The Pittsylvania Co pound in Virginia has an 80% kill rate for cats. Pete Boswell, the county’s chief ACO, has an excuse:
Boswell said the county’s shelter picks up feral cats throughout the year, which drives up rates, he said.
It only drives up kill rates if you actually kill the cats. But that’s probably just me being persnickety.
Most cats impounded by Pittsylvania Co get sent to the Danville Area Humane Society. Which has a 93% kill rate for cats. So long frying pan, hello fire. Paulette Dean, the Danville pound’s executive director also has an excuse:
“Have you seen the number of cats we receive?” Dean said via email Friday.
Apparently if you saw the number of cats, you’d be all right with killing 93% of them. Because number.
The Pittsylvania facility has no director and never has had one in its 30 years of existence. The ACOs go out on calls and the pound is unattended while they are in the field. But they’re doing the best they can:
Boswell said the shelter makes every effort to adopt out its animals.
[…]
As for adoptions, Pittsylvania County animal shelter officials promote them by running four photos of animals per week in a local weekly publication, Boswell said.
Four photos. Not one – not two – not three – but FOUR PHOTOS. The county really is doing all the things to save lives. Except TNR. They don’t do that. Because it’s stupid:
“It has not been proven that it reduces the number of cats,” Boswell said. Of course it decreases euthanasia rates if they’re picked up and released back into the wild, Boswell said.
Yeah I mean OF COURSE if you aren’t actually killing the cats, it makes the kill rate go down. That doesn’t mean it’s some kind of good idea or anything.
Pittsylvania Co has 3 ACOs, one of whom has been out sick the past 3 months. If someone wants to adopt or rescue an animal and the place is locked, they have the option of waiting around to see if an ACO shows up. Can’t call because no one is there to answer. Can’t email because no one has time for such tedium, as evidenced by the case of a starving, mangy hound who was picked up by Pittsylvania Co last month and killed while offers to save him were ignored:
[Franklin Co HS director Anita] Scott says she made several attempts to contact the shelter to save the dog but says her calls and emails went unanswered. “So, there was never a reply.”
Boswell claims he didn’t have time between himself and the other officer to respond to Scott’s emails. “The email says “Is this guy going to be released. That’s all it says. The next day I didn’t get to reply due to the work schedule.”
The email did not say DO NOT KILL in red typeface with many exclamation points and the “oh no” emoticon and anyway I can barely squeeze in all the animal killings what with the four photos a week and such.
So many more cupcakes are needed.
(Thanks Clarice for the links.)
Jesus H. Christ. Excuses, much? What a bunch of asshats! And how much do they get paid – with taxpayer funds – to do such a shitty job…?
Did you see this little note from Paulette Dean? “It was so much easier when nobody noticed how many animals we were killing.”
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1124614170885402&id=146862435327252
Sad to see the comments thanking and praising her.
It’s pretty gross, given their extremely high kill rate. If I saw something like this coming from the director of an open admission shelter that wasn’t no kill but that had a live release rate of around 80% and was working to improve, I wouldn’t necessarily have a problem with it. But their KILL rate is around 80%, and she continually uses “open admission” as an excuse for it, as though there’s no such thing as an open admission shelter that doesn’t kill more animals than they save.
I so damned sick of the excuses! They’re a bunch of lazy lying bastards who do nothing to save the animals in their facility! They need to be fired and an entirely new staff put in its place! They’re heartless, ugly, lying, lazy bastards! They should do everything in their power to save, not kill! They’re worthless!
i agree….sometimes i think they “get off” on putting animals down….sad but true…
Well, if they’re so damn busy, how about getting some volunteers to post animals and do adoptions? And just how are they “picking up” all of these “feral” cats, anyway?
So they have a Pet Licensing Fee in Pittsylvania…meaning they get ongoing funding from this revenue stream. YET – check out this portion of their County Code! Dogs can be killed immediately if they do not have a license…without even requiring the ACOs to hold them or post them or try to find the owner!!! The taxpayers need to BUCK UP!!!
SEC. 2-16. KILLING UNLICENSED DOGS.
It shall be the duty of the Animal Control Officer to kill any dog of unknown ownership found
running at large on which license has not been paid; provided,
that the Animal Control Officer may deliver such dog to any person in this county who will pay the required license fee on such dog, with the understanding that should the legal owner thereafter claim the dog and prove his ownership, he may recover such dog by paying to the person to whom it was delivered by the Animal Control Officer, the amount of the license fees paid by him and a reasonable charge for the keep of the dog while in his possession. Any person, Animal Control Officer, or other officer killing a dog under this
chapter shall cremate or bury the same.
Boswell isn’t the “brightest bulb” on the Xmas tree. Implementing TNR would drive feral cat murder rates to nearly zero, and since ferals represent roughly 75% of animals in shelters, well, do the math
P.S. That animal control is the PITTS!
NO animals are buried or cremated. Their poor bodies are tossed onto the landfill and the poor dogs who are murdered are dragged onto the tailgate of a truck surrounded by the dead bodies of their compatriots and then killed. It has to be a horrifying experience. There is NO EXCUSE for this. And its amazing there was time to kill this dog and no time to check emails!!.
