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HSUS Findings ...
A Sample of Findings from the July 2006 HSUS Review of the
City of Albuquerque's Animal
Shelters:
“On numerous occasions, ill and clearly suffering animals were not reported by
kennel staff to the veterinary staff and were simply left to suffer” Page 48-50
“An older sick cat with a note, “Please give wet food only” was found with only
dry food available amidst her vomit of partially digested food”. Page 48
“Kittens were consistently given dry food, including kittens that were only 4
weeks of age and unable to eat dry food (i.e. starving them). Page 72
“On July 24th, HSUS observed a litter of 7 pit bull puppies that had been at the
shelter for about 10 days and were extremely thin. When fed, only 2 bowls of
food were set out. Two of the smallest puppies were unable to eat because the
larger puppies repeatedly attacked them”. Page 73
“…..several animals remained in the 95 degree Eastside garage for over 5 hours,
including cats in carriers that had no food, water or litter box…animals waiting
to be transferred to the Westside may wait all day or overnight.” Page 29.
“Although the veterinary staff stated that it is their goal to walk thru the
shelter to perform rounds twice a day, during the 4 day site visit, HSUS team
members did not observe any veterinary staff conducting rounds”. Page 47
“On 3 separate occasions, the HSUS team identified animals that were clearly in
need of immediate medical attention (9 animals in all)”. Page 47
“Kennel staff were unaware of Procedures for intake processing, despite there
being a 2 page SOP for it. These same staff said they ‘do not have time to
examine the incoming animals’, they just ‘take their picture and give them
shots’”. Page 54
“Staff did not notice a badly injured swollen leg and instead labeled the dog as
“fear aggressive”--a certain death sentence—instead. HSUS conveyed this to the
staff, but 2 hours later, the injury had still not been reported to the vet
tech”. Page
Sick, injured, fearful and nursing female dogs were all housed together”. Page
67
“Dog runs were not scooped or spot cleaned throughout the day, resulting in a
large build up of fecal matter….attracting many flies and projecting an overall
dirty and smelly environment to the public”. Page 36
“There was urine, feces and litter smeared throughout most of the cat cages. Cat
litter boxes and cages were not cleaned throughout the day as they became
soiled”. Page 38
“”Dried fecal matter was stuck to some of the feeding bowls even after daily
cleaning had occurred”. Page 36
In regards to a goat being cared for at the Westside, HSUS found on July 25th
“the goat had not been fed, given fresh water or had its pen cleaned all day and
it did not appear that the goat’s bedding had been changed all week. Flies were
consistently present in his face and bedding”. Page 42
The feeding protocols within both facilities were of grave concern. HSUS
received conflicting and inconsistent information from the staff regarding
feeding. Staff did not agree on who was doing the last feeding of the night.
HSUS observed that animals are not fed until 11-11:30 am, presumably their first
feeding…and did not observe any re-feeding during the site visit”. Page 71
“The morning of July 24th, a mother and nursing kitten had no food available for
the entire morning. Another kitten had no food or water available”. Page 72
“HSUS noted highly deficient and ineffective cleaning procedures”. Page 62
Policy says that all adult dogs and puppies are to be dewormed. However, most
staff did not follow this procedure”. Page 54
“A kitten diagnosed with a deadly infectious disease was housed directly above a
healthy nursing mother cat with a litter of 4 week old kittens”…“Veterinary
staff related that they had made suggestions to various animal care and
management staff that might improve disease control, but that these have been
ignored”….Page 61
“Water bowls and blankets were not removed during the cleaning process---they
were hosed down with disinfectant during cleaning of the runs”. Page 36
“HSUS observed during the morning cleaning that many of the guillotine doors
were leaking and dogs got wet and were exposed to detergents and bleach as a
result”.
….Page 36.
“Staff members were not specifically assigned to assist the public. They stated
this was not part of their job responsibilities”. Page 97
Regarding the intake area: “Only 1 person assigned to cover the hours of 9am to
7pm. The staffing level was clearly inadequate for this high traffic area. 4 or
more people were waiting in line for help”. Page 29
“There was a significant problem with client service within the kennel and
cattery areas (including) an inability to find kennel staff to help visitors”.
Page 126
“Cats had no cage cards or identification on them….Visitors could not determine
which cats were available for adoption or discern even basic information such as
age or sex” Page 22
“Cage cards on kennels were very misleading to potential adopters, with
incorrect or default information”. Page 22
“Staff stated that all animals were to be scanned for a microchip during
processing. HSUS observed that there were often no microchip scanners available
in the intake room”.
“Upper level management seemed comfortable with the current level of staffing…. Supervisory staff indicated a need for additional staffing in the
kennels, catteries and intake. HSUS said that ‘Given the number of animals
handled by AASD, there are clearly not enough animal handlers….this number is
woefully inadequate”. (Translation----upper level management is badly out of
touch or deliberately ignorant of what is needed to humanely run the shelter!).
The 2007 budget totals $9,213,000, an increase of $2,929,000 or nearly 32% over
FY 2006. For FY 2007, personnel costs total $6,064,451 (66% of total). So, what
is the City doing with your money?!
Heard Enough?? There is simply no excuse for this level of neglect, incompetence
and suffering. Email the Mayor and tell him to get experienced, competent
shelter management in place and STOP the Suffering!
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