and 3rd strike offender’s just as any law uphold’s and is broken. This BS of not enough man power to see these law implemented are just excuses. I for one am damned tired of watching video’s, seeing sad stories like these yet never seeing anyone do a damn thing to stop it. We are a force to be reckoned with. We pushed until women’s right’s were realized, we fought for equality and won, we kicked down door’s for the Civil right’s movement yet no one seem’s willing to take on Capitol hill for their sake’. Those without a voice to speak with, a leg to stand on or a life worth saving in the eyes of selfish people. They use animals as an accessory, not a living breathing entity. We keep telling ourselves their souless creature’s to put our mind’s at ease. All I can say is I pray for everyone sake who has ever carelessly ended the life of a unwanted animal with no feeling’s attached that their is no reincarnation. Because if there is, I hope you selfish Muther F*&ker’s come back as a unwanted animal so you can see what it’s like to be abandoned and then killed needlessly. I’m sorry for the profanity but I am fed up…
Martha, I feel and appreciate your compassion. But mandatory spay/neuter laws just make it easier/faster for Animal Control Thugs to confiscate, torture and murder beloved pets.
Many people can’t afford the high vet bills that often follow these mandatory regulations (if you HAVE to get it done, vets can charge whatever they want and you’ll have to pay it!)
If we could ENFORCE the laws that are already on the books, we’d be able to make a lot of changes. But the department of agriculture offers farm subsidies and puppy mills and giant agribusiness are the ones that are making a profit while the RESPONSIBLE back yard breeder and the hobby farms are regulated to death.
Our society supports this! We buy pets from pet stores, and our meat is wrapped in plastic at the grocery store.
Spaying and neutering is a good idea. Most all of my animals are! But it is not the only thing that we can do to fix the problem. How about not paying $92K a year to a guy who is proud that the kill rate at his facility is DOWN to 77% of the animals they handle?!? How about passing a CAPA law instead of another killing law? How about holding *shelters* accountable for the deaths they cause?! The animals were not dead until they showed up at MAS…right?
This is NO way to treat animals . . and you are an animal shelter!! The public counts on you, if nobody else, to treat them humanely. There is no sense in you killing dogs that haven’t even had a chance to get a home. Are you enjoying the killing? What is your problem?? Why would you transport these little animals in a garbage can of all things? Somebody needs to take a good look at you and all the employees there . . looks like you cannot do the job you are being paid to do!!!!!
Seriously? The idiot who wrote this article wants to blame the shelter, but not the owner?! I bet you are one of those irresponsible, idiotic jackasses who contributes to these problems. Anyone with half a brain knows that most dogs who get dropped at the shelter end up dead.
And that makes it right? Maybe you need to reread the definition of “shelter” and take another look at your own attitude. And, for your information, there are a lot of shelters where the animals leave alive into rescue groups or adoptive homes. It doesn’t have to be this way.
It sounds like you are one of Mr Pepper’s fans who continues to blame the irresponsible public rather than do something constructive to change things.
Let me repeat, it does not have to be this way!
I take offense to that. You can ask anyone – I am a very responsible jackass.
You know what I see here? Yes, I see a mother dog and her babies being surrendered. I see babies being put in a trash can and being wheeled off to God knows where but, do you know what I really see at MAS, everythime I see their webshots? A complete and utter lack of regard and compassion for animals (the majority of them doomed because of the 77% kill rate here. These series of webshots (and the ones where dogs are dragged along the floor on catchpoles, held up by their necks or legs) illustrates perfectly just how little any of these workers actually care. That, to me, is disgraceful. To have little or no regard for another life is this issue for me and I see it here at MAS over and over again.
You said it perfectly- total lack of compassion by the employees!
Linda Says:
May 5, 2011 at 12:19 am
These puppies are listed on the FMAS FB page and are in Cage #28 and #29. There are 8 of them left as 1 was adopted already.
