After Tropical Storm Debby ripped through the west coast of Florida last week, she left destruction and flooding in her path. The counties of Pasco and Hillsborough saw some of the worst flooding; the local rivers were almost 20 feet above flood-stage and washed out many homes and roads.
Consequently, not only homeowners , but their pets were displaced. Many people opted for the storm shelters while others hunkered down with relatives and neighbors who lived on higher ground. But some with pets were either unable to take them, or they were not allowed to have them in the storm shelters and many pets were left to fend for themselves in the nasty weather. Some of these pets ended up at the Pasco County Animal Services Shelter; cold, hungry, frightened and alone.
Now you would think that because of the storm situation, the time it has taken for the waters to recede and the amount of clean-up the residents affected had to do, that PCAS Director John Malley would gladly extend the hold time on some of these poor souls.
And you would be wrong...DEAD DOG wrong...
Not only has Malley NOT extended the time or courtesy to the strays being picked up, but he seems to have escalated the process towards euthanasia by lessening the time they WERE given as rescues and volunteers try and find their owners or alternative fosters or adopters. Pasco County has been declared a DISASTER AREA, for God's sake. Why on EARTH would you not take that into consideration? It boggles the mind.
While Building A, with it fancy air intake designed to thwart the spread of disease , sits largely empty and under-utilized, Building C and the mysterious Building D are full of strays and owner surrenders, some due to the storm. These animals have NOWHERE to go; I'm sure a LOT of the owners would just like to have a few days to clean up the water damage from their homes and know that their animals are at least safe for the moment, with an option for adoption from someone who can give them a new home. But that is NOT the case with PCAS.
Owner surrenders are SUPPOSED to have some time.. for rescues and potential adopters to try and re-home them. But the reality is that they are almost always routinely killed FIRST and their time is cut short. The shelter does NOT update the Facebook page, clearly the one area where the dogs can be seen.....I guess they're just a nuisance to John Malley, who paraded Frodo in front of the visiting press like he's his long lost friend come home, while he signs death warrants for the animals behind the camera's prying eyes.
And SPEAKING of CAMERAS... REALLY? NO MORE CAMERAS ALLOWED NOW?
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU HIDING??? WHAT DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS DO YOU HAVE TUCKED AWAY, MR. MALLEY? Oh yes, the PRESS will have a field day with this one.
This shelter is funded with PUBLIC TAX DOLLARS, Mr. Malley, and the PUBLIC has a right to photograph any DAMN building their tax dollars PAID FOR!!
Please remember, that YOUR salary is paid with these very same dollars.... your very OVERPAID salary for which I can see you do precious little except kill adoptable animals on a daily and often hourly basis.
PCAS needs to WORK with the rescue groups, a wonderful, courageous group of men and women who tirelessly network the animals that come into this sham of a shelter, to try and give them a chance... at LIFE, Mr. Malley.. at LIFE... NOT a heart stick or a cold needle with no sedative. NOT a black trash bag tossed in the hallway for the local crematorium. But more on that aspect in another blog post....
Emails from both adopters AND rescues go unanswered for days and are often just ignored. Dogs and cats with interested adopters are routinely killed "by accident" or the information has somehow gotten past the staff well after the dog or cat has been euthanized. The phone is NEVER picked up... it has rung for 15 minutes at a time or more without being answered, while ON THAT PHONE is an adopter or rescue, or an owner who's lost their dog and is looking for it. Dogs that are so obviously cared for; well-fed, groomed and neutered or spayed. Dogs that get NO time to make it out of that hell-hole. Dogs that are killed....
What will it take to stop this corruption? VOICES PEOPLE... VOICES THAT SCREAM INJUSTICE AND VOICES THAT DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THEIR TAX PAYER DOLLARS.
You are officially on notice, Mr. Malley. You need to provide the information and records on Dr.Wilkins that was requested; you need to provide the euth records and the records for the shelter's kill rate as well as the adoption stats. You need to do it now. Follow the law and the guidelines in your OWN manual.
Because now you have REALLY pissed some people off... the kind like me who like to investigate things that seem a little hinky... a little off... like charities that take in hard earned money from the public in little collection boxes at the shelter. A charity with NO MISSION STATEMENT and one that is NOT REGISTERED CORRECTLY WITH THE IRS. The kind like me who KNOWS people who would be VERY interested in this kind of information.
Oh yes, Mr. Malley... I will be calling you. Please pick up your damn phone. You're going to have to answer to this. Yes, yes you are.
This is why I'm at all hours of the night bombarding my FB friends with pleas to help these animals. 90% of my time on FB is spent going to other Crossposter and Rescue sites begging for help in Networking, transports, and interest in these adorable babies. All we want is compassion shown for these animals - the harder we try - the more PCAS blocks are efforts by NOT updating information on their FB pages, NOT returning phone calls, taking away the person who coordinated efforts with Rescue Organizations, and killing people's pets within hours of them walking in the door..
ReplyDeleteThis is why I'm at all hours of the night bombarding my FB friends with pleas to help these animals. 90% of my time on FB is spent going to other Crossposter and Rescue sites begging for help in Networking, transports, and interest in these adorable babies. All we want is compassion shown for these animals - the harder we try - the more PCAS blocks are efforts by NOT updating information on their FB pages, NOT returning phone calls, taking away the person who coordinated efforts with Rescue Organizations, and killing people's pets within hours of them walking in the door..
