Council to question shelter agency

Advocate staff photo by HEATHER MCCLELLAND -- Former employees of the nonprofit Companion Animal Alliance have alleged improper conduct at the facility in Baton Rouge. Representatives of the agency will face questioning by the East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council on Wednesday.

The leaders of a nonprofit group that took charge of what used to be a publicly run animal shelter 15 months ago will face the East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council on Wednesday to answer questions about complaints from former employees alleging what they claim is potentially illegal activity.

A group of former employees of the Companion Animal Alliance said they frequently witnessed unlicensed personnel performing medical tasks, such as euthanizing animals and prescribing medicine, in violation of state regulations. Some said they were fired for standing up to Kim Sherlaw, the agency’s third director, about what they perceived to be deteriorating conditions.

But Christel Slaughter, CAA board president, said employees have not knowingly violated any laws or regulations, and defended Sherlaw, saying she has been an effective leader.

“We truly do not believe any instances where anyone has acted improperly or done anything against the law,” Slaughter said. “It’s possible people made mistakes, that protocol wasn’t followed, but it was certainly not our intention.”

The allegations by former CAA staff members were outlined in a letter to the CAA board in September and filed with the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine in October. Dr. Amy Cangelosi said she was dismissed from her position as a part-time veterinarian at the shelter after filing the complaint with the state board, but Slaughter said her termination was not related to the letter.

Current staff members wrote a separate “open letter to the community” dated Nov. 10 in response to the allegations, calling them “completely false.”

The letter, signed by 20 CAA employees, stated: “Their efforts to undermine CAA were, and continue to be, an enormous detriment to our ability to care for the animals and find them loving forever homes.”

Three of the CAA employees whose names appeared on the letter — Derrick Hoenig, Robin Prestridge and Lily Yap — separately contacted The Advocate saying they wanted their names withdrawn from the response letter because they prefer to remain neutral. Seven of those who signed the letter are recent hires, joining the CAA since September.

Dr. Marianne Fairchild, a veterinarian who worked with the shelter for 13 years, said she resigned in October because the CAA has not improved shelter conditions from how it was run under the city-parish’s control.

“If anything, conditions worsened,” Fairchild said. “It’s terribly difficult to see every program you’ve established over the past decade be undone.”

However, others, like Jessica Card, director of the animal welfare organization Yelp!BR, made favorable comments about how the CAA is operating the shelter. Card said her organization typically stays neutral but she felt compelled to speak out in support of the CAA and Sherlaw.

“I have seen great improvements at the shelter,” Card said. “I also know that Kim Sherlaw would never mistreat an animal and the accusations against her are absurd. If CAA loses Kim Sherlaw, the animals of Baton Rouge will suffer greatly.”

But Melanie Scott, an intake supervisor who was with CAA since it started in August 2011 and quit Oct. 29, said animals are already suffering. She said the agency has become so unorganized under Sherlaw that healthy animals were being euthanized too soon and sick animals were left suffering too long.

Debbie Pearson, the former interim director who preceded Sherlaw, said animal protocols were being ignored, leading to disease outbreaks in cats and to dogs seriously injuring one another because they shouldn’t be penned together. Pearson was fired in September.

Since May, Sherlaw’s first full month, 158 cats or dogs have died of something other than euthanasia at the animal shelter, which former employees say is indicative of illnesses spreading among the animals.

In the previous six months, which were primarily under Pearson’s watch, only 46 animals died that way. The information was compiled by The Advocate from “raw and unedited” information that Scott said she pulled from the CAA database.

The data also suggest that the saved animal rate, which accounts for animals adopted, returned to owner or transferred to another city, reached its peak while under Pearson at 63 percent in January.

Since Sherlaw took over, the monthly saved animal rate has been between 34 and 55 percent. CAA claims it’s been able to maintain a monthly save rate of 50 percent.

Slaughter said summer months are breeding months, which is why euthanasia rates have been higher in recent months. She added that even a 40 percent save rate is a significant improvement over what the city-parish was able to accomplish when it was in control of the shelter.

Slaughter notes that since CAA took over operations from the city-parish, hours have been extended, the overall euthanasia rate has decreased, staff has increased and more than $650,000 in private donations have been raised. The organization is also responsible for thousands of dollars of capital improvements in the old facility including kennel repairs, air conditioning units and roof repairs.

