NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND: Vol 18: Volunteers Report on Shelter Conditions Posted on August 18, 2013 August 2013 AC&C Momma Cat and Her Kittens Below are reports from 2 Manhattan AC&C shelter volunteers. At points in the narrative we’ve inserted our own “NOTES” to expand upon issues raised by the volunteers. As always, we do not disclose the identities of our reporters in order to protect them expulsion by AC&C Management. REPORT FROM VOLUNTEER NO. 1 I’m a cat volunteer at the AC&C’s Manhattan Shelter. Some of the changes AC&C Management has put in place do NOT resolve pressing issues which include the following: Cat Food For starters, it’s kitten season (which began in April), and aside from the abundance of cats being taken in, there’s a frequent shortage of canned wet food. I was “informed” that Management orders enough food to feed 150 cats. Since April there have been instances – ranging from several days to 2 weeks – when there’s been no canned cat food at all. Management blames volunteers, as “we” feed the cats. That’s Management’s story and they’re sticking to it. It’s the volunteers’ fault. When the shelter runs out of canned cat food, Management doesn’t send someone to a local supermarket to buy more (and get reimbursed later). Instead, Management insists on filing a request upstream for more food. Then there’s a 2 to 5 day wait until the food is delivered (but as I mentioned before, it can sometimes take 2 weeks). In the meantime, Management frowns on volunteers paying out of their own pocket to bring in wet food to feed the cats. Recently, an AC&C employee offered to travel to the Brooklyn shelter to pick up wet food, only to be told that wasn’t necessary. If it weren’t for the volunteers who bring in canned food (paid for out of their own pockets), the cats would have gone hungry. In the last few months — with kitten season at its peak – not only has there been a regular shortage of canned food, but also of litter boxes and litter. Again, Management blames volunteers, claiming we’re wasteful when using these basic shelter staples. Last month, both the Manhattan and Brooklyn shelters went through a 2 week drought where there were no litter boxes. Volunteers took it upon themselves to buy aluminum foil pans as a quick fix for the cats. Feral Cats I’ve witnessed “adoptable” cats go into labor and give birth to litters in the Adoption room. I’ve seen and heard of feral momma cats being put down along with their kittens because the AC&C doesn’t deem them to be “adoptable.” Why not give the kittens a chance? Is that too much to ask…. ? [NOTE: As a general policy matter, the AC&C kills feral cats that come into the shelter on the premise that feral cats are unadoptable. Of course theyre unadoptable: theyre feral! But thats no reason to kill them. There are exceptions to the AC&Cs feral-cat kill policy. One is if an ear-tipped (ET) cat comes into the shelter. (See previous interview with Elena Bass on Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) of feral cats.) The organization called Neighborhood Cats checks the AC&Cs daily first alert emails to spot any ET cats that came into the shelters. Neighborhood Cats then makes every effort to pull those ET cats that came from the street and would survive if returned to their colony. Not all ET cats are feral, by the way. When ET feral cats are saved, its because of efforts by NC and other participating rescuer groups .. not the AC&C. Progressive shelters don’t kill feral cats, ET or otherwise. Progressive shelters dont kill feral momma cats and their kittens. But then, again, progressive shelters dont make 100% of their animals sick. The AC&C does.] Video Surveillance Cameras are in all the wards. I’ve heard employees say that the cameras are there so Management can monitor if they’re working. [NOTE: Actually the cameras are to monitor both employees AND volunteers.] If that’s so, the cameras must be “off” during the 12 midnight to 8 AM shift. I mean, if AC&C Management is monitoring their employees, then why do the morning shift employees, who arrive at 8 AM, find filthy cages? The morning shift employees end up having to do double the work to get the cages cleaned up in the Adoptions Wards by 12 noon when the shelter opens to the public. [NOTE: A few months ago AC&C management said they had hired night supervisors. If thats so, why arent conditions better when the morning shift arrives?] Adoptions Back in June the AC&C launched a new Adoptions Program featuring Adoption Counselors. At the Manhattan Shelter, the Adoptions Counselors can speak only English. That’s a problem because many of our potential adopters speak only Spanish (the Manhattan shelter is located in Spanish Harlem). Sometimes it takes around 20 minutes to find an employee or volunteer who can serve as a translator. At least Adoptions are handled separately from the front lobby, where people and police line up to drop off animals. That change has saved potential Adopters from waiting in line, sometimes for hours. Now the AC&C says an adoption takes only 1 to 3 hours. But many of the workers, kennel officers or adoption counselors or whoever it may be, go to lunch in shifts between 1 PM to 4 PM. I’ve seen what happens when potential adopters don’t get the prompt service they’ve been promised. Some will wait. Others won’t. If the AC&C promises service, they should deliver. Do all AC&C Adoptions Counselors go the extra yard to get an animal placed? I don’t think so. I’ve observed Adoption Counselors who — when nearing the end of their shifts — look at their watches and, say “Hey, I need to go home soon, so let’s deny the ‘prospective adopter.’” Medical Care The AC&C briefly had a “Chief Vet,” but he quit. I don’t know why. So, the position is open again. [NOTE: In June 2013 AC&C Executive Director Risa Weinstock announced that while the AC&C continues it search for a Medical Director, they created a new position – “Chief Vet.” The Chief Vet will oversee AC&C Medical Care until a Medical Director was hired and then the Chief Vet would report to the Medical Director. According to AC&C Management, that Chief Vet position has been filled and never vacated.] Porter The AC&C also, for a brief time, had a “porter” position. The job was to clean up the general areas of the shelter (e.g., mop floors, clean bathrooms, disinfect the lobby area, and try to minimize the mice and roaches that are easy to spot on a daily basis). It was a pleasure not to see mouse droppings on the top of desks. But