Another video from the batch of MAS footage, obtained via FOIA request, from May 22, 2012.
The Memphis city pickup truck in this video is used for hauling away the bodies of the pets killed by the pound. Here, someone drives the truck into the garage, does some washing (something large, perhaps a dead dog, is visible in the bed) , gets an inmate and apparently tells him to load kibble shaped bags onto the bed, does some more cleaning, then drives away. While the bed is being filled with bags, an ACO one-hands a puppy from the ACO truck to the pound. I edited out some of the down time to keep the length reasonable. I’m not sure what to make of what’s depicted in this video. Anyone?
Sorry, but my first thought was that they are making extra money by turning the dead pets of Memphis into fertilizer and selling it.
Looks to me like he’s stealing dog food to give to his dog fighting ring friends.
The way the bags don’t fold over when held up leads me to believe they are filled with a densely-packed, more granular solid than kibble, such as soil or a powdered chemical. Lime powder (Calcium hydroxide) came to mind for me… but that’s (in my mind) along the same line of thought as Lisa B, who posted above. Either fertilizer or a chemical substance would explain why the one employee felt such a need to not only clean the bumper after loading, but to also spray down the floor below it.
Was the pictured dog even alive when it was carried like that?
Pup’s alive, not happy, but alive….
Thanks for clarifying that… I honestly couldn’t tell from the video.
I think this worker is stealing dog food to either sell or give away to all their dogs they have stashed around the city for fighting.
I didn’t think fighting ring, but I definitely went the stealing route. I hate being so cynical.
Me too – but this is an honest reaction to anything that happens there.
Maybe it’s kibble being moved to another location instead of carried? Maybe it’s kibble being stolen from the facility and sold under the table? Maybe it’s kibble being stolen from the facility to feed stray dogs? Yeah, I had a hard time typing that last one…
I have no idea. Fertilizer? is that even remotely (disgustingly) possible?
Horrible handling by that random ACO with the pup – obviously well trained to be compassionate.
Excuse me while I go cry and throw up at once.
It’s sad that I was actually RELIEVED to see the ACO on the right-hand side carry the pup, even in that one-handed, held-away-from-the-body manner, rather than using a chokepole.
And even sadder that we have to wonder what that adorable pup’s chances are in this place.
I know what you mean Karen. That pup was frozen in fear. Had he become unfrozen, one wriggle and he would have hit the concrete. The ACOs have been trained and re-trained on how to carry small pets and specifically it says in the manual (from Matt Pepper’s days) that the pet must be supported from underneath with the other hand. We teach children that you use both hands and hold the pet against your body for support and comfort – that is, the children who don’t instinctively know that this is the proper way.
I’m thinking the bags might be quicklime.
I checked the Wiki entry for quicklime to see what it would be used for but didn’t come up with anything that seemed relevant. What do you think it might be used for (if that’s what is in the bags)?
People use lime for lawncare–raises the ph level if the soil is too acidic. So maybe they’re using it on the grounds of the new shelter? assuming that’s what the bags contain. Wondering more about that poor little pup and what will happen to him.
Quicklime is used, among other things, to aid and speed decomposition. A check on the internet shows that Memphis procures quicklime as a part of water treatment. It’s no stretch in my mind that a pallet could be repurposed over to animal control, then used externally and illegally to cover up dog fighting activities. That’s just my .02.
One more thing, since quicklime is caustic, if you knew what it was, you’d want to get it off the surface of your truck.
Here in Michigan, they spread quicklime on large road kill (deer) rather than removing them.
And a lot of folks know what’s going on – there is no way they are trying to keep this secret.
God only knows, but I’m sure there will be an excuse for it, whatever it is they are doing.
Can we legally post some of these videos on youtube? or not?
They are public record. I have posted them on Youtube, as can anyone else who want to.
At first I thought it was kibble to give to dogs for fighting, but the Quiklime/decomposition thing makes more sense to me now that I know what it is.
Let’s be clear: no one here knows what is in the bags.
I meant now that I know what Quiklime is, it makes sense, not that I know what is in the bag.
This is true. None of us know what is in those bags…..but I don’t think it is kitty litter or sand, but, hopefully I will have an answer soon. After the holiday, that is.
It appears to me, and rightfully so, that someone is stealing dog food. What else could explain this video???? NOTHING> stealing dog food, plain and simple. I’m forwarding to my MAS list.
Truthfully Denise, we don’t know what might explain this video but there could be other explanations than the one you offered. We are all speculating. But if you think you can get an answer from anyone at MAS, please try. I can not get any answers. And I hate having unanswered questions.
I don’t know of ANY instance where MAS might DONATE dog food, so, I say this is stealing. I was told by Mr. Rogers that MAS purchases their dog and pet foods, but, I also know that manufacturers donate food and other groups do too. So I did forward this to my MAS email list, to see if I can get any answers. I’m not holding my breath though.
