Dawn
10-07-2003, 09:08 AM
Hey Everyone, this was just sent to me & I thought you should all see it.
I am sending a letter right now. Please if you live in the Dallas area see what you can do, and if you don't - please write or email a letter letting them know how you feel.
This is intolerable! They are supposed to get animals off the streets to stop their suffering! In this case they are better off roaming the streets. This absolutely sickens me!
This information was released on the Internet. We are copying the post that we received.
Horrors at Dallas Animal Control Shelters
The City of Dallas' Animal Control Shelters were assessed by the Humane Society of the United States four months ago. There has been a turn of events since which has impacted the community greatly. Please keep up with the news as it breaks. Email for more info: [email protected]
Local Rescuer Denied Permission to Save Dogs and Cats at Dallas City Shelter
The dogs and cats of Dallas need your help. The Dallas Animal Control, which was recently blasted in a 121-page report by the Humane Society of the United States, has responded to criticism not by attempting to improve conditions at its facilities, but by denying access to the one hope most of the over 40,000 animals who pass through it each year have...Lisa Lipton.
Animals who enter the shelter have 72 hours to be reclaimed by their owners and are then euthanized or made available for adoption. A shamefully low number of these animals are adopted by the public--less than 700 last year--and even fewer are reclaimed by their owners. Rescue groups saved over 1,100 animals from this shelter last year. Obviously, Dallas is a shelter in need of all the help it can get.
Lisa Lipton is a rescuer who has worked tirelessly for several years taking pictures of animals at the shelter and emailing them to local rescue groups who, due to time and distance constraints, cannot visit the shelter on a regular basis. She walks the shelter several time a week, spending countless hours of her own time to do something that few people are willing to do. Her work has done more for the animals of Dallas than that of any other single person or group in years.
And now the shelter wants to shut her down. Lisa's work is done mostly after the shelter closes, because she works a full-time job during the day and can't get there until after the shelter closes (at 5pm). Caring staff members frequently stay late to enable her to do this very important work. However, Lisa has now been denied this access by the shelter management. While there may be legitimate reasons for denying the public access to the shelter after hours, the timing of this decision cannot be overlooked. The memos sent to the animal control staff this week after her interview on Marty Griffin's radio program on KRLD 1080 read as follows:
Memo 1:
"Effective immediately no persons except uniformed employees of the City of Dallas are allowed in any Dallas Animal Control Shelter after regular business hours. There are no exceptions to this policy unless approval is obtained by the Division Manager." (signed by Larry Tryon East District Manager, Animal Control Division, Dept. of Code Compliance.)
Memo 2:
"Effective immediately all citizens who wish to photograph animals in any Dallas Anmal Control Shelter must be escorted by a member of the Animal Control Staff. All photographs need to be taken during regular shelter hours and only in public service areas. No cages are to be opened during the course of the visit. This policy is to ensure the safety and well being of employees and citizens."
(same signature)
Why? Last week, Lisa witnessed firsthand one of the shocking actions outlined in the HSUS report. She discovered a cat that had been euthanized improperly and suffered for several hours before dying. The cat, a beautiful Siamese, had been healthy and friendly and a perfect candidate for adoption only days before. After attempts to convince the shelter management to do something about the situation, Lisa went to the press and the story hit the local news. Almost immediately, Lisa's access to the shelter was--for all practical purposes--revoked. At the same time, the shelter mysteriously "lost" all the 501c.3 paperwork for local rescue groups.
Clearly, instead of seeing the HSUS report as a wake-up call and a chance to improve conditions, the management of the Dallas Animal Control is playing a typically buraucratic game of "circle the wagons." Instead of rallying support from the rescue community, who would have welcomed and assisted attempts by the shelter to bring it into the 21st century, the shelter sees rescue as an adversary. At a time when the city is cutting back on funding for nearly all departments, when no city employee can expect a raise next year, the shelter management chose to discard the valuable, free resources provided by volunteers and utilize its paid personnel's time by forcing them to escort Lisa while she takes pictures.
Marty Griffin, on KRLD radio (AM 1080), interviewed Lisa, Dallas lawyer and former Animal Commission Chair Skip Tremble, and Animal Control representative Sam Rice on February 4. Mr. Rice denied most of the report's findings and stated that Lisa had not been denied access to the shelter. He also denied the report's findings that animals were euthanized improperly, that they were fed inadequately, and that they are regularly sprayed with water (a direct violation of Texas Health and Safety Codes which regulate the humane treatment of animals in the care of shelters).
