On Tuesday, while P.A.P.A. volunteers were retrieving 8 small dogs from the shelter for their escape to New Hampshire by plane, Sharon Gold from "HopeForPaws" was walking the kennel with Denise Callaway, the kennel supervisor, carrying a clipboard. They identified 41 dogs who Sharon chose for her "road trip" to Montana on May 23rd. Local rescuers had been in discussions with Sharon to coordinate a mass transport, and Sharon took the ball and ran with it. Due to her efforts, 41 dogs were pulled out of the shelter on May 22 and are now on the road to safety.
Unfortunately, even with 8 dogs leaving together on May 18 and a list of 41 more who would be leaving on May 22, the shelter elected to euthanize more dogs for space on May 18 and May 19. The list of dogs that were killed included a 3 month old pit bull puppy named "Honey" who had a new safe no-kill shelter and arranged transport waiting for her...and "probably" an Interested Party Hold. When asked to identify all the dogs euthanized on those two dates, the shelter was silent, so P.A.P.A. has issued a request under the California Public Records Act.
As a public facility staffed by public employees, the shelter is supposed to operate with complete transparency. The animals in the shelter's care are OUR animals and WE are responsible to see that they are treated with care and compassion and given every opportunity to find new forever homes. The only way for us to know how well we are meeting their needs is with the information being sought. Good, bad, or ugly, there should have been nothing threatening about providing data if we ALL share the same vision.
The animals need and deserve our best efforts. We will review the records and then create a "report card"...identifying the areas of strength and where, as a community of animal advocates, we can make improvements. Stay tuned for updates...
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