____________________________
That’s great for those Akita mix puppies in the litter of 9. What about the puppies in the garbage can and their mama? Where are they? Clearly the Akita mix litter of 9 and the dogs in these webcam photos are not one and the same. Mama looks nothing like an Akita or an Akita mix and she had a litter of 4, not 9. Please give us the ID #s for the mama and 4 pups in this post.
Linda is so wrong. I was watching when the momma and those four pups were brought in. I kept watching because momma looked a lot like our dog, a pit mix. I saw the girl put momma in the cage and two by two the four pups. I also saw those same pups peeking their little noses out from that damned garbage can. There is no way that Linda will convince me that those Akita pups on FMAS FB are the same pups. NO WAY!
Bye the way Linda, the pups are laying in feces that can be clearly seen. Someone should clean that up before taking pictures.
Arlene, You really need to go down to the shelter yourself so you can see in person what a kind and caring place it is…
What has to be done is this shelter reported and not to FB we get the message out but they need to be investigated, The people know there is a live cam and they still did this..shows there is no caring no law nothing we do what ever we want….NO …..the Mayor, Gov of this state must be notified and i am notifing the Humane Society. The Humane Society wants donations well they must do there work they can’t be there before this happened but they can now to let the shelter know they are watched and must do a normal job taking care of the animals.
Diane, I agree, this *shelter* needs to be reported…but, um, that’s sorta/kinda what this blog is actually doing!
And BTW, the Humane Society hosts “Shelter Appreciation Week” when they applaud these very people and this horrific job they are doing!
I’d rather we not ask these kill facilities to do a normal job. Could we please ask them (nay DEMAND—can anybody say pass the CAPA?!) to do an abnormal job of taking care of the animals?
Unless we can get EVERY shelter to function like Washoe County in Nevada or that great place in Michigan, or Thompkins, NY, …well, we’ve got a long way to go! Normal is way too close to this hell-hole, let’s not hope for normal. Let’s make CAPA happen EVERYWHERE and make it illegal for the government or the Humane Society to kill animals if there is somebody else (hell, our Loving Lady here would obviously do a better job of it, right?!) willing to take them.
To clear up any confusion about the litter of pups in cages 28 and 29 at the shelter that some are alleging are the pups in this post: They are a litter of 9 Akita mix pups who came in yesterday. The garbage can family is a Pit mix mama with a litter of 4 pups who came in on 4-30. The pups were placed in the garbage can on 5-3.
A reader sends in this post from the “Friends” FB page:
litter of 9, yes 9, Akita x pups were surrendered over the front desk. One got adopted today, so there are now 8 needing homes. Here are 4 of them. The are in the dog adoption area in cage 28 and 29. If you are looking for a puppy who will be a larger dog, please come in and see these precious puppies. They all need a fabulous new home. These puppies are about the cutest little pups you can imagine!
11 hours ago · Share
Erin Donnelly Brewer they are bundles of sweet. I helped check them in yesterday.
about an hour ago
What kind of people work in these places? Assholes I tell you assholes. Someone should put them in a trash can and wheel them off to the gas chamber. OMG makes me sick to my stomach. Mamma and babies never had a chance. Makes me cry! Barbaric!
Pictures are worth a thousand words. Were I near the southern border instead of the northern I think I’d have to visit that hell hole. Changes need to be made. There is no doubt about that.
Claire Says:
May 4, 2011 at 7:22 pm
We need more staff and volunteers to clip, wash, de-flea and de-tick the babies.
_______________________________________________
Claire,
What would be the point of bathing a dog who is left in a run where he has to eat, urinate, defecate and then the run gets hosed down with the dog in it?
How about using the existing staff and volunteers to implement proper and humane cleaning practices? Also, why not let the public see ALL THE DOGS at MAS? It’s up to the adopter if they want to take home a dirty dog.
Speaking for myself, temperament is the most important consideration with any adoption. If I found a dog at a shelter that I clicked with, I wouldn’t care if nobody had put Frontline on him yet or dematted him or whatever. I’d take him and give him a bath when I got home.
