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City officials respond to complaints about Animal Shelter

Monday, April 23, 2012

TALLADEGA — City Manager Brian Muenger and Public Works Director Karen Phillips responded Wednesday to a long list of complaints from a citizen regarding conditions at the Animal Shelter.

Animal control has been under the supervision of the Public Works Department since 2010, when it was taken out of the Police Department.

Stephanie Engle said she and her teenage daughters visited the shelter this April 14 and 15, while it was closed.

“I understand that Animal Control falls under a different department banner,” Engle wrote in an email. “I am willing to help build a better system for the animals, a no-kill shelter, solicit needed materials, fundraise, etc., but the funds will have to be restricted for the animals. Under the current system, money raised for the shelter can be allocated for another use.”

Engle said she and her daughters are avid animal lovers. “We had visited the shelter on previous occasions and had some concern until we met Jessica Jones, who heads Animal Control, whom we felt did the best job possible with minimal resources and questionable help.”

Jones is currently on bed rest due to a pregnancy.

The Engles visited the shelter Saturday, and looked at the outdoor pens. In the first, they reported seeing an emaciated but friendly Chihuahua, a group of puppies in a corner growling and cocker spaniel with matted fur and wearing a makeshift collar with matted fur. The second pen contained a hound with puppies, as well as some mixed breed puppies, all of which she said appeared to be malnourished. The third pen was empty, and the fourth contained two large mixed breed male dogs. She said the water buckets were attached to the fence with plastic strips that she said “they could not be easily removed, cleaned and refilled. Most were empty, but the buckets that did have water had dead insects and algae growing in them…Further, newly weaned puppies cannot reach the water once the buckets are half empty.”

Phillips explained the buckets are attached to the fence so they cannot be knocked over. The employees cut the flex-ties to remove, clean and refill the bowls, then put another flex tie on to keep the buckets upright when no one is there.

Engle said she saw only two food bowls, both of which had maggots in them. All of the pens were filled with feces, and two of the pens lacked adequate shade.

Phillips responded the outdoor pens are normally covered by a tarpaulin which had been damaged in a recent storm, and that there are more dog houses in the pens than there were dogs. The pens are cleaned and the dogs are fed and watered daily, including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. “I worked on Christmas day myself,” she said. During the spring and summer months, there are also large baby pools placed in each pen to help keep the dogs cool.

Engle said she and her daughters then left and came back with food and water. They fed the dogs and left about 4:15 p.m., returning Sunday morning. Again not finding anyone there, they purchased more food and came back. At 10:40 a.m., there was a truck outside and a stream of water coming from inside the shelter. After banging on the door of the shelter, the employee eventually opened to the door.

She said she was given keys to the pens, placed some additional dog houses, washed out the water buckets and filled them back up, cleaned up the feces and walked the mother hound. The worker left to go on a police call and locked the door to the indoor kennels, but Engel said she found a door to a storage area inside. They took the mother hound inside and gave her a bath. They also clipped, walked and bathed the cocker spaniel.

Inside, she said she found cats and kittens with litter boxes filled with excrement and “four large, ‘roly-poly’ mixed breed pups in a smallish, elevated pink crib-type cage. This was upsetting as caging animals in elevated pens damaged their legs and feet.”

The cats and kittens are fed, watered and the boxes scooped every day, and that the raised cage is to keep puppies that may have parvo, to limit their exposure to their own feces. The cat room has also been renovated, with no climate control systems, new lighting and new cabinets, Phillips said,

Engle also said, “These dogs were not moved outdoors when their kennels were being cleaned—we were there. As far as we know, the kennel was disinfected and sprayed with a high powered nozzle while the animals were in the cage.”

This is absolutely untrue, Phillips said. The dogs are moved into empty pens while their pens are pressure washed and disinfected on a daily basis.

Engle drove the sick puppy to a veterinarian in Lincoln, who speculated that it might have parvo, worms or a secondary infection. The puppy died that night.

The employee who left on the police call never returned, she added.

Muenger responded to Engle’s complaint with a lengthy email of his own.

“Upon receiving this complaint I conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility and found conditions that are at a level that I considered to be humane. I am unable to speak to the condition of the shelter on the individual days in question as I was not present, but I can certify to the fact that the facility has staff assigned to the duties of cleaning and feeding each Saturday and Sunday,” he wrote. “I would like to take this opportunity to detail the Animal Control operation in order to properly frame the discussion of these issues. The Animal Control facility is a function of the city that seeks to address the issues of animal neglect, vicious animals, and animals running at large within the city limits. The city is engaged in a contract with Talladega County that stipulates that the city will provide Animal Control to all unincorporated areas of Talladega County. This contract totals $63,227.60 annually. The enforcement in the county centers primarily on animal neglect or abandonment and vicious animals, as Talladega County does not have a leash law in place to regulate domesticated animals running at large. The facility has a capacity to handle approximately 20-25 cats at a given time, 20-30 dogs depending on size. On average Animal Control takes in approximately 215 animals each month from the city and county. These animals are taken in either by Animal Control officers, or in some cases surrendered to Animal Control by owners. The disparity in our intake levels versus our capacity has necessitated the construction of outdoor facilities to increase capacity so that the facility can meet the holding requirements set forth by state law and our city ordinance.”

