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supported the management there as long as I felt there was hope that the serious problems <br />many of us have observed might be remedied. I have spent many hours myself with the <br />FOCAS sponsored cat adoption center, even washing cat cages. I can no longer support the <br />shelter management. All knowledgeable people who have had contact with operations at the <br />shelter are aware of many of these problems. I have given you a bare outline of some problems <br />addressed in a 9Q-minute meeting with Jae by the temperament testers who have put in many <br />hours supporting the shelter, but there are many more serious problems. <br />The Task Force has not been given an opportunity to address any issues other than the <br />removal of APS. It has not considered the HSUS report. I have sent you a list of HSUS <br />recommendations that have never been addressed. If you decide to make a decision tonight, I <br />hope that it will be for a Bureau, rather than a Department. Since your primary concerns have <br />been shelter operation, it should have a separate Board for the shelter with members <br />knowledgeable about shelter management. A bureau would have the perception of public <br />involvement and, as Steve Halkiotis has said: "perception is everything." I strongly believe that <br />a decision should be deferred until you have a thorough evaluation of current operations. <br />The number of adoptions for July, August, and September is the lowest in at least eight <br />years while Durham APS had its highest ever in August. The July monthly report claims that <br />this was due to people being on vacation. It is more likely due to ongoing disease problems and <br />the report of Jane Marshall that "numerous members of the general public say they visited the <br />Orange County Animal Shelter and left because it was `filthy and chaotic."' <br />A website is crucial to the operation of a shelter and a temporary rudimentary one was <br />installed (too late} in mid-July at John Link's insistence. It has not been modified since. When I <br />included a reference to the Animal Control website for rabies clinics on the FOCAS website, I <br />found that the schedule was a year old. <br />I want you to succeed but you cannot do it without a change in management. I have <br />great confidence in John Link but because of a lack of knowledge of animal welfare issues, <br />there has been inadequate oversight despite serious ongoing complaints from the public. <br />I have been hindered in my attempt to document problems by the refusal to provide <br />access to public records. I am told that a commercial computer manual is "A critical component <br />of data security." <br />As you know there is a six-month probationary period before virtual lifetime tenure for <br />your shelter managers. I hope this serves as a wake-up call. <br />Your current shelter manager was chosen by APS and, given the situation at the shelter, <br />they were lucky to get a warm body. He needed a job; APS needed a manager. Because of a <br />non-disclosure agreement, APS was unable to get an evaluation from his previous employer but <br />the County should have insisted on one. His philosophy is diametrically opposed to that <br />expressed by HSUS in their evaluation. John Link has said, "My impression was that the issues <br />were in areas of philosophy or management in terms of operations." Joe has said, "We had <br />some basic disagreements -they were unhappy, and I was unhappy. It got to the paint where <br />we saw this was not working." After six months, it is clear that it's not working here either. <br />Releasing animals into the community without their being vaccinated far rabies. <br />Illegally medically treating adopted animals at the shelter. <br />Failure to perform timely vaccinations. <br />Warehousing -keeping animals in small cages for months in violation of State <br />standards. HSUS has said that it "does not believe it is a kindness to animals to keep them in a <br />shelter environment indefinitely where they may be stressed and possibly exposed to disease <br />with little hope far adoption." <br />Continuing an environment that encourages illness and attempting to treat sick animals <br />for weeks when HSUS says that, "in this facility, the infrastructure cannot support the treatment <br />of animals for illnesses such as URI, kennel cough, etc...the agency doesn't have the luxury of <br />treating animals beyond their stray period." Other experts agree. <br />