I know it’s not ideal and it would be wonderful to present all the dogs in a clean state but heck, since the shelter is just killing them anyway, why not let visitors at least look at them?
Time for a chuckle:
http://dogs.icanhascheezburger.com/2011/05/05/cute-puppy-pictures-am-i-to-presume/
You’ve hit the nail on the head here. This picture illustrates not only what I think, but SEE with my own eyes consistently in, not only these, but all of the webshots you’ve published, what the MAS workers consider these babies to be. Shame on them and the management who allows it to continue. I am no mental health professional but, I am a people watcher, and there is definitely something very sick here.
I have not been able to read all the responsed here BUT I want to say this: I am not, by nature a violent person. I work every waking breath on keeping my mindfulness on compassion and caring. I am a lifelong follower of Gandhi (though not nearly as good as he was for sure). That being said, what I want to do to these people cannot be printed unless I want to wind up on the DHS list – which wouldn’t be a bad idea at that! The petition has but a little ways to go before we can deliver it. Please everyone, make sure you’ve signed it and send it on and on.
As for this sequence of photos….there are no words I can write.
Dear Ms. Wells,
I could not agree with you more.
Thank you so very much for writing.
I can assure you the three members of the Board you have listed (Allen, Jackie, and I) are coming from the exact same place and agree with your statements.
I am the Chair of the MAS Advisory Board and can completely assure you several members of the Board have steadfastly brought every single issue you have stated to the MAS Administrator, the Mayor, the City Council and the Director and Deputy Director of the Division.
Every single month we (well three of us, Jackie, Allen and I) arrive at the meeting with documentation regarding the kill rate, the fact the MAS Administrator fails to allow ALL animals the opportunity to be adopted, the bullying tactics of some of the volunteers, demands for the owner surrender form to tell the owner what is going to happen to their pet. We have brought this all to the public through news broadcasts, meetings, animal cruelty seminars (Jackie and I are former federal officers), telecast panel programs and seminars given to various citizen groups and schools. It took the Board three years to get the City to enable MAS to accept credit cards, many times when based on cash only to reclaim an animal, the owner returned the next day to find the animal had been euthanized. It took us 7 months to get MAS to use petfinder, and even that is a poor site, with few dogs shown, out of date photos and no cats listed.
Jackie and I also personally conduct a court watch to report on the animal cruelty cases in our city and county. Through this we also document the behavior and improper charging by the animal officers…to the point where I was sued by a shelter worker for telling the way it actually is on the TV and newspaper.
As part of our court watch we see the cases regarding those charged under the s/n law. All must appear before a judge and any can opt out of s/n. So far we have seen 234 cases and every one except two decided to s/n their pets. It is provided free or with a $5 co-pay. The two that opted out, decided they wanted to breed their animals and paid a onetime $200 fee for that. So far, none have opted to surrender their animals to MAS. The law was specifically written as not to be a first violation but only if another animal law is broken, running at large, no rabies, etc.
The Board was the ONLY entity that consistently brings the concerns forward. The kill rate is horrendous, the smoke screens placed by the City Administration are quite believable for those not in the “know”.
We welcome the outcry from across the country and around the world. Hopefully the spotlight will help.
I thank you very much for writing. For taking the time to care.
Sincerely,
Cindy Sanders
——————————————————————————–
From: “news@wellsportal.com”
To: ac.wharton@memphistn.gov
Sent: Thu, May 5, 2011 10:43:46 AM
Subject: Memphis Animal Services – Please Take Action
Dear Sirs/Madam,
In light of recent events at the Memphis Animal Shelter, employees dumping puppies into a garbage can while still alive and then wheeled off to who knows where. An animal control officer, dragging an apparently crippled by fear or medical condition up and down a hallway by using a choke pole, stuffing into a cage that was much too small for it’s size.
It has been brought to my attention the list of cruelties going on at this shelter. These same cruelties are now being brought to your attention in the hopes that policy and employees change at the shelter. It is an utter disgrace how things are handled there.