the job didn’t last long, or maybe just the employee. In any event, the shelter doesn’t have a porter anymore. REPORT FROM VOLUNTEER 2 I’m a volunteer at the Manhattan shelter. Here are my recent observations. Cats: The shelter now has a “meet and greet room” for members of the public to spend time with cats they’re interested in adopting. That’s a positive. The cat adoptions rooms have been outfitted with new cages that are larger than the one they replaced. That’s another positive. But now fewer cages can fit into the wards. As a result, the overflow of adoptable cats are stashed into the older, smaller cages that now line the hallways outside the Adoptions wards. Overcrowding Hallway overflow cages reflect a central problem that Management refuses to acknowledge: there’s simply not enough space at the shelter. But there could be more space … if the Department of Health allowed it. When the Manhattan shelter was being renovated a few years ago, the Department of Health allowed the AC&C to use a large garage on the property as the temporary Adoptions Wards. The garage was outfitted with heating and air conditioning. There were two small rooms for cats, and a large room that held 18 dogs. But the moment the renovations were completed, the DOH told the AC&C to break down the cages, vacate the garage and never use it again… not even for storage. (The AC&C continues to store supplies in the garage … but at their own risk. The garage has fallen into disrepair with constant leaks.) [NOTE: The DOH and AC&C mantra is that there’s no space problem. And any employee or volunteer who suggests otherwise does so at his/her own risk.] This past July for 3 straight weeks the shelter was overflowing with dogs. Temporary cages were stacked 3 high to make space for all the dogs. As a result, many dogs were overlooked. That’s what happened to a Chihuahua returned by its adopter for being “nippy.” The dog was placed on a 10-day DOH-Hold (because he was “nippy”). Within days, the dog was very sick, but no one noticed until it was too late. I heard he was in such bad shape that Medical took one look at him and then euthanized him. [NOTE: In their recent article entitled “Silent Killers,” Urgent Part2 mentions that same Chihuahua (named Rocky). Rocky was on something called DOH-Hold. .. kept out of sight of volunteers and rescuers. But even dogs in the Adoptions Ward can be overlooked. Another Urgent Part2 report discusses a Brooklyn AC&C shelter dog named Miller. The dog was found dead in his Adoptions cage, where he had apparently been lying -- unnoticed -- for at least 3 hours.] Volunteers There are more volunteers now but only in Adoptions. And that’s bad, because the vast majority of AC&C animals aren’t in Adoptions. They’re kept out of public view on various “holds” such as the 3-day stray hold and the 10-day ID (identification) hold. Or they’re in sick wards or on behavior hold because the AC&C has labeled their behavior to be “unadoptable.” All these animals need the most care and attention but don’t get it, because they are unknown to volunteers. The result is despite AC&C Management’s claims of a larger and better volunteer group, very few volunteers are actually there to help the animals with the greatest needs and who far outnumber the adoptable animals.. [NOTE: There’s another large group of animals that no volunteer may touch … or even look at! These are “DOH-Hold” Animals that the Department of Health requires the AC&C to keep isolated for 10-days and then kill.] Dogwalkers The shelter has 4 part-time dogwalkers. Two are terrific and hardworking. The other two are more laid back and would probably feel more comfortable working at a well-run shelter (like the ASPCA) where their sensibilities wouldn’t be assaulted. Dogwalkers are supposed to start with the AC&C’s DOH-Hold dogs. [NOTE: DOH-Hold animals include dogs and cats arriving with fresh bites or scratches and no documented rabies vaccination. The DOH requires that the AC&C assume the animals have been exposed to rabies (even though there hasn’t been a case of rabies in any dog throughout NY State since 1954 and in NYC, less than 2 dozen cases of rabies in cats for over the past 10+ years). Or they were reported to have bitten or scratched a person or another animal. In addition, any dog that’s been bitten or scratched AT the shelter by another AC&C dog also ends up as DOH-Hold, unless both animals have documented rabies vaccination. It should be noted that very few DOH-Hold dogs are dangerous in the sense that they made unprovoked or vicious attacks. Rather, the vast majority of DOH-Hold animals would ordinarily be presumptively adoptable but for the DOHs better-safe-then-sorry approach to the possibility of rabies ... no matter how infinitesimally the chance of rabies is. Over the years, thousands of dogs and cat have lost their lives under the label DOH-Hold.] But sometimes there are so many DOH-Hold dogs the walkers can’t get to all them. Even on the best days, DOH-Hold dogs get only one walk a day. Adoptions and Returns Animal returns seem to be higher than usual. I think it’s because of the new Adoptions Department and Adoptions Counselors. In the past some of the adopters who weren’t happy with their pets just abandoned them rather than be bothered with transporting the animals back to the shelter. But now that adopters have a name and contact information for an AC&C Adoptions Counselor, that might be what persuades them to make the extra effort to return the unwanted pet to the shelter rather than kicking it out the door. That Chihuahua I discussed earlier is an example of a returned animal. Shelter Diseases I haven’t seen any improvement in disease control at the AC&C. The animals get sick and the diseases appear to be more deadly. That Chihuahua I mentioned earlier died of something he caught at the shelter. Medical Staff The AC&C relies a lot on per diem vets. I don’t know why. [NOTE: AC&C Executive Director Risa Weinstock reported at the June 2013 Board Meeting that the AC&C had bulked up its Medical Department … except for a Medical Director, of course. So, why is the AC&C back to using per diem vets? Apparently no skilled and competent shelter medicine veterinarian wants to put his/her name and license on the line for the AC&C. And that unwillingness to join the AC&C speaks volumes about the lack of medical care for its animals. See our recent video.]
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 02:42:45 +0000
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