Jenny Teed, a veterinary technician, said the employees who are making allegations about the CAA were the ones causing the problems.

“Those were the people in charge of the things they’re complaining about and they’re trying to place blame on the director and whoever else,” Teed said.

The city-parish animal shelter used to be publicly run until the CAA took over because it had concerns with high euthanasia rates. Since then, it has been the subject of two investigations by parish Animal Control including one last month that found “serious structural insufficiencies” and a “lack of qualified supervisors.”

Animal Control Director Hilton Cole said he did not investigate allegations of illegal activity because it’s out of his agency’s purview and he knew the state board was investigating.

But he said he made note of the allegations in the report, because he thought it important for the Metro Council to be aware.

“What my staff and I are observing are structural insufficiencies ... a lack of certified euthanasia technicians, a lack of qualified supervisors in the field,” Cole said. “There’s no doubt that there’s structural problems in the shelter and the reason is that Kim Sherlaw has terminated the experienced employees with institutional knowledge.”

Since September, nine employees either have been fired or resigned. The agency, which maintains about 25 to 30 employees at a time, has had 86 different employees in total over the past 15 months since the CAA took control of the operation from the city-parish.

Comments

1) Comment by lcw - 15/11/2012

Of all of the past and present employees and volunteers at the shelter over the past few years, there is literally only one person who never got involved in the drama that has brought such chaos to the shelter since CAA took over, never got involved in the "politics", never let her own personal issues and/or ego get in the way of focusing on what was best for the animals. None of these "advocates", past employees, current employees, or board members have more knowledge of shelter medicine than this person, and none of them have stayed true to their primary purpose, without fail, and was always 100 percent selfless in her work. She is the most honest, frank, and realistic person to have been involved at the shelter... and what she has to say deserves the utmost respect. She stayed as long as she could, with absolutely NO 'agenda'. That person is Dr Marianne Fairchild. When she publicly gives her observation of the situation at the shelter, people should listen and take note. "If anything, conditions worsened,", Fairchild said. The fact that she finally resigned speaks volumes about the mess that CAA has created. And Debbie is right, Mr Cole's average save rate was NOT 20 percent the last year he was there, as CAA consistently claims. One of the council members stated earlier that Mr Cole would never have let the shelter get like this. I agree. It is such a shame that people can't get past their own irrational ideologies enough to see the inhumanity that exists here. Until they stop playing politics with the animals lives (yes - the No Kill Movement is very political), these conditions will continue to decline. It's very sad to see innocent creatures suffer as a result of all of this craziness.

2) Comment by whoanowgal - 14/11/2012

I ‘ve been a deeply committed animal advocate for almost 40 yrs, having paid “dues” most could not imagine – I was a Friends of the Animals volunteer/Board member & jumped at the opportunity to assist even before CAA took over with the excited prospect of CAA improving the lot for our community’s animals- Sadly, Ms Hinze the first Director had no relevant experience & thought you could become No Kill by simply not killing as the No Kill manifesto advises. There is much more to the equation that was not put in place & it was a quick crash ‘n burn. I was asked to serve as Interim Director & soon found how hot that seat is- nobody is ever happy with the difficult decisions that must be made daily but they must be made- Integrity dictates ( if you listen to it) that one does the Right things by both animals & citizens. These things are not always the political or popular ones. I ‘ve never personally taken credit for any of the success our team achieved – in fact our “save rate” was not very much higher than that under Mr Cole. This approx 60-65% success rate was due in large measure to rescuers, both individual & groups and teamwork! (Mr Cole’s avg. save rate was NOT 20% as is oft stated.) Using recent CAA numbers the current “save rate” is only 35 to-50%. Why is it slipping backwards when more money and more support has been thrown at it? If true numbers are made public - progress, or lack thereof, towards No Kill can be measured. But if it is your animal that is impounded, dies in a shelter epidemic or gets hidden away from you -the only number that will matter is the ONE pet that you won’t see again. Much misinformation, “spin” and even outright fabrications are widely circulating about past & present Shelter Operations. Some of the most honest, selfless & dedicated animal people I‘ve known stepped forward recently to try to expose deception, animal neglect verging on outright cruelty, legal violations, & mismanagement of resources & personnel at CAA. They had nothing to gain and most lost their jobs as a result. I was shocked that high profile leaders stepped forward to save face by outright lying to the press, the Council and to the public. CAA has the right to make terrible mistakes but not to violate the trust given to them by our City Parish to be the arbiters of OUR community's animals once impounded. Debbie Pearson

