Caring people of Memphis – have you had enough yet? Get thee to city hall and picket the mayor’s office with photos of mistreatment and needless killing of pets at MAS. Demand reform. Help make Memphis a no kill community.
Memphis – Let Me Up, I’ve Had Enough
YES YES YES YES – I have had enough – a perfectly healthy, beautiful, adoptable dog dragged to its death- WHY WHY WHY?????? I am so embarrassed to live in a city where there is permissable……don’t worry- we are not going to quit fighting for change!!!
Information for volunteering at the shelter:
http://www.cityofmemphis.org/framework.aspx?page=620
Is it true that vols at MAS are required to sign away their First Amendment rights of free speech?
If it’s like they do it locally, it is cleverly hidden in a statement that goes something like this – ” any media contacts or public comments/statements must be pre-approved/screened by members of the management team. We thank you for your understanding.”
In other words – We can shine our own turds.
YES, it is true! In the MAS Volunteer Manual it says that volunteers are not permitted to discuss the shelter with media and you must sign a form agreeing with the various terms of the volunteer “contract.” But now I wonder,how one of the volunteers- I think her name is Jeanne, who has been quoted in the newspaper, spoke on behalf of MAS (of course not seeing ANYTHING wrong with the way things are handled there)….hmmmm-
Hey, become a whistleblower at MAS and get a bumper sticker: I OUTED Mayor Wharton and the MAS! :-)
That little honey dog puts me over the edge. She deserved so much better and looks VERY adoptable. I’m so sorry, little girl, that your last days and moments on earth were with this horrible man and at that horrible place.
Gonna do a cut and paste and send it out to the mayor!
I may be getting confused. In older web shots, the kill room was at the far end of the pictures. In these new shots the kill room is in the front. Is this a different camera angle? Which way is the adoption area? When these are posted there is nothing to say which camera the shot came from and I just want to be sure we are interpreting this correctly.
I believe Main Area Canine 1 – when the dog is walking towards the camera- the only place to go is into the kill room. In Main Area Canine 2 – if you walk away from the camera, head down the walkway and make a right- headed towards kill room. If someone knows differently, please correct me.
Beth is correct. Canine 1 is the camera placed above the kill room door. If you are walking towards the Canine 1 camera, you are walking to the kill room. If you are walking towards Canine camera 1 and are going to the healthy hold area, you can clearly be seen (from camera view) taking a right into the HH area. Walking straight on is straight to the kill room.
Also the number of dogs being walked towards Canine 1 camera is in line with the number they are putting down. The healthy hold can house maybe 10 dogs total over a 2-3 week period.
Why do MAS supporters keep denying that this is the kill room if people who have been there before are saying it is in fact the kill room??
Are they hoping that everyone will say “gosh, you work at MAS. you MUST be right”?
MAS Volunteer Mission Statement
The volunteer program was developed to promote and compliment the work of Memphis Animal Services in a voluntary capacity.
GOALS:
•To promote and support the work of Memphis Animal Services to compliment staff efforts (or to do the staff’s job for them)
•To provide care and assistance to the animals at Memphis Animal Services (as you drag them to the Kill Room)
•To assist with furthering the services and programs of Memphis Animal Services (by not allowing stray animals to be seen)
•To provide public awareness and education on the proper care and treatment of animals ( by mistreating and abusing the animals on live web cam)
•To promote the human – animal bond (by never walking, talking with or touching the animals)
VALUES:
•The joy of returning pets to their families (only if they come armed with a picture and can document they are the owners)
•Placing pets into deserving homes (after 90% plus have been killed)
•Listing animals that will become loving pets on the website (once a year to keep up public appearance)
•Welcoming new visitors to the center (never seen that happen)
•Making people aware of the needs of animals (by carrying them by their neck, shoulders and chokepoles)
•Being part of the solution to problems surrounding pet overpopulation ( by telling you to your face that your surrendered animals will be adopted by a loving family and off camera walking them straight to be killed)
It seems to me that MAS is relying on the volunteers to meet the needs of the shelter because we can see with our own eyes that very few of the paid personnel are promoting that human – animal bond in any way, shape or form. Are any of their goals actually being reached? I haven’t seen many employees acting out their values. AND, they want their volunteers to be quiet and not comment? It’s no wonder the place is a disaster!
I wrote my letter, and I hope it does some good. Things must change at MAS. I am a Memphian, and have visited MAS often. I am going to copy my email here so you can see that I really let them know we are watching and will demand change and action. Let me try this. Thanks for your patience.
