By Julia Roberts
Nassau County commissioners appeared skeptical about concerns regarding conditions at the shelter managed by Nassau County Animal Services, talking more about the attitude of volunteers than the problems the volunteers brought to their attention.
“Like I say all the time, the loudest boos always come from the cheapest seats,” Commissioner Klynt Farmer said. “I am not in the business of wallowing in the mud with a bunch of hogs.”
“Like I say all the time, the loudest boos always come from the cheapest seats,” Commissioner Klynt Farmer said. “I am not in the business of wallowing in the mud with a bunch of hogs.”
As previously reported by the Nassau NewsLine, volunteers have concerns about the conditions at the shelter, including inadequate ventilation, lack of air conditioning, dogs in unsecured kennels, dead kittens in a cage with live ones, animals lying in metal cages with no padding, animals covered in urine and feces, animals not being medically evaluated and pet food that has passed its expiration date.
Volunteers also told the NewsLine, and the BOCC, that volunteers who spoke publicly about their concerns were terminated.
To which one commissioner, Farmer, said those volunteers may not have the disposition to work at the shelter.
“At the end of the day, some people just aren’t fit for certain positions,” he said.
Eight people who currently or previously volunteered at the shelter spoke at the Aug. 29 BOCC meeting, citing problems at the shelter, some with voices breaking. Lexus Harrison gave examples of problems she said she had documented, and that staff had been made aware of repeatedly.
“I have documented multiple incidences of neglect that are not isolated mistakes but a consistent pattern,” she said. “Kittens have been left overnight without litter boxes because staff forgot to place them inside. I have seen a kitten bleeding during intake testing only to be placed back in its cage without proper care. I have seen a dead kitten left in plain view during public adoption hours while families walked past. I have observed animals being fed expired food because staff did not have sufficient time or support to sort through donations and determine what is out of date. These failures are not due to lack of care by staff. On the contrary, staff is deeply committed. But, they are overworked, understaffed, underpaid and unsupported. Leadership has failed to provide them with the resources and oversight necessary to meet even the minimum standards of animal care.”
Harrison said she brought her concerns to management at the shelter with no response. She then contacted the BOCC and said she received no response from commissioners either. Then, she was terminated, she said for speaking out.
“Commissioners, this retaliation is not only wrong, it’s unlawful,” she said, saying the termination violated her First Amendment rights to free speech, calling it “a direct attack on public accountability and sets a dangerous precedent for anyone who witnesses wrongdoing in this county.”
Some who attended the BOCC meeting spoke up to defend the shelter and its staff. Jackie Osborne speaks at most BOCC meetings, giving updates on the number of animals in the shelter and in foster. Osborne spoke forcefully, showing photos of dogs and animals in the shelter.
“I can tell you there’s not one dead cat in any of those shelters, period, end of story,” Osborne said. “Not one dog died from the heat this summer, period, end of story.” She spoke of what she called caring staff members and how they care for the animals. “Every 30 minutes, somebody goes by the kennels to see if they need to be cleaned of the refuse. As far as I’m concerned, this group here (the volunteers who expressed concerns) just want you to shut the thing down and be done with it. You have some very dedicated people working in that shelter. I’ve seen them hold animals in their hands while they died. I’ve seen them take animals home that they knew were going to die over the weekend. I’ve seen them love and give affection to these animals and treat them as their own. The very idea that anything is mistreated at that shelter, or it’s not taken care of, or not attended to, is absurd. I can’t tell you what I really think this whole thing is, but I can tell you I don’t agree with it.”
Commissioner John Martin did not make personal comments about the shelter, but read aloud an email (he did not identify the sender) from a person who said they have volunteered at the shelter, and defended the shelter staff and volunteers.
Farmer said that while conditions at the shelter could be improved, volunteers speaking publicly was not the way to make things better.
“I think there’s a lot better way to do this than to send us upwards of 40 or 50 emails a day that look identical to one another,” Farmer said. “I think we can all work together to achieve our goals, but sometimes it’s just best to let the people go that aren’t a good fit for what we’re trying to take care of.”
Commissioner Alyson McCullough said there are “possibly” things that could improve at the shelter. She did not give details on how to make improvements, but rather said that complaining is not the answer.
“Negativity is hard combat,” McCullough said. “I just think a positive outlook and effort is going to get us a lot further with the animal shelter.”
Commissioner “Hupp” Huppmann was the only one on BOCC who talked about the concerns brought forward, while also admonishing volunteers for speaking out publicly.
“We have to address concerns that have come to light. Some of these things I had not heard before,” Huppmann said. He explained the building that houses the shelter is more than 35 years old, never had air conditioning and was not intended to act as a no-kill shelter.
“I’m not a fan of social media because it doesn’t fix a thing. It just creates a separate controversy,” Huppmann said. “I beg you to come in and work with us, and we will meet you in the middle and get some solution. We understand the concerns, we will keep working with you and have positive solutions going forward.”
jroberts@nassaunewsline.net
I can only imagine how hard it was for all these volunteers to come forward about the problems at Nassau County Animal Services. Jackie Osborne was not addressing the concerns or complaints. She instead addressed the strawman argument that the kennel attendants don’t do the best they are able to do with the resources at their disposal. The problems are ones that only proper management and leadership can fix.