When it was discovered that pets were suffering at the hands of MAS staff in 2009, Mayor Wharton promised transparency and reform at the pound. He never delivered on the reform and thus the transparency issue became problematic as the public could see images of his failure every day. So he killed the transparency too.
Let there be no doubt as to who Mayor Wharton is concerned with protecting.
I can only imagine how the animals will suffer now and what about the animals that just disappear? Where’s Kapone?
Does anyone have any news on the trial, that was supposed to start last week? (Can’t remember the woman’s name, but you all know the ACO I’m talking about)
Demetria Hogan was her name. Anyone know anything? And just WHERE is Kapone?
Thanks – must be I was trying to block all that unpleasantness from my mind.
not to seem stupid but who was Kapone? I just started following the atrocities of MAS after Mario came into ARNO.
A Memphis ACO picked him up, said she took him to the shelter but apparently review of the security camera footage showed that was untrue. She was charged with animal cruelty (case hasn’t gone to court yet) and never has told what she actually did with Kapone.
i would like these people get dragged with pole so they can understand what goes thru these animals minds…..i guess they dont know that kindness goes a long way….. SMH
Does anyone have information about other shelters that have webcams where we can compare the pictures from MAS? Have been looking for another shelter with webcams, but don’t know how to find one other than Google. Would be interesting to watch another shelter to compare. Thanks to anyone who can tell me where to watch! Would like to make a point with pictures from another shelter and how they work without the use of choke poles etc.
http://www.dogsaspen.com/
Three cameras available. Seems to be only nice people doing nice things. I watched a worker sit in the cat room and just cuddle cats who wanted cuddling.
http://www.earthcam.com/usa/florida/daytona/halifax/#
Puppies with cameras in their cages for a puppy-eye-view of the shelter. Scroll down for more puppies.
http://openstream.charlescounty.org/catcam.jsp
Charles County Maryland’s cat room. Notice the lovely Kuranda towers!
http://vbspca.com/modules/vbspcainfo/item.php?itemid=29
Interesting set up here and lots of activity around the dog areas.
http://www.seattle.gov/animalshelter/featuredpet.htm
This one was a bit disappointing because it’s only one dog cage until I watched it for a little bit. The cage was empty when I first logged on. Then I saw a worker come in with a hose and clean the cage and bed. Then the dog was brought in (on a harness and leash!). The dog was asked to sit, given a biscuit and a pat on the head, shown to his bed and checked to make sure he was ok before the worker left. And THAT is a good looking dog, too. I hope he gets a home soon.
There are many others out there. Google on “animal shelter camera”. You’ll have to sort through all the hits, but you’ll find things.
WOW… thanks for sharing the information… I could use a pick-me-up.
I was just watching the Seattle cat camera. You only get to see four cages, but I watched someone (volunteer?) go from cat to cat, just offering scritches, touches, and a friendly face. One cat she spent nearly ten minutes with, just rubbing his head and ears (he was LOVING it). She used hand sanitizer between cats. Then she went around and gave out kitty treats. The cats are relaxed and calm.
Interestingly, no one there is wearing gloves like they do at MAS and no one seems to feel a need to scruff a cat to get them out of a cage.
awwwww..this was so nice to read…..
And then the cats were hanged by the neck in kitty tongs and forgotten in traps on the floor overnight and loaded up on a cart for the kill room – right? That’s the normal way, right?
And it must be dark out in Seattle now because the person who came to walk the “featured dog” put a reflective harness on her (? – not sure, but I think the dog is female) and was wearing one herself. This is the second time today that I’ve seen this particular dog removed from her kennel. She’s clearly going outdoors, which is very good for her sanity. Seattle seems to be doing things right!
I wish all animal shelters had web cameras!
I can’t stand it, I feel like part of me has been cut off not being able to see in this hell hole! There will be no way of knowing what goes on now.
I don’t believe any other shelter have webcams, do they?
I feel sick!
If all the other kill shelters had cameras, we would just be seeing a whole lot more of this. Sadly, Memphis is not unique in its treatment of animals, they just happen to have cameras that show it.
Went to the Mayor’s FB “fan” page… Vicki Laura Green Mr. Mayor – please enforce the “transparency” of MAS and reinstall the webcams! Please, sir, OPEN the stray area to the public so that lost animals can be reunited with their families or healthy, adoptable animals can be given the chance for finding a new home. Thank you in advance.
I’ve been banned from Wharton’s FB page since last April for calmly posting about the shelter one too many times. I think after 3 posts, they banned me. So much for freedom of speech and my rights as a tax paying citizen of Memphis. Let’s see how long you last after your post…..
I was banned also …
I just posted to his page, as well.
So instead of fixing the problems, Mayor Wharton has opted to go back to hiding them. Why doesn’t he realize that that’s what got the shelter in trouble in the first place? And the first time it happened, he could legitimately say, “It wasn’t me that did this.”
This time, he will have to take ownership of every abuse, every mishandling, and every cruelty that goes down at MAS.
Mayor Wharton may also want to remember that the last time he chose an interim supervisor, it was Demetria Hogan. How long will he leave the shelter without a director this time?
Where is the Rotary Club’s evaluation? Where is the new shelter director? Where is the transparency the people of Memphis were promised?
Demetria Hogan was in interim supervisor? Missed that one somewhere. When was she an interim supervisor? Are applications being taken for a new director does anyone know? I can’t believe she ran the shelter! Speechless!
http://www.wmctv.com/story/11630530/animal-advocates-express-concerns-over-new-shelter-leadership?redirected=true
Tiny url – http://tinyurl.com/7476zmx
It was 2009 when the scandal broke about the abuses at the shelter. Clearly the Mayor has no people assessment skills and should defer choosing personnel to others more qualified.
Cowards is being nice here -thanks Shirley for keeping on top of this.
Someone n Memphis needs to sneak into the new “shelter” and plant a new web cam!
updates?
Does anybody know what happened (or will happen) to the dogs in the stray area? I’m worried that they might not make it over to the new Shelter……
Sadly Peter, only a tiny percentage of the strays are selected for adoption – the rest are killed. Whether they kill them at the old building or the new building, those dogs are doomed.