3) Comment by Lynn210 - 14/11/2012

Hearing rumblings of Debbie Pearson taking credit for lower euthanisia rates. Oh PLEASE Debbie, don't you dare start a war here! You can thank volunteers, rescue groups, sponsors for the animals for that...you had absolutely nothing to do with it, and you know it. Please don't pat yourself on the back unless you want to rehash other things happening in the stray room. Careful, please!

4) Comment by mrsgrenat - 14/11/2012

The new organization was created because of the mismanagement and mass slaughter of our companion animals in the first place. I volunteered at the shelter before CAA took over and during both Laura Hinze and Debbie Pearson's reigns. The discussion isn't the increase in taxpayer dollars, but the allocation of funds. Hilton Cole talked himself and Animal Control into the larger chunk of the budget leaving the sheltering side with scraps. If you go to the facility, you will see an extreme disconnect with the priority system of the treatment of our city's animals. Animal Control has a huge, state of the art facility complete with a huge training room, conference rooms, offices, etc. Then take a walk over to the shelter side and it's like entering a third world country. The Animal Control side mass- collects animals...to the tune of about 13,000 (plus or minus) and the shelter is only adopting out or returning to owner about 2800 a year. They kill on average 10,000 animals a year! These figures are not exact and are based on past year's performances, but this is to give the general public an idea of the crisis our city is facing. The shelter/animal control facility is in an incovenient, inaccessible part of town near the BR Airport and barbed-wired prison. If you lose your pet in Zachary, Central, South Baton Rouge, you aren't likely to think that someone dog or cat-napped it and shipped it all the way to N. Baton Rouge. The stray hold period is ONLY THREE DAYS. In three days time you may have put out fliers, placed an ad in the classifieds and started walking your neighborhood, but you probably have no idea that your tax-funded dollars paid to have a white van come and nab your pet, take it to this remote location and then kill it. it is criminal. The officers should be taking proactive measures IN THE FIELD to find the owners of these animals. The shelter facility only holds roughly 400 animals. The majority of the budget is going to collecting and killing...while the animals stuffed in cages are dying in their cages without adequate medical treatment and basic food and water. This has been going on before CAA took over and, sadly, since they've taken over. The priorities need to be straightened out here. There needs to be a system of checks and balances put into place. The city needs to build a centralized shelter that can adequately serve the number of citizens in this parish. There are more than enough adopters for these animals...often mislabled as unhealthy/untreatable/unadoptable because it makes their "save rate" look good. It is a disgrace that CAA is claiming credit for the lower kill numbers. That credit needs to go to the animal rescue and volunteer groups like Friends of the Animals, Project Purr, Yelp, Northside Humane and the others who work their tails off (FOR FREE) to save these animals lives. WAKE UP BATON ROUGE. To sit silently by while this is happening makes us just as guilty as the system responsible for these unnecessary deaths. We have GOT to stop finger-pointing at individuals. We as a collective group are responsible for this and, therefore, must collectively work to change this broken system.

5) Comment by Deme - 14/11/2012

****Comment Removed for Violation of Terms of Use****

6) Comment by phil - 14/11/2012

The solution to this never was to create a new organization with another level of administration costs including salaries. Plain and simple - it is usually more expensive overall to run 2 separate facilities that do the same or similar jobs. Unfortunately we are just wasting more and more tax money. The "no kill" concept needs to be implemented as much as possible, and I think we all can agree with that. The problem I think is - there a just too many pets and not enough people to own and feed them. The solution seems to be to stress having pets "fixed" in order to reduce the population, and also to make all puppy mills illegal. We have created a system that makes a lot of money on pets with some people who are just interested in making a fast buck, and could care less about the animals. That needs to end.

