And now, because so many of you are interested, this “god awful website” brings you reader Cindy Russell’s thorough notes from last night’s public meeting of the Memphis Adversary Board. You can read about how great the MAS vet is, how the kill techs suffer from compassion fatigue, and learn a magical new way of doing math called JustMakeShitUp.
Thank you Cindy.
I wish more web sites were this “god awful.”
Sounds like animal’s lives are not very important to those people.
Unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. What with all the posturing and rhetoric, and Rogers can’t do simple math….in fact, he doesn’t even check his little powerpoint spreadsheet before his “presentation” to the MAS Advisory Board and the public that was there last evening, including me. it was the public that called him on his numbers, and I’ve never seen a smirk on someone’s disappear so quickly as it did in Rogers’ case. He was caught redhanded trying to coverup and make his kill rate stats look good. Well, he needs to go back to school, not as a teacher mind you, but as a janitor…..seems he needs some lessons in cleaning up the dirt.
Whoa whoa WHOA!
There is NO WAY on this green earth that the dogs at MAS are (or should be) receiving 1 cup of dry food for every 10lbs of body weight, twice daily.
Does this fool expect us to believe that this is even possible, never mind the truth!
Sit back and calculate that for a few minutes. Use your own dog as a baseline.
I can assure you that my 40lb, extremely high activity, 3 year old cattle dog would be extremely ill if fed EIGHT cups of food a day for a single day.
Are they suggesting a 60 lb lab eat 12 cups of food a day? Half that is excessive!!
Purina recommends feeding a 50-75 lb dog 2 2/3-3 1/3 per day of Dog Chow. MAS would have you believe the proper schedule would be 10-15 cups per day.
Are they feeding them hay??!
A 50lb dog of average activity should consume about 1300-1400 calories per day. Dog Chow is 433kcal/cup. Pedigree is 319kcal/cup. Even at 300, Rogers is suggesting that they are feeding 50lb dogs 3000kcal per day.
I think we may need to buy Rogers a new calculator – clearly he has difficulty with even simple math.
Or he really does think no one will notice 2000+ unaccounted for animals and a made up feeding schedule?
Shame on MAS.
(are there any vets around who can comment on whether such excessive overfeeding could be contributing to the number of “healthy” dogs dropping dead at MAS? Bloat, acute pancreatitis, etc?)
While I do not disagree with your concerns, I would just point out that historically, MAS has been known for *starving* dogs, not overfeeding them. I wonder if this is some new plan they’ve come up with and if so, whether it’s actually being practiced or if it’s just another slide in the Powerpoint presentation with MagicMath.
Yes, it’s magic math and more. Couldn’t help but laugh even under these dire circumstances. I did have a chance to ask Ms. Henry to please consider filing the lawsuit against the city….this has gone on long enough, even with their “processeeeeeees”
I volunteered at MAS for nearly a year. The dogs are fed twice a day… if the staff remembers. Don’t even get me started there.
Every feeding I saw, every single dog got the same exact amount of food — whatever fits in the scoop that happens to be in the dog food container that day. That’s the science to their feeding, right there. I saw it happen day in and day out for months. If there isn’t a scoop in the container, they just use the bowl to scoop out the food. I saw this happen day in and day out. And it was on the list of concerns I presented to Janet Hooks and LaSonya Hall with several other volunteers. It was easily the item on our list that got the most laughs out of LaSonya.
What does LaSonya find so hilarious about starving dogs, I wonder? I know she’s aware there are 3 people facing charges right now for starving dogs at MAS in 2009.
I find it ridiculous that when caring visitors asked if they could give a treat to the black Lab, they were denied because the dogs are all on strict diets.
She doesn’t have to see them, that’s what. As long as she gets her cushy paycheck, why should she care? She isn’t at MAS every day, so she just sweeps it under the rug like the rest. As does Ms. Hooks and Wharton. Let’s have more training. Oh yeah and processeeeeeeeeees.
As far as I can tell the dogs are only fed once a day; that being in the morning.
When I had my little personal tour with Mr. Rogers, he stated the animals were fed twice per day. Of course, when his lips are moving, he is lying. No doubt about it.