Most of those look to me like cardboard boxes, not bags – flat, thin boxes of something fairly heavy in aggregate. The two-three things that did look like bags looked like they were sagging a bit over the stack of boxes.
I see what you mean–maybe flats of canned pet food? With some bags stacked on top.
It is obviously large bags of pet food, delivered to MAS on a pallet. The bags look to be 30 to 40 lbs each….don’t think it is sand, dirt, litter or anything else of that nature…why load it into a truck if it nothing???? Don’t know, will have to see if I get an answer?
That ACO with the one-handed puppy is none other than Glenn Andrews. And he’s one of the “good” ones.
Maybe he’s gone over to the dark side – after his rant about YesBiscuit on facebook a while back.
Oh right..the “good” ones who love animals always carry the puppies close to their body supporting them so they don’t jump down and hurt themselves..
Are you certain this is an AC truck? Not, perhaps , a private vehicle? Just asking. I can’t tell by the tag and couldn’t see if the city logo was on the door panel. I mean, that could account for the “care” given the truck. And the bags look like food that has been wrapped and on a pallet. They become flattened from being stacked and packed. Our kennel food , from Science Diet comes in brown packaging with the blue and red SD logo on it. So , the bags look different than those shiney white backgrounds sold to the public.
Tami, this is the truck used by the city to haul away the dead pets after MAS kills them. It is not used for live animals. I assumed that the cleaning had to do with the fact that bodily fluids doubtless build up in the bed.
ahhh…
Yes, it may be that truck, but, looking at the video, it appeared to me at least, that only the left side of the truck was cleaned?
Good point Tami, and I agree, it looks like food to me. Theft is not uncommon at MAS; food has sprouted legs and walked out before, too many times to mention.
If it is food – and to reiterate, we don’t know for certain what’s in the bags – I can’t think of any reason the truck used to haul the dead pets from the pound would need to be filled with pet food to be taken away from the pound. And for food (possibly) to be loaded next to a dead animal (possibly) in the bed of the truck seems bizarre too.
We will probably never get an answer; therefore, we will never know. We can only speculate. But, it surely looked like food to me. Just sayin…
As someone who has worked in the pet food industry and unpacked thousands and thousands of dog food bags off of pallets, I am confident that these bags are at least consistent with dog food.
When food bags are pallet stacked, the air is forced out of them. Some brands become so stiff its not uncommon for some stores to pin prick the bags so they relax and can be properly shelved.
What makes me wonder is that it doesn’t appear that the pallet is all one product. The bags being loaded are dull, like Nutro brand (though not as large) and appear to be 25-30 lb bags. The bags on the bottom half, however, appear shiny and more plastic (Solid Gold’s packaging comes to mind, although the bags appear larger, 30-40lb, perhaps).
Bottom line, I can’t say what it is, or what they are doing (they may be disposing of spoiled food, or moving food to another part of the building) given the info on the tape. However, I do believe it not only possible, but probable, that these are food bags.
More info is needed. Although I will add – seeing how little food gets doled out, combined with hearing how much food Rogers *believes* or *claims* to be doling out, does certainly suggest that at least some food is being, shall we say… redirected?
I would be VERY interested to watch a few videos of the dogs actually being fed.
very good. There is no other way that I know of for them to bring food in except through that door. Who knows. I’m hoping I will get an answer to my email regarding this video. Probably won’t, but I can hope. Sigh…
I’ve watched and re-watched the clip and I’m 95% sure that’s the dog food MAS uses. The weekend the shelter moved, I was one of three volunteers asked to help with the move. My job was to fill the bowls in the adoption/healthy hold areas so as the dogs came in from the old facility, their food would be out and ready for them to eat. And I’m pretty sure those are bags of dog food. Also, that area is where the pallets of dog food were kept when I was volunteering. They would get unloaded in that area, and usually stayed back there, even though there was a “food prep” room between adoption and the stray area, where the dishwashers are located.
Thanks for that clarification. I think 95% of us think it is dog food as well; we’ll just have to wait and see if we get a response….if we don’t, then we know they have something to hide, or just ignore it like everything else. We can only speculate, so if we get no answers, why ask us to voice our opinion on what the video might be if we can’t prove what we think it is? Just sayin
Looks like dog food bags to me. If it is, and is being stolen, no wonder they don’t feed the poor dogs that are unfortunate enough to end up at MAS. They want to keep the food so they can steal it, rather than feed it to the actual innocent dogs who are supposed to get it. When will things change at this place? It seems that every one who is paid to care for these dogs must hate dogs. Watching these videos makes me so angry at these uncaring “humans”.