The HSUS report may have come as a surprise to the public, but it did not surprise those of us in animal rescue. We know the conditions at Oak Cliff are horrendous. We know the facility is understaffed, gloomy, and unsanitary. We know the animals are treated badly there. But we have worked hard, following Lisa's example, to try to improve those conditions from within, to try to educate the staff and management so that the animals would be treated humanely not only when we were present, but when our backs were turned as well. It is clear that with the current management this will never happen. Mr. Rice and his supervisor, Cheritta Johnson, have made it abundantly clear that they are not only not interested in improving conditions there, they are willing to move backward if it means their backsides are covered.
If you are a citizen of Dallas, this should be an absolutely unacceptable waste of your tax dollars. If you are a human being, this should be an absolutely unacceptable waste of life. There are thousands of animals needlessly dying every month as a direct result of the uncaring, unthinking, inhumane people who run this shelter. And not only are they dying, according to the HSUS report they are often dying long, painful deaths at the hands of those charged with their "euthanasia." The very least we owe these animals is a quick, painless, and dignified death.
What can you do?
Look at the dog curled up at your feet or the cat sleeping in your lap. Now imagine them, lost and frightened, wet and cold in a dark cage with no hope of rescue, no matter how beautiful and friendly and well-trained they are. Imagine your dog being dragged by its hind leg on the way to a euthanasia room. Imagine your cat huddled at the back of a cage while someone jabs it with a needle at the end of a pole. This does not just happen to vicious, wild, or sick animals. It can happen to any of them, including yours.
Now, let the City of Dallas know how you feel, both about the report and about their refusal to allow Ms. Lipton's access to their shelter after hours. You can reach Mr. Rice and Ms. Johnson at the following:
Ms. Cheritta Johnson
1500 Marilla Street, Room 6CS
Dallas, TX 75201
Phone: (214) 670-5708
Fax: (214) 670-3753
[email protected]
Mr. Sam Rice
214/670-8248 and -8246.
[email protected]
Please also contact:
Assistant City Manager Charles Daniels
Dallas City Hall
1500 Marilla Street, Room 4CN
Dallas, Texas 75201-6390 Main Phone: (214) 670-3390
I am sending a letter right now. Please if you live in the Dallas area see what you can do, and if you don't - please write or email a letter letting them know how you feel.
This is intolerable! They are supposed to get animals off the streets to stop their suffering! In this case they are better off roaming the streets. This absolutely sickens me!
This information was released on the Internet. We are copying the post that we received.
Horrors at Dallas Animal Control Shelters
The City of Dallas' Animal Control Shelters were assessed by the Humane Society of the United States four months ago. There has been a turn of events since which has impacted the community greatly. Please keep up with the news as it breaks. Email for more info: [email protected]
Local Rescuer Denied Permission to Save Dogs and Cats at Dallas City Shelter
The dogs and cats of Dallas need your help. The Dallas Animal Control, which was recently blasted in a 121-page report by the Humane Society of the United States, has responded to criticism not by attempting to improve conditions at its facilities, but by denying access to the one hope most of the over 40,000 animals who pass through it each year have...Lisa Lipton.
Animals who enter the shelter have 72 hours to be reclaimed by their owners and are then euthanized or made available for adoption. A shamefully low number of these animals are adopted by the public--less than 700 last year--and even fewer are reclaimed by their owners. Rescue groups saved over 1,100 animals from this shelter last year. Obviously, Dallas is a shelter in need of all the help it can get.
Lisa Lipton is a rescuer who has worked tirelessly for several years taking pictures of animals at the shelter and emailing them to local rescue groups who, due to time and distance constraints, cannot visit the shelter on a regular basis. She walks the shelter several time a week, spending countless hours of her own time to do something that few people are willing to do. Her work has done more for the animals of Dallas than that of any other single person or group in years.
And now the shelter wants to shut her down. Lisa's work is done mostly after the shelter closes, because she works a full-time job during the day and can't get there until after the shelter closes (at 5pm). Caring staff members frequently stay late to enable her to do this very important work. However, Lisa has now been denied this access by the shelter management. While there may be legitimate reasons for denying the public access to the shelter after hours, the timing of this decision cannot be overlooked. The memos sent to the animal control staff this week after her interview on Marty Griffin's radio program on KRLD 1080 read as follows:
Memo 1:
"Effective immediately no persons except uniformed employees of the City of Dallas are allowed in any Dallas Animal Control Shelter after regular business hours. There are no exceptions to this policy unless approval is obtained by the Division Manager." (signed by Larry Tryon East District Manager, Animal Control Division, Dept. of Code Compliance.)