These policies are an outright disgrace and should be addressed. If it is not policy that is allowing these cruelties then an across the board firing of all staff and admin should be carried out as they are not the right people for the job at hand.
An animal shelter means: An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats.
The goal of today’s animal shelter is to provide a safe and caring environment until the animal is either reclaimed by its owner, placed in a new home, or placed with another organization. Many progressive shelters temperament test animals before they are put up for adoption to determine the appropriate home environment.
In the past, a shelter was more commonly referred to as a “dog pound”, a term which had its origins in the impoundments of agricultural communities, where stray cattle would be penned up or impounded until claimed by their owners.
Some animal shelters euthanize animals that are not adopted within a set period of time; others have a policy of only putting down animals that are in distress due to age or illness. Animal euthanasia (from the Greek meaning “good death”)
The list of items below need to be addressed!
The killing of pets who are not medically hopeless and suffering nor have they been declared a danger to society by a qualified party.
The killing of pets when there are empty cages at the shelter.
The killing of pets who have never been made available to the public for adoption, rescue or foster.
The killing of pets due to disease outbreak without ever making a public plea for help with quarantine to save lives.
Failure of the shelter to vaccinate all incoming pets as per standard disease prevention protocol.
Failure of the shelter to remove dogs and food from cages during cleaning as per standard disease prevention protocol.
Failure of the shelter to utilize their Chameleon software to interface with PetHarbor so that every pet is viewable online by the public.
Failure of the shelter to properly train and/or enforce humane handling of pets by the staff.
Failure of the shelter to implement a TNR program so that the number of feral cats in the community can be reduced over time.
Failure of the shelter to keep cats separated from the sight, sound and smell of dogs in order to reduce stress and make the population less susceptible to disease.
Failure of the shelter to provide daily aerobic exercise for dogs for social stimulation and in order to reduce stress and make the population less susceptible to disease.
Thank you for your time and addressing the issues outlined in this email.
Victoria Wells
this place needs to be shut the heck down,fo real
Here are some local reporters you can contact on FB I’ve reposted this story to their wall. don’t care where you are from comment the hell out of it. for those who don’t live in Memphis and love animals tell them I refuse to come and spend a dime. this is a Tactic ALF and ARM has used and has been successful
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1574684464 Donna Davis 5
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1270100167 Ernie Freeman 13
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1646144875 Alex Coleman 13
http://www.facebook.com/stephanie.scurlock Stephanie Scurlock 3
Contact these people weather you are from Memphis or not take a stand and tell them you won’t spend a dime here
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1574684464 Donna Davis 5
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1270100167 Ernie Freeman 13
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1646144875 Alex Coleman 13
http://www.facebook.com/stephanie.scurlock Stephanie Scurlock 3
@Matt: Something for those of us who don’t do FB please?
So where are the puppies that were in the trash can, since we now know the truth that they are NOT the akita/shepherd puppies as a volunteer stated. Why the lie Linda? WHERE IS THE MOMMA AND 4 PUPPIES IN THE PHOTOS???????!!!!!!!
I would like to add my feeble voice to Shirley’s request above to Linda. WHERE ARE THESE 5 DOGS LINDA?
FYI – I e-mailed Matthew Pepper and Tracy Dunlap at the shelter this morning to ask if any of the garbage can family (including mama) is still alive. I know many of us would want to help them if they are in need. I haven’t received any response at this time but if I do, I will let everyone know.
This makes me sick. Those poor puppies. :(
We have 4 dogs in our house, one of which was a pound rescue. His owner signed him over cuz he didn’t want to pay a fine for him running loose without tags. He’s an amazing dog. He’s so sweet, loves everyone and has such a personality that I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t want him.
I’ve been looking to foster a pregnant bitch so I can help save a dog’s life and so I can gain some experience with whelping.
I would have fostered this girl in a heartbeat.
Ugggggh.
worthless scum-bags…should put you in a fuckin garbage can you bastards…
Oh my gosh, I fell like I’m going throw up…
Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog and commented:
RIP puppies.