7) Comment by Being_Stupid - 14/11/2012

I disagree with the notion that people do not care about animals. Everybody I know, cares about animals. I have never met a person that did not like animals.

8) Comment by Stephen - 14/11/2012

Agree with gmanderson and Country Boys. Entirely too many people try to have pets. They cannot do it. Please stop promoting pet ownership for everyone. A great majority cannot have a dog. They do not have the resources.

9) Comment by Belle261 - 14/11/2012

When does the community take notice at the true problem of this whole fiasco. It is not the director Kim Sherlaw or her current employees. Ms. Sherlaw came in and set out to organize a shelter that was being run haphazardly. I have been to the shelter when it was under the city, former director Laura Hines, and former interm director Debbie Pearson, and now the current director Kim Sherlaw.Since Ms, Sherlaw took the directors position, I see more organization, cleaner kennels and runs, happier animals, and employees show that they ARE out to make the shelter better are very welcoming. Before casting the first stone go out to the shelter and volunteer, shampoo the animals, walk the dogs, it will be the most rewarding time you ever had. I have personally seen Ms. Sherlaw, and Paula Shaw, and Ms. Teed taking care of the animals. They are kind and gentle, not monsters like portrayed. Get a grip Baton Rouge, the shelter needs support. Let the director do her job and stop the witch hunt.

10) Comment by Duckyluve - 14/11/2012

Sounds like a disgruntled ex employee. The Ebr council doesn't have the brain power to run this center, maybe that can be bones' new job since he can't screw up the council anymore

11) Comment by CountryBoysCanSurvive - 14/11/2012

Our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. I am going to share a little insight with you all...a "view from the inside"- if you will. First off, any of you whom have surrendered a pet to a shelter or humane society should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter - for just ONE DAY. That puppy you just dropped off will most-likely end up in my shelter when it's no longer a cute little puppy anymore. Just so you know, there's a 90% chance that your dog will never walk out back out, once entered in to the shelter system... Purebred or not! About 25% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays" that come into a shelter are purebred dogs. The most common excuses: "We're moving and can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving to that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her & we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog". Odds are, your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think it is for your pet? Did you know... Your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off? Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog/cat manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it is euthanized. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with other barking & crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and will cry constantly for you. If your pet is lucky, there will be enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If not, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of it's pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. If your cat is scared and doesn't act friendly enough, or if it catches a cold (which most of them 'do'), it will be put to sleep. Those dogs & cats just don't get adopted. In most cases, it doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are. If your pet doesn't get adopted within it's 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your pet is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long. Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because the shelter gets paid a fee to euthanize each animal and making money is better than spending money to take this animal to the vet. Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down". First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk... happy, wagging their tails...until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when they get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there. It's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 shelter workers, depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a shelter worker who we call a "euthanasia tech (not a vet)" finds a vein in the front leg and injects a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerks. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood... the yelps and screams are deafening. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. You see, shelters are trying to make money to pay employee pay checks and then, there's the board of directors...who need to be paid too! Consequently, corners are cut, & we don't spend our funds to tranquilize the animal before injecting them with the lethal drug, we just put the burning lethal drug in their vein and let them suffer until dead. In the end, your pet's corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer, usually in the back of the building with all of the other animals that were killed. There they will sit until being picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? rendered into pet food? Or used for schools to dissect and experiment on? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. After all, it was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?! I hope that those of you who still have a beating heart and have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head. I deal with this everyday. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make changes and start educating yourselves, your children, the public. Do the research, do your homework, and know exactly what you are getting into before getting a pet. These shelters and humane societies exist because people just do not care about animals anymore. Animals were not intended to be disposable but somehow that is what they've become.

12) Comment by spqr - 14/11/2012

Someone needs to dig deeper and speak to volunteers throughout the city. Those in charge of the shelter are not approachable, pay some based on the number animals caught, are not operating in the best interests of the animals, and kill helpless dogs and cats over things as simple as ear mites-easily treatable, but ignored in the absence of a vet. It is as political as it is sad. Dig! Ask the volunteers!

13) Comment by gmanderson - 14/11/2012

Good people all. Very bad problem: too many unwanted pets, too few resources. Until this problem is faced, all will be dissent. Thanks to Dr Marianne and Dr Amy for all they have done for the animals.