For anyone interested in learning how shelter conditions can be improved, diseases contained and adoptions increased (among other topics) you should attend this conference.
If the people in charge of the shelter - at all levels - were exposed to current ideas then the lives of these animals would be vastly improved.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Many of us from Las Cruces attended last year's NM State Conference, including Dr. Beth Vesco-Mock, our shelter director. She went to the shelter medicine workshops, yet our shelter still institutes such out-of-date practices as a completely hands-off policy and subsequent zero enrichment and stress reduction efforts for all the cats housed in the shelter. I am afraid things at our shelter are very twisted, and because our local leaders fully and blindly support our director and her leadership, you can actually feel an aire of "we can do whatever we want" attitude at our shelter now.
ReplyDeleteI had not been there in a LONG time, but I stopped by at near closing about two Sundays ago with Paul Berry, the former CEO of Best Friends Animal Society. He is on a motorcycle tour around the U.S. and stopped by Las Cruces for a day, and I was lucky enough to be contacted by him.
We were allowed to walk through the adoptables section of our shelter, and it was almost closing time ... about half hour til they closed. On our way out, Mr. Barry stopped to observe one of the kennel attendants. This person was cleaning a soiled kennel in the dog adoptable area. He was standing at the kennels' entrance and was hosing down the kennel and splashing the poop around in there with himself and the two dogs housed in it standing in the kennel at the same time.
We were pretty shocked to see that and that they did that without hiding it from anyone. But, this is what happens when the leaders in charge of a shelter facility do not take the time and effort to educate themselves about sheltering industry standards of care, cleaning, etc. I feel that is what advocates need to tell all of our leadership time and again -- GET EDUCATED about animal sheltering, and then you can see what we see day in and out.
Chris I just would like to thank you for everything that you have done trying to help us in Las Cruces.It's to bad that there aren't more concerned people like you here. Thanks again.
ReplyDelete