Muenger goes on to say, “During 2011 the facility took in 2,440 animals in total, 234 of which were transferred to rescue agencies or adopted out to private citizens. The city has actively partnered with a number of outside agencies in an attempt to increase the live release rate of the facility, these include Misfits and Mutts, Adopt Golden Atlanta, ADAR of Tuscaloosa, Soft Bark Double Dog, AMAL, All American Dachshund, Ark Incorporated of Huntsville, and the Birmingham Boston Terrier organization. These associations have proven fruitful, with one of the most notable success stories occurring in March 2011 when Soft Back Double Dog was able to successfully place 80 of our rescue animals. The facility currently holds any unidentified animal for seven calendar days prior to offering it for adoption, a policy that complies with state regulation on the matter. After this period of holding is met the animals are analyzed based on general health and temperament prior to being offered for adoption. In an effort to control the animal population of the area all adopted animals are provided with a certificate for either spaying or neutering, and the adopting owner must certify that they will complete this procedure. It is unfortunate necessity that many of the animals that the facility takes in are euthanized, either due to health issues or inability to place the animal with a permanent or foster home. As referenced previously, the sheer volume of animals taken into the facility allows little choice in this matter. The facility is currently staffed by an Animal Control supervisor, three animal control officers and a receptionist. We also retain the services of a certified veterinarian, Dr. David Hillman, who provides medical care as needed and also performs the spay and neutering procedures on adopted animals. The city does not utilize volunteer labor on site due to liability issues, but does encourage volunteerism by way of fostering adoptable dogs and assisting with transport to rescue facilities. The public operating hours of the facility are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with time allotted prior and after for the cleaning of the facility and distribution of food and water to the animals. An officer is assigned to the facility each Saturday and Sunday to attend to the duties of distributing food and water and cleaning the facility.”

The email goes on to say, “Numerous capital improvements have taken place at the facility in recent years, most notably the construction of outdoor pens to increase capacity and the remodeling of the ‘cat room’ within the facility. The most recently approved Capital Improvement Plan includes a budget of $20,500.00 for the improvement of the facility ventilation system, replacement of damaged kennel gates within the facility, and the construction of 30 foot by 40 concrete outdoor dog runs. As they have in the past Talladega County has agreed to partner with the city on these improvements, contributing half of the funds needed for these improvements. Although the facility is severely burdened by the number of animals taken in, it is my hope that these upcoming improvements will improve the holding conditions and help to make the facility more appealing to visitors. The operational budget of the Animal Control for the current fiscal year is $183,600.00, an increase of 12 percent over the operational budget from the 2008-2009 fiscal year. $108,200.00 of this budget is allocated to personnel, $54,700.00 towards general services to include repair and maintenance of the facility and vehicles, utilities, medical supplies, and veterinary services. The remaining $20,700.00 is allocated towards food, cleaning supplies and fuel costs. Donations are frequently given to the facility from individuals and local businesses, ranging from supplies and food, to monetary contributions. As a matter of accounting these are recorded as revenue and placed in the general fund, which in turn funds the Animal Control operating budget.”

“As mentioned previously,” he continued, “I am unable to personally rebuff the claims set forth in the citizen complaint, I can only say that personnel was assigned to the facility on that day as they are each weekend. I have made contact with the veterinarian mentioned in the correspondence, Dr. David Hillman, who as previously mentioned serves as the veterinarian of record for our facility. When questioned as to the position of the dog taken from the facility he indicated that it suffered from both worms and possibly parvo, causing its demise. It is an unfortunate reality that many of the animals that are captured or surrendered to the facility are in poor health, this is not an uncommon occurrence, to surmise that the medical state of the animal is a result of neglect on the part of the Animal Control is a reckless assumption. As to the question of whether the shelter discontinues feeding of animals leading up to euthanasia being administered, again, this is a statement that has no basis in fact. The facility is funded to a degree that allows for proper nutrition of all animals in our care and that care is administered throughout their tenure at the facility. I believe the city is taking steps to improve the facility and will continue to do so…The city is open to all partnerships that further our goal of attaining a higher live release rate.”

Adoption rates are currently $85 for dogs and $75 for cats, Muenger said. “This includes a certificate for to spay or neuter the animal. In considering these fees please note that the departmental cost of providing for the spaying or neutering of the animal is $80for dogs and $70 for cats, so in reality, the vast majority of this fee simply serves to offset those costs. These rates are competitive with surrounding facilities. As of March 2011 the Pell City facility was a flat $125 adoption fee for dogs and cats, Anniston has a fee of $90 for dogs and cats, and the Shelby County Humane Society featured a fee of $135 for dogs and $115 for cats. Surveys conducted at that same time of private clinics showed that local veterinary clinics charged between $135 and $180 for these services on dogs and between $70 and $120 for cats.”

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Keywords: Talladega, animal shelter, complaints, conditions, Public Works, animal control,

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