ReplyDeleteYes we clearly have some issues here !!! as a rescue that pulls on a regular basis from PCAS I have had problems in the past 6 weeks, This week it took 2 days to receive a one line email back from the shelter after requesting a hold on a dog. On the 27th I tried in vain from 10.00am through to 3pm to get through on the phone. It is criminal that the updates on Facebook are not dealt with in a timely manner. I spent the entire weekend last week sharing dogs that had already been Euthanized. While doing so the plights of others in need were put back. It is so frustrating PCAS you have a solid dedicated team working to rescue animals a luxury that most shelters do not have. Other shelters are crying out for help and here we are sharing your dead dogs that someone can not be bothered to update. Shelter dogs need exposure you just cannot rely on the local general public to step up and adopt. In the past 11 days 31 animals have been Euthanized according to your Facebook Album it may be more due to updates not being entered. This is certainly an increase over the weeks prior when we had 3-4 in a week. These figures clearly show whatever changes have been implemented recently are not working, and the innocent victims in all of this are the ones paying the price with their life.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making the public aware of this situation! Someone needs to find another job...fast!!!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with EVERYTHING you wrote... We need to stay on top of this to get things changed. Alert the media to how things are there.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being a voice for the voiceless animals at the Pasco Shelter where they suffer in such deplorable conditions in filthy kennels filled with poop,urine and vomit They are lucky if there is any water seen in their dishes and lucky if they get one meal a day To walk in there is like walking into the valley of death with no ventilation and the smell of death all around Some dogs lying injured that have come in have been hit by cars receiving no vet care until a rescue will take them out to a vet
ReplyDeleteYes Mr Malley with all your lies to the media as to how your new adoption facility is being utelized The public should only know how many perfectly healthy dogs are being euthanized daily in your facility while your adoption facility is mainly half empty The cat room is a disgrace almost always empty except for a few cats 12 adult cats was the last count The Taxpayers of Pasco County deserve answers from you. Also they deserve answers as why your telephones are constantly taken off the hook so people can't reach your facility to inquire if their dogs are there or rescues calling to place holds on dogs and cats Are you in the business of just euthanizing Mr Malley and for what reason???? How can you sleep at night? Maybe the answer to that is you just don't have a conscience
Thank you, thank you, thank you Leigh you echo the thoughts of us all, Pasco goes from bad to worse despite the public attention, it's time for things to change. I will be reading your blog daily. Thank you again;) Joanne Wilde - Rescue Volunteer
ReplyDeleteThis is a Criminal Entity, THEY Lure You and Convince after so many Calls...Not to mention your dog's are killed as soon as you turn your back.Try Forge paperwork after they confess when you call..No Remorse "NO HOLD" ON HEALTHY DOGS " TO OLD" SEVERE OVER CROWD CHICKEN SCRATCHED..The Money that is being requested to surrender Sums up at the end of the Week!!..This is the Voice of Pain and Agony,the Voice that will not have Closure until Justice is served..THIS LADIES AND GENTLEMAN IS A CRIME OF CRIMES AND THEY (HIGHER UPS)SHOULD BE HELD TILL THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW...
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that with all the places we go in this country, I hear about PCAS? I thank God every day for the wonderful citizens in Florida that helped me rescue a truly wonderful member of my family from this horrendous place. This mr. Mally reminds me of Hitler. He is obsessed with murder!
ReplyDeleteEvery time I have walked into C building to try and verify what dogs are still there that are listed on the FB site because it is not updated like it should be my heart breaks. You have a full time staff there yet you (1) can not be bothered to respond to emails in a timely manner; (2)answer the phones for owners looking for their animals or rescue groups trying to help pull animals or verify that the animals posted are actually still alive; (3) the FB paged is not being kept up to date so no one knows of new animals, existing animals still in need, whose been adopted, or who has been put to sleep; (4) you have a vet who works there yet the health notes on new animals is atrocious as are existing animals - take the time to verify who is healthy and move them to a portion of the adoption center where they could be classified as "pending" the adoptions program, you "guesstimate" weights on animals, you do not list health issues so people know how to work best in the animals needs; (5) you are not giving owners and rescues enough time to find lost pets or network animals in need - ESPECIALLY WITH OUR HAVING BEEN HIT BY TROPICAL STORM DEBBY. Rescues & individuals are trying very hard and spending hours on end TRYING to network the animals under YOUR care, that are YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, that you are BEING PAID to care for in the best interest of the animals by the citizens of Pasco County. We all admit and agree that unfortunately sometimes it is warranted that a animal or two may need to be put to sleep - but those cases are few and far between. You and a majority of your staff need to be evaluated and retrained to do the job YOU SIGNED ON TO DO when you accepted your positions. To work in the best interest of the animals! That doesn't mean putting to sleep the majority of cats that come in and most of the dogs. I am truly disappointed that you care so little about doing your job. As a good manager do you walk through all your buildings daily to make sure everything and everyone is working together? Do you see the problems that are happening? Do you try to solve those problems? Do you ask your employees how they think things could be improved...where they are facing the biggest issues that is hindering them...or do you even care? I am frustrated beyond belief - be aware I am a Native of New Port Richey, I am a mother, I am a animal lover, I am a volunteer and foster for a rescue, and most importantly to you I AM A REGISTERED VOTER & I will make sure I network all over any social media available to me of your doings.
ReplyDeleteMe and my husband just moved to Panama City from Pennsylvania and have been looking at local agencies here for pet rescue and pet adoption, which is how I found this blog. The information you have provided is disheartening and concerning. I'm not too happy to hear about the actions of certain animal shelters or the actions of those who were hired to protect these animals. As a person who speaks her mind, and as a newly registered Bay County voter, I look forward to becoming active in my new neighborhood and making changes for the better. We can't change the world overnight, but we can definitely start in our home towns.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Aimee,
Deletethere is a group of dedicated animal lovers who are working very hard to save these wonderful animals.While we are further south than you geographically, I think the cause is universal. I hope that you are able to connect with folks up there and please come to this blog and share your insights!
Kindest regards,
Leigh Clifton