WARNING: This post is hidden behind a jump for good reason. It contains text and photos of shelter pet abuse which will disturb you. Not may disturb – not some of you – this post will disturb all of you. None of the images are gratuitous and they all are from a file maintained by the Texas Department of State Health Services. All the images and documents are a matter of public record, available via FOIA request. If you share the story online, please link to this post and not directly to the page below the fold so that readers can decide whether they want to proceed before they actually see any images. There will be an additional warning on the page itself. This material is not appropriate for children.
There is no shame in choosing not to look. If you feel unable to proceed, trust your judgment. We all need to take care of ourselves first so that we can continue to care for others.
Regular readers are familiar with the abuse allegations at the Klein Animal Shelter in Texas which I have covered here, here and here. The text and photos from the Klein facility which I’m posting today are far worse than what has previously appeared on the blog about Klein. I wrestled with the decision about which photos to publish and even whether to publish at all. I lost sleep over these photos. I wished I could “unsee” them and had to carefully consider subjecting my readers to the horror they depict. I ultimately decided to publish because I believe there is significant value in sharing this story. My hope is that it will bring greater awareness to a subject covered regularly here but too often ignored by media and, if it reaches local taxpayers, will motivate them to take action and demand justice for the crimes alleged in these documents and photos. This is why I blog.
(Thank you Stephen Pope for sending me the docs and photos obtained via FOIA request.)
Reblogged this on Hope For Delaware Dogs and commented:
This is beyond horrific. I am warning you, the photos are heartbreaking. They will affect you, even the most hardened of animal welfare veterans. But this type of behavior, taking place in animal “shelters” where humans are entrusted with the care of those without a voice, needs to be looked at, digested and shared. The awareness must be spread. And no way are these isolated incidents. We read/see far too many horror stories everywhere. To say I am sick is an understatement.
(When you click “behind a jump” in the blog, it will take you to a place you really don’t want to go. If you choose to look, please ensure no children are nearby who can see this.)
Can you give us some idea of what type of abuse is shown? To better decide if we can handle it?
Animals that appear to have been illegally killed in view of other animals and left in their cages, dead animals left in cages with live animals, etc.
The mother cat and her kittens. I just can’t even. But, thank you, YesBiscuit, for posting the information. It is vital that the public knows what goes on behind closed doors. Too many “shelters” are getting away with acts of unspeakable cruelty.
What can we in other states and countries do? Is there a petition? Are there folks working there on the scene we can support? Are there any formal charges?
I am the reporter that gave YesBiscuit the some information and the docs and photos. To get a sense of the despicable horror you kind of have to read her report. She lists contact information for the city officials, but I would add two others. Shelter board president Jennifer Lee who was told about the abuse back in 2013 by a health department vet, yet didn’t do ANYTHING to stop it and Debbie Griffin the board secretary. jen@designpluspromos.com and Debbie’s email tomdeb1835@yahoo.com
It looks like Jennifer lee’s email has something to do with an ad agency in Jacksonville, Tx. I hope that EVERY SINGLE ONE of the clients, and prospective clients are told about the SHITTY HORRIBLE things that happened at the hellhole Jennifer Lee was overseeing. I hope Design Plus Promos and Jennifer Lee, in Jacksonville, Texas suffers – even if she isn’t the owner of the business. Even if she only does web design for Design Plus Promos, other companies (it looks like Beard Auction Gallery, and holy crap, the East Texas Agility Training facility – do all those dog owners know that Jennifer Lee was contracted to do the web design for them?!, and a company called Pandora’s Box – that’s almost funny, considering the evils that were let loose from that ancient story, compared with the evils that Jennifer Lee knew about at the Klein hellhole. I truly hope the news outlets in the area are naming names, and even showing photos of every person who was involved in the atrocities – they should know what kind of monsters they’ve been doing business with!!
Jennifer Lee IS the owner of the web design company. Like I have previously written, it doesn’t include bookkeeping for which she charged the shelter and it paid her over 4k for such services. If you take a careful look at her web designs, ask yourself: Would I want a website designed by that company? I have no idea if the companies doing business know the depth of her complicity in the shelter torture and cruelty. That might be a good question to get answered.
Sorry, but I can’t handle that kind of abuse right now. Thanks for putting yourself through that, though. I normally would get involved, but need to take care of me and my pets here. It needs to be out in the open before something will change. I applaud you who are working the front lines. To Stephen Pope, thank you for not looking the other way. Are there news stories that we could read without the graphic photographs?
Yeah you can take a look at, and I even hate to say it, the Jacksonville Daily Progress. They are a freaking gossip column that calls themselves a “newspaper.” They did a gloss over but you will get some sort of an idea by reading their crap. Just Google Klein Animal Shelter. The reports from KLTV are decent.
Again, and I have said this many times before, we need to be writing letters to the editor, tv news channel and the city council of this town to let them know that we on the outside are watching and aware. Even if they do not print our letters they need to receive them so that they know there are 1000’s if not millions of people who do not find this kind of behavior the least bit acceptable. Thank you for your reporting of this and for posting the email addresses as well.
Well the only local newspaper is published several times a week and they don’t care. In my opinion it’s a gossip column. They print press releases as front page news!!!You have to remember, Jacksonville is a small rural community. For instance, Jennifer Lee and Debbie Skillern Griffin went to the local high school together, based on my investigation. Also while I can’t confirm it, but I believe it to be true, Lee is well connected with city officials because of her husband’s insurance business. They are all local small time cronies.
That isn’t a shelter, that is a torture and death camp — obviously run by a monstrous psychopathic sadist. The horrors depicted in those pictures only worsens the thought that this repulsive foul person, Wallace, is probably still lumbering freely amongst other animals and humans in her community, Unfortunately, it is illegal to give her what she so sorely deserves — so the alternative is to lock that monstrosity up in the deepest, darkest hole that can be found in Texas and throw away the key.
Shelter has been CLOSED!!! And the two workers in question arrested and charged!!! Great news! Hope they both spend a lot of time behind bars.