Memo 2:
"Effective immediately all citizens who wish to photograph animals in any Dallas Anmal Control Shelter must be escorted by a member of the Animal Control Staff. All photographs need to be taken during regular shelter hours and only in public service areas. No cages are to be opened during the course of the visit. This policy is to ensure the safety and well being of employees and citizens."
(same signature)
Why? Last week, Lisa witnessed firsthand one of the shocking actions outlined in the HSUS report. She discovered a cat that had been euthanized improperly and suffered for several hours before dying. The cat, a beautiful Siamese, had been healthy and friendly and a perfect candidate for adoption only days before. After attempts to convince the shelter management to do something about the situation, Lisa went to the press and the story hit the local news. Almost immediately, Lisa's access to the shelter was--for all practical purposes--revoked. At the same time, the shelter mysteriously "lost" all the 501c.3 paperwork for local rescue groups.
Clearly, instead of seeing the HSUS report as a wake-up call and a chance to improve conditions, the management of the Dallas Animal Control is playing a typically buraucratic game of "circle the wagons." Instead of rallying support from the rescue community, who would have welcomed and assisted attempts by the shelter to bring it into the 21st century, the shelter sees rescue as an adversary. At a time when the city is cutting back on funding for nearly all departments, when no city employee can expect a raise next year, the shelter management chose to discard the valuable, free resources provided by volunteers and utilize its paid personnel's time by forcing them to escort Lisa while she takes pictures.
Marty Griffin, on KRLD radio (AM 1080), interviewed Lisa, Dallas lawyer and former Animal Commission Chair Skip Tremble, and Animal Control representative Sam Rice on February 4. Mr. Rice denied most of the report's findings and stated that Lisa had not been denied access to the shelter. He also denied the report's findings that animals were euthanized improperly, that they were fed inadequately, and that they are regularly sprayed with water (a direct violation of Texas Health and Safety Codes which regulate the humane treatment of animals in the care of shelters).
The HSUS report may have come as a surprise to the public, but it did not surprise those of us in animal rescue. We know the conditions at Oak Cliff are horrendous. We know the facility is understaffed, gloomy, and unsanitary. We know the animals are treated badly there. But we have worked hard, following Lisa's example, to try to improve those conditions from within, to try to educate the staff and management so that the animals would be treated humanely not only when we were present, but when our backs were turned as well. It is clear that with the current management this will never happen. Mr. Rice and his supervisor, Cheritta Johnson, have made it abundantly clear that they are not only not interested in improving conditions there, they are willing to move backward if it means their backsides are covered.
If you are a citizen of Dallas, this should be an absolutely unacceptable waste of your tax dollars. If you are a human being, this should be an absolutely unacceptable waste of life. There are thousands of animals needlessly dying every month as a direct result of the uncaring, unthinking, inhumane people who run this shelter. And not only are they dying, according to the HSUS report they are often dying long, painful deaths at the hands of those charged with their "euthanasia." The very least we owe these animals is a quick, painless, and dignified death.
What can you do?
Look at the dog curled up at your feet or the cat sleeping in your lap. Now imagine them, lost and frightened, wet and cold in a dark cage with no hope of rescue, no matter how beautiful and friendly and well-trained they are. Imagine your dog being dragged by its hind leg on the way to a euthanasia room. Imagine your cat huddled at the back of a cage while someone jabs it with a needle at the end of a pole. This does not just happen to vicious, wild, or sick animals. It can happen to any of them, including yours.
Now, let the City of Dallas know how you feel, both about the report and about their refusal to allow Ms. Lipton's access to their shelter after hours. You can reach Mr. Rice and Ms. Johnson at the following:
Ms. Cheritta Johnson
1500 Marilla Street, Room 6CS
Dallas, TX 75201
Phone: (214) 670-5708
Fax: (214) 670-3753
[email protected]
Mr. Sam Rice
214/670-8248 and -8246.
[email protected]
Please also contact:
Assistant City Manager Charles Daniels
Dallas City Hall
1500 Marilla Street, Room 4CN
Dallas, Texas 75201-6390 Main Phone: (214) 670-3390