Monday afternoon, animal advocates protested in front of the Pittsylvania County Circuit Courthouse.
http://www.godanriver.com/news/pittsylvania_county/animal-welfare-advocates-protest-for-changes-in-pittsylvania-county/article_055289b6-3a47-11e5-823c-df2b547d691a.html
I have often said and posted elsewhere that shelter means protect! So thwerefore I have written tp many kill shelters, providing my thoughts and my wishes for their rapid demise. Our shelter managed to go “no-kill” over 12 years ago and we have never looked back! The killing MUST STOP! Dogs have it all over humans anyway!
Why did they ignore the dog that rescues wanted to save? Hound at the Pittsylvania Co pound who was killed while rescuers offered to save him.
This is disheartening! They have a dog that rescue wants, yet they kill him! There is no excuse! If they would only read their instructions, I bet a lot more animals could be saved! Why did they not mention the dog they killed who had a rescue! Sorry, but I don’t buy their pitiful me excuse! They’re creating their own problems by not taking steps to save the animals! Too busy killing?
How about this beauty: http://devoreshelterfriends.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-state-of-animal-welfare-has-become.html
This was written by Paulette Dean July 30, 2015: http://devoreshelterfriends.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-state-of-animal-welfare-has-become.html
Many shelters do a wonderful job with little financial support. The ACO or dog warden generally puts in unpaid hours. Then you have the pounds, many of them have a nice cushy salary and many paid helpers. The town of Hempstead NY comes to mind. If they don’t like killing the animals in their care they sure put on a good show. NYC kills so many it is mind boggling along with several CA pounds again their kill rates are off the charts. And if you are a rescue and complain you are barred from rescuing. Most state laws do not require that owner turn-ins be given a chance. Many pounds kill the dog before the owner is out of the parking lot. Don’t think PETA is one bit better. Their kill rates are some of the highest in the country. That information coming from the state of VA where their one and only pound is located. If you are discouraged, please go save one. As they say “adopting one won’t change the world, but it will change the world for that one dog”
Paulette Dean says TNR is cruel. I guess she thinks it is easier to kill the cats.
http://wsls.com/2015/08/05/shelter-operators-say-high-euthanasia-rates-caused-by-more-than-overcrowding/
Danville gets cookies and thank you note from PETA. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Danville-Area-Humane-Society/146862435327252
Rats, I predicted cupcakes.
Was there a pool? Shoot, I missed it.
Aw, I made a comment about the cookies on their FB page and got banned. Boo hoo.
Oops – looks like others must have been commenting, too! They pulled the posting down.
Note to DAHS – given the current state of things, advertising that PeTA loves you *may* not be the best idea you’ve ever had. Oh, and when they send you cookies? It means you’re doing it wrong.
Did anyone happen to screencap the posting before the wizard re-closed the curtain? I never got a chance to see it.
Sorry, I didn’t. It was two photos of vegan cookies that PeTA sent in thanks for all that they do. Apparently, the irony whizzed past them…at least until the commenters came!
“Oh, and when they send you cookies? It means you’re doing it wrong.” Well said, mikken!
A little over 2 years ago I decided to adopt from the Danville animal shelter. So once I arrived these old ladies were there just sitting around not doing a damn thing. So when I asked to see the dogs I had my eye on this beautiful poodle/terrier mix. I even had my rat terrier meet her. She was the sweetest dog. So when I filled out their application I got a nasty answer back from Paulette Dean saying I couldn’t afford another dog. And that she wasn’t able to take care of a second one. Then I had an email from the board saying the same thing!! I was very angry and upset knowing this poor dog could have had a perfect life with me. Then I spoke to Paulette a second time and she proceeded to say that the dog I had picked out got adopted. BULLSHIT!!! they are all full of it!!!
How would they know whether you could afford another a dog or not?
After a TV promo, we went to Danville to adopt a pup. What a humiliating experience. Rude nasty people. After filling out the 3-4 page app, 5 days later after releasing our previous dog’s vet records and attempting to explain why our dog died (at 14 yrs.) and why we hadn’t adopted another dog immediately, I got hung up on. Later learned DHS is a PETA place, with that better dead philosophy. I hope we can aspire to a life affirming shelter here in Pittsy and hope DHS changes it’s direction.
Gee your dog died at age 14 – sounds suspicious. And you didn’t immediately get another one – what were you like, attached or something? Def shady.
THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THEIR RUDE BEHAVIOR! I THOUGHT PART OF THEIR JOB IS TO HELP ANIMALS FIIND NEW HOMES! WHY DO THEY ALLOW THESE JERKS TO CONTINUE WORKING! SHELTERS ARE IN ENOUGH TROUBLE WITHOUT EXCUSING THEIR UNACCEPTABLE PERFORMANCE! ANYONE WHO HAS NO RESPECT FOR HIS JOB SHOULD BE TERMINATED!
wait a minute….i thought Danville was a NO KILL shelter?? You mean…it’s NOT???????
I see folks were asking for a screen shot of the #cookiesforkillersfromkillers Here it is: https://www.facebook.com/nokillnowpittsylavania/photos/a.743053865816978.1073741828.743016399154058/745887998866898/?type=1&theater
Thank you Jenn!