Email:I am one of the millions across the country who has watched in utter horror the goings on at MAS and have joined the letter writing campaign sponsored by Yes Biscuit and Word Press.
I am extremely appalled, disgusted and saddened by the arrogance and utter lack of compassion exhibited by some of our city leaders and city council members regarding the goings on at MAS. It appears it is still the status quo to “sweep it under the rug” so as not to bring attention to the matter. Too late. All across America people are watching and keeping tabs on MAS. THESE animals, for the most part, are being treated inhumanely, being tortured by choke holds and made to lay in their own feces and urine. These animals were at one time someone’s beloved pet or found dumped by some irresponsible owners who no longer has time to care for the pet. The webcams tell the story, one only needs to watch. Evidently, putting a stupid fish on the Pyramid is more important than what is happening at MAS even after the “famous raid” by Mayor Wharton, which is no deterrent to the behavior of the employees there.
I am a lifelong Memphian and I have been to MAS on numerous occasions. I can tell you, this is NOT an “isolated incident” Mayor. Look at the web shots; read the captions, open your eyes…..ALL of you. Why even suggest to us out here that the incident is being “investigated” when the previous “criminal investigation” under the previous director isn’t over? Investigated how, and by whom? I, along with thousands of others would really like to know this information. We are not fools, we care about these animals. People around the nation and the globe are watching, and cannot fathom such a facility as our MAS here in Memphis. In fact, a lady from out of town was lucky enough to adopt a dog through one of the rescue groups here at MAS from this so called “shelter”, having saved another innocent dog’s life. These animals are scared and hungry when they are brought to MAS and their situation is exacerbated by the treatment they receive when being put in a very small kennel or taken to the kill room. This is abhorrent and should not be tolerated under any circumstances, but it continues to go on, every day. There are no checks and balances and no one is being held accountable. Why is this? We don’t want excuses, we want answers. We don’t want lip service, we want results. Is any of this in the future plans of MAS? Why or why not?
I read an avid animal lover’s letter to you same people the other day, and I was horrified at the response he received from one city council member, Janis Fullilove. Her response, in it’s entirety? “So, what?” How utterly arrogant and ignorant. Yes, Ms. Fullilove, I saw it. You, of all people, showing such a lack of compassion when you are an embarrassment to the Council and to this City. What agenda do YOU have to improve MAS? None, as I can ascertain by your snide remark.
I have applied to work at the MAS numerous times; only to find out weeks later that someone else was hired, before I was even notified. I am not a certified technician and I doubt many of the employees there are, but I can guarantee you I would treat every animal that comes into MAS with love, compassion and a determination to make that animal feel as much love as I could before it is taken to the kill room. It only takes a little time to do this and much less energy than the way they are treated now. I would be glad to go to school to obtain the necessary certification to care for these animals. It appears the employees there now care nothing about the animals, only the cushy paychecks they are receiving. Their behavior still goes unchecked and all they receive is a slap on the wrist, if even that. It is disgusting to us all out here who are animal lovers.
We know there are bad shelters elsewhere. However, it appears MAS is one of the worst ever. If things do not change, everyone should be fired, the shelter closed, and a new one built and run by a private organization who will We pay your salaries and we deserve answers. Our animals deserve a chance. They deserve our compassion and love until they are put to death. It is my hope that you, Mr. Mayor and all City Council Members respectfully consider what is not only written in this email today, but the urgency required to initiate change immediately at MAS. Desperate situations call for desperate measures.
I implore you, do something, before it gets even worse. I thank you for your time.
Respectfully,
I hope everyone joins the letter writing campaign, as you can see I did above. Keep the emails and letters coming, it is so important. With love to all the animals that have gone before us.
Denise- Great letter! Thank you for writing that! I wish they would hire you!!!
Contact us at RESCUE50@thenokillnation.org for the 3 brochure pack that includes the Activist’s Handbook to passing CAPA legislature to stop MAS in its KILLING Tracks! We must make these high kill shelters and management personnel accountable for their actions.
I plan on a visit to MAS in the near future. Please contact debi@thenokillnation.org if you are running an active campaign against this place! Debi Day No Kill Nation.
Why is MAS covering up the dogs, when they post a sign for adoption, yet no one can see them behind the steel barriers?
Sorry little honey girl. Not all humans suck. I am lighting a candle for you and the others who died that day.
Shirley, can you send me a link to the virtual candle site? I am going to light every day on behalf of the MAS animals.
Although, if truth be told, the continuing abuses at MAS make me want to light up something else…
I started a group for anyone who wishes to light candles. It’s called MAS.
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=MAS