Save the Humane Society: fundraiser planned Sept. 27

Being a Putnam County Rescue myself, I can't understand why with 7 dogs and 26 cats they have to have 30,000 dollars a month(or whatever it is) to run!

Since the HS has been threatening to close I now have 20 Dogs and 15 cats and I at this time don't even get donations to feed all of these castaways and yet I don't have to close my doors due to lack of funding. I adopt them out and run on the adoption donations like most rescues do.

Since they are a not for profit they have plenty of opportunity to get grants to help. They have the dog tag tax they haven't implemented, there should be some tax for unaltered pets they should get as well.

If one person can take care of more animals that the HS has on much less, why are they having such a rough time??

Maybe I need to run the HS......someone have an application?

Someone with some sense needs to get in there and take this place over! The adoption fees alone are outrageous, no wonder no one wants to adopt anything out of there. Second, the property looks bad and the building unorganized! Where are the applications? I think even I could run this place more efficently than its currently being run. I don't know the director personally, but every time I've ever been there to consider animals, I've left without adopting and not wanting to go back. I've been to some other county shelters and they are much nicer and there are even a few that have older buildings, lesser facilities, but they are in much better shape the the HS here.

That would be Jack Gibson and Jay Carpenter!!

Petrescuer- I'm going to explain a few things for you. They need $30,000 a month when the shelter is full. It's not full right now with the 7 dogs and 26 cats. When it is full there are 30-40 dogs and about the same number in cats. A big chuck of that money goes to pay the employees (who are way under paid). Back ten years ago when the shelter was high kill and it was $10-20 to surrender and $10-20 to adopt (unaltered animals) It took less staff because they were at most 15 dogs there and maybe 12 cats. With two or three people you could have it cleaned in three or four hours easy. Now with twice as many animals it takes twice as long. It takes all day nonstop to get all those cat cages and kennels cleaned like they should be. There needs to be something worked out there as far as animal to employee ratio. If you can only afford this many employees then keep the numbers to this many animals.

Unfortunately in the past they have been way over staffed by people not doing their jobs, just sitting around collecting a paycheck. That all started to change about three months ago when I was hired as the new Director. Lots of people quit, because now they had to really work. And because I wanted to change a lot of things, and people do not like change. I lasted out there about three weeks. The stress of being under constant attack was too much. You should enjoy what you do. I worked there as a kennel assistant for several months about ten years ago I loved it. It felt like home when I showed up at work. But this time, it was like getting teeth pulled. I had to make myself go there, because I knew as soon as I came through the door someone was going to be mad, I was going to be either yelled at or given dirty looks all day long. In most jobs, if you yell at your boss you are fired right then and there. But that doesn't apply to HSPC, if you yell at your boss (meaning me) there, the boss gets told to over look it because the employee was just upset. In the few weeks I was there I was backed into a corner and yelled at, I had an employee that quit break into the building and write colorful things about me on the huge dry erase board in the front office, someone broke into the building and stole a puppy, then broke in to put the puppy back a few days later, I had files moved or come up missing, I had employees talk down to me in front of potential adopters, the list goes on and on. And every time I spoke with a board member to let them know all the things that had happened they said, "Just let it go, don't worry about it. Just change the lock on the doors. Or she was just having a bad day, she's upset, just wait until she cools off. You all need to work together."

I don't know about you, but to me breaking and entering is a crime and the police should have been called.

Yes, there should be someone applying for grants, I could not agree with you more on that subject. There should also be more fundraisers than just a once a year yard sale. I agree it is the management. But the management starts with the board. The board is the one who decided to hire and fire. They are also the ones who decided everything that goes on in the building. The director is just their errand-boy. Back ten years ago the director is the one who ran that building and its employee. And the director reported to the board. Now the board runs the building from a far and the director is just another employee with no real power to change anything. I wanted the job out there so I could clean the place up and make it look like it use too. Clean and white. I wanted to make it both functional for animals and people. But anytime I wanted to change something or clean some thing, I was told, "Just clean the cage and make sure the animals are fed and don't worry about the other stuff. You're trying to change too much." This is what I thought I was hired for, to change things and make them better for the animals and the adopters.

Which gets me to my next point: Justducky -- The director has changed out there at least three times maybe more since May. And I agree with you completely on everything but the adoption fees. I can see that issues from both points of view. Who wants to pay $100 for a kitten when you can walk right out your door and get one for free? Yes, that's true, but keep in mind, that free kitten is not spayed or neutered, it has not had its three sets of kitten shot and rabies, it has not been de-wormed, it has not been tested for feline leukemia, and it has not had flea preventative put on. If you add all those things up for you to pay for them on you own would cost well over the adopt fee that are asking. The spay alone would cost more at a regular vets office than the adopt fee they are asking. It's the same for dog; they are fixed, give all their shots, tested for heartworm and put on preventative, and put on flea control. All these things are great. This way when you adopt you get a healthy animal.

I'm sorry you where not able to adopt and where left with a bad taste in your mouth, not wanting to go back. I understand way. There have been so may people tell me this. So you are not alone in that boat. Lots of people in the county have turned their backs on the shelter, and you cannot blame them. Over the years they have screwed people and businesses over. And trust is a very hard thing to earn back.

Yes the building looks awful, and the grounds are just as bad. I totally agree with thebuckstopsnowhere on that. What the shelter really needs is to close like it is now, find some place to house the animals for a week, and then take in tons of volunteers to clean the place from top to bottom(take everything out scrub it completely), cut the grass, and give the place a fresh coat of paint on the inside. It needs reorganized and things moved around so it is friendly to the animals as well as the people that come out to visit and adopt. When the place looks and smells good as new, then bring the animals back and hire competent employees how remember why they are there. The find loving homes for unwanted animals, and to give them the love and care they deserve until that home comes along.

If someone told me tomorrow that the county was taking the shelter over, the board was going to be replaced and they needed a new director. I'd drop out of college and be there in a heartbeat. There is nothing I want more than for the shelter to succeed!!! But some serious changes need to be made for that to be able to happen. I hope it happens for the animals sakes!!!

This is a great idea!!! I will definately come and support the PC animal shelter!

The staff that was rude and ran it in the ground are gone. Go out there know and look. Nice staff and the place is getting back to the way it was before they took it over. It takes time. They need help to get it fixed back up. Step up Putnam County. You don't realize what is going to happen to this town without them.

Does anyone have the address and number of "The Board" that runs the HS?

I really would love to talk to them.