In 2009, a woman wrote a letter to Klein Animal Shelter in Texas and sent copies to the AC offices in the cities of Jacksonville and Tyler as well as Smith Co – all of which contracted with Klein. In the letter, she mourned the needless death of a kitten she had adopted from Klein. Klein sold her as a 9 week old kitten but the adopter’s vet said she was actually a severely malnourished 4 month old. The kitten, named Twiggy by the adopter, succumbed to the effects of starvation just 4 days after the adoption. In the letter, the woman asked that Klein re-examine its practices and stated that Twiggy would have been better off on the street than at Klein. In 2015, three employees of the facility were arrested and charged with animal cruelty.
Case update: Two ACOs from Orange Co, CA who slit an injured deer’s throat while refusing help from a veterinarian at the scene have been fired from their jobs. The DA declined to bring charges against either man. (Thank you Clarice for the link.)
Case update: In an agreement with prosecutors, the animal cruelty charges against the former director of the Hunterdon Co Humane Animal Shelter in NJ will be dropped in 12 months so long as she gives up managerial control of the facility and agrees to other unnamed conditions. She will remain on the board and continue fundraising for the wealthy organization. (Thanks Clarice.)
Two of the dogs “rescued” from the troubled Helmetta pound in NJ were sent to the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area where they were reportedly killed for behavior despite evaluations from a behaviorist who determined the dogs were not aggressive outside their cages. (Thanks Clarice.)
An ACO from the Memphis pound was called to help stray dogs living at an abandoned property near Mayor Wharton’s home. One of the dogs was reportedly in desperate need of veterinary care. The ACO initially refused to do her job and only finally removed the one dying dog after an animal advocate begged her for help. But when the local news called the mayor’s office about the story, Memphis ACOs were quickly sent to the property where they captured one dog and set traps for the remainder. The ACOs will supposedly monitor the traps so the dogs don’t suffer and/or freeze to death in the inclement weather. (Thanks to everyone who sent me this story.)
Hunt Co, TX – Some manly man with a gun shot his neighbor’s two dogs when they came into his yard, photographed their bodies, then bragged about it on Facebook. He has been suspended from his job with the Union Valley Fire Department and a county constable is investigating the case. (Thanks Mike.)
A therapy dog who visits veterans in a transitional housing program in Pittsburgh uses his whole body to help heal people he meets. (Thanks Steve.)
Your comment on the Hunterdon case is at odds with several of Paul Mulshine’s pieces. According to him, the prime mover in the case is the fact that the NJ SPCA wants to get their hands on the $5 million. That fits with what I know of the cops and robbers mentality of the NJ SPCA. Small games for little boys.
I don’t follow how my comment “is at odds with”… Is it not accurate that the person charged will have the charges against her dropped in 12 months if she meets the conditions?
Frankly, I’m surprised that the deer killers got any sort of consequences. As I recall, didn’t they first cut the deer’s leg off while it was fully conscious? That poor vet must have been hideously traumatized by the whole thing.
MAS…amazing how they LEAP to action once they find out that the Mayor lives across the street. I do hope that those traps are properly monitored, but I wouldn’t put money on it.
Klein…there are just no words for how messed up that place has been for so damn long without anyone bothering to look into it. I guess “concerned citizens” rate not at all there.
The therapy dog was nice.
The NJ SPCA should be ashamed of themselves for choosing to use kill shelters and defenders in their Receivorship of the Helmetta Regional Animal Shelter. They brought in the anti-no kill AHA and hired ex-HSUS employee Niki Dawson who has a sordid history in these savior type of situations. In 2010, she came to Liberty Humane Society during an overcrowding situation and many animals were killed. And guess what? A respected local dog trainer’s evaluations were ignored.
http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/9227925/article-Debate-over-killing-animals-at-shelter-25-dogs-euthanized-in-last-month–new-board-works-on-problems-?instance=lead_story_left_column
In the Helmetta situation, Niki Dawson sent these dogs, which included 3 pit bull like dogs, to a kill shelter in Harrisburg, Pa which admits it has “so many pit bulls.” The sad thing is many local groups would have helped these dogs with any behavioral rehabilitation if Niki Dawson and the NJ SPCA pleaded for help given all the media attention. Similarly, the public would have easily donated the $10,000 to send these two dogs to a sanctuary if they actually were aggressive (evaluations conducted by a certified behaviorist 17 days before leaving Helmetta and volunteer experiences indicated these dogs were not aggressive).
However, the NJ SPCA is in all “don’t criticize” and “let’s all get along” mode even though they just needlessly killed two healthy dogs.
https://www.facebook.com/njspca/posts/1069810683053247