In response to a letter from reader Denise concerning the MAS records of killings during the transition period, LaSonya Hall, a former executive assistant to the chief administrative officer who was promoted to the newly created position of deputy director of the executive division by former Memphis Mayor Herenton, sent the following:
Good Afternoon Ms. Caccamisi:
Thank you for alerting us to the gross misinformation recently posted on the Yes Biscuit web site regarding the Memphis Animal Facility. The kennel stats as well as the euthanasia records from Saturday, November 5 through Saturday, November 12 are attached for your review. The attached data reveals that there were no euthanasias conducted on November 6, 7, 9, & 11. The data further reveals that the euthanasias that were conducted on November 8 & 12 were deemed necessary by the Memphis Animal Facility’s Medical Director, a licensed veterinarian.
Further, the euthanasias that were conducted on Saturday, November 5 included animals for which 1) their hold time had expired prior to or on 11/5/11, 2) owner surrenders, and 3) animals with medical conditions for which euthanasia would alleviate any further suffering. Please note that the the two pitbulls identified as #234328 & 234325 on the euthanasia report dated November 5 were two small pitbull puppies that were sadly unable to survive. The Yes Biscuit post indicating that the two animals “fell over dead in their cages” is a complete prevarication and unsubstantiated.
Unfortunately, the Yes Biscuit post does not acknowledge the very positive strides taken during the transition. Following are just a few examples:
1) Held aggressive adoption campaigns including a major Yappy Hour adoption event on Thursday, 11/3
2) Worked tirelessly with our rescue and pet placement partners
3) Fostered out many animals prior to the transition
4) Successfully transitioned ALL of the animals in our care from the old facility to the new facility on 2350 Appling City Cove
5) Upheld our commitment to the community by suspending euthanasias during the time frame from November 5-12.
6) Provided the public with owner reclamation and owner surrender services at the old facility on Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5 from 1PM – 5 PM
7) Continued the provision of owner reclamation and owner surrender services at the old facility (through the gracious assistance of our volunteers) on Tuesday, November 8 –Thursday, November 10 from 2 PM – 5PM
Further, you may also note that during this same time frame (i.e. November 5-12), the facility took in 124 additional animals (e.g. owner surrenders, strays picked up in the field, etc.). Hence, we entered the new facility with all of the animals from the old facility plus the additional 124 animals. Additionally, we resumed our field operation full-time on November 15, which consequently increased the number of animals brought into the new facility. On day 1, within the first hour of opening the new facility, we sadly witnessed more owner surrenders than adoptions.
We hope that you will help us by encouraging more folks in the community to adopt animals from the Memphis Animal Facility on Appling Cove. We will celebrate our grand opening on Saturday, 12/3 at 11:00 AM.
Again, we appreciate your partnership in identifying the communication error and for helping us to ensure that the general public has the correct information.
I’d like to address several of these claims specifically.
The attached data reveals that there were no euthanasias conducted on November 6, 7, 9, & 11. – This is correct. My post did not claim otherwise. To provide some context, November 6 and 7 fell on a Sunday and Monday. MAS does not normally kill pets on Sundays and Mondays as those are typically days off for the workers qualified to kill pets and the pound is closed. So not killing pets on November 6 and 7 qualifies as business as usual at MAS.
The data further reveals that the euthanasias that were conducted on November 8 & 12 were deemed necessary by the Memphis Animal Facility’s Medical Director, a licensed veterinarian. – This is correct. My post did not claim otherwise. The pets killed on these two days are listed as being killed for medical reasons.
Further, the euthanasias that were conducted on Saturday, November 5 included animals for which 1) their hold time had expired prior to or on 11/5/11, 2) owner surrenders, and 3) animals with medical conditions for which euthanasia would alleviate any further suffering. – #1 and #2 are not legitimate reasons to kill pets and directly contradict the city’s claims prior to the MAS closure that the only pet killing during this period would be for medical reasons. To provide context, MAS did not offer for adoption any of these pets whose hold time had expired or whose owners surrendered them. Further, the city refused to allow foster owners to care for them temporarily during the closure. They were needlessly killed for “space” or “behavior” and the MAS records indicate same. #3 references “animals” who were euthanized to alleviate suffering but in fact only 1 dog was killed for a medical reason on November 5 – not “animals” – and the MAS records indicate same.
Please note that the the two pitbulls identified as #234328 & 234325 on the euthanasia report dated November 5 were two small pitbull puppies that were sadly unable to survive. The Yes Biscuit post indicating that the two animals “fell over dead in their cages” is a complete prevarication and unsubstantiated. – While Ms. Hall spins the deaths of these puppies as “sadly unable to survive”, I chose the terminology “fell over dead in their cages”. Call it “tap danced their way to the Rainbow Bridge” if you like but it doesn’t change the fact that these 2 pups died in their cages while in the care of MAS and the records indicate same. Ms. Hall provides no explanation for the 4 dogs who died according to MAS records on November 16 which seems like a curious omission on her part.
Regarding Ms. Hall’s claims as to the tireless efforts of the city to work with rescuers and foster homes, I hope some rescuers will chime in to enlighten us on these exhaustive efforts. It was the “Friends” who advised people that the city would not allow the overwhelming majority of pets at the pound – those in the stray area – to be fostered. I would not describe the refusal to accept help from the public as a tireless effort to save pets’ lives.
4) Successfully transitioned ALL of the animals in our care from the old facility to the new facility on 2350 Appling City Cove
5) Upheld our commitment to the community by suspending euthanasias during the time frame from November 5-12. – These two claims are clearly false in my interpretation and the MAS records indicate same. That was a main point of my post, to expose this attempt to deceive the public. Many pets at MAS who were alive on the morning of November 5 were not transferred to the new facility – they were killed for reasons such as “space”, “behavior” and “too young”.
I stand by my original post. I did not provide any misinformation and the MAS records reflect same. If I make a mistake, I am always happy to correct the record. But based on Ms. Hall’s response, I don’t see where any correction is required. Further, I would offer that some of the claims made by Ms. Hall appear to be misleading at best.
This line from Ms. Hall’s letter may perhaps be the most revealing:
On day 1, within the first hour of opening the new facility, we sadly witnessed more owner surrenders than adoptions.
We witnessed. To me, that is indicative of a failed administration. Shelters who work hard to save pets lives do not “witness” a lack of adoptions. If they see a downward trend in adoptions, they proactively rise to meet the challenge.
It’s not easy being an open admission shelter and maintaining a live release rate of more than 90%. But in listening to people like Bonney Brown and Susanne Kogut speak, I don’t get the impression they do a lot of “witnessing”. Instead, they work their tails off getting the public involved in saving pets by actively seeking out foster homes for all their pets in need – not just the chosen few – and making it easy for people to adopt by letting the public in to see and touch all their pets and making adoption a positive experience.
Memphis could do this too. They could start today.