The numbers are interesting. By my math, Jan-May kill rates are 56%, 48%, 66%, 58% and 70%. The average kill rate is about 60% (not quite as good as Mr. Rogers’ numbers). The positive outcome numbers are 22%, 16%, 29%, 26%, and 23%. The average save rate is about 23%. That means that MAS kills 2.6 animals for every one it saves.
So, for every 10 animals who leave MAS alive for whatever reason (rescue taking moms and kittens or pups, adoptions, return to owner, etc.), 26 will end up in black bags in the landfill. Of course, this does not count the animals who dropped dead in their cages, animals who “escaped”, and the mysterious “other” category that disappeared. And we have to believe these numbers to begin with, knowing how very, very accurate record-keeping is at MAS.
Also curious – they lost a vet? I thought that MAS only had two vets to begin with?
And…euth certifications have been allowed to lapse? Are these employees killing today on expired certificates? Because if so, that’s some kind of state violation, yes?
After the raid in 2009, one of the two vets was fired, leaving only Dr. Coleman. The open position was posted in 2009, and wasn’t filled until November, 2011. The vet who started in November is the one who resigned. It took over two years to fill the position, and the new vet only stuck around a few months. So now, once again, Dr. Coleman is the only vet at MAS.
Forwarded to MAS contact list, with my comments below:
Yes, why is this? I don’t think I would want to be a vet working for MAS and further, why were certifications for euthanasia allowed to expire? Are these people still there and killing animals???????? Wharton suggests more training?????????????????? You CANNOT train STUPID out of some people. It just does not compute. Retraining the bad does not result in good results or processeeeeeeeeees. There needs to be a total cleanup at MAS, starting at the top…..Ms. Hooks and Ms. Hall come to mind, but, so do those poor animals.
How about that math. A new way to learn stupid math. What a revelation.
Rogers is simply in over his head – and dealing with others who will not permit him to do his job (even if he is capable and willing). I was actually impressed with the audience questions – and not so impressed with the responses. PURE CYA!!!
I hope they are reading this and realize that the longer they try to “fool” us, the more we hear about the Nolas and Kapones and missing animals (that is hard to even get my mind around those numbers) the more it convinces us that change MUST happen.
God help the poor animals who end up in that hellhole.
Thanks for taking such thorough notes, Cindy.
From firsthand experience, I can tell you with certainty that at least until March of this year when I essentially left, the dogs were fed 2X daily. They’re fed early in the a.m. and again in late afternoon. I can also say with 100% certainty that no 40 lb. dog EVER got 8 cups of food. Quite to the contrary. I never saw a dog who got too much food. Our concern as volunteers was ALWAYS that they were hungry. Huge dog, little dog, didn’t matter…everybody got the same amount. This guy last night was way full of crap. It was sad.
Yes, the vet, Mr. Rogers, the interim lawyers for city of Memphis, and all were just so blatently UN INTERESTED……their processeeeeeeees were for blatant disregard for the animals. They obviously like pie charts and powerpoint “presentations”. Puhleeze
They seem to have a lot of ‘interims’ down there. They tend to generally not care even less than the permanent employees, if that’s even possible.
Sounds like even with the interested public posing questions and calling them on their stupidity and carelessness, they don’t plan to change anything.
Absolutely Debbie. Wharton says more training????????????? You CANNOT train the STUPID out of people no matter how much, it just does not compute. No, nothing is going to change unless, of course, a human is killed at the shelter. Think that would get their attention?
Jennifer I cannot imagine they would care about that either! But something HAS to get their attention for the sake of the animals that are suffering and dying.
You would think, but sadly, nothing short of killing a human at the shelter will get their attention.
Do you know what brand of food MAS feeds?
Jennifer, I don’t. It is round, and sort of yellowish, and pretty large-sort of looks like those cheetos balls, if you know what I mean. I have no clue what it is. Looks like crap, I can tell you that.
Well that description sufficiently turned me off the apple I was just about to snack on.
http://wreg.com/2012/06/13/memphis-animal-shelter-employee-fired-after-accidental-euthanasia/
Mr. Rogers – can you spell: FUCKING FAILURE and LIAR? Fell free to contact me at home, you loser.
Ugh…just awful. So glad for those that spoke up though! And who called this website ‘God awful’? I missed that, somewhere.
any word from the Mayor?
No, no word from the Mayor. Only that stupid comment that “training” would be implemented again. Bleh, like that is really going to help…NOT.