NYE COUNTY AGENDA INFORMATION FORM Action U Presentation U Presentation & Action Department: (‘ountv Manager Agenda Date: Category: Regular Agenda Item November 20, 2018 Contact: Tim Sutton Phone: 775-751-70765 Continuedfrom meetingof: Return to: Location: Phone: Action requested: (Include hat, with whom. hen. ‘herc. why, how much (5) and lerms) Discussion and deliberation to consider terniinating the lease with Desert Haven Animal Society. Inc. for leased space at the Pahrump Animal Shelter located at 1511 E.Siri Lane. Pahrump, NV 89048.
Complete description of requested action: (Include, if applicable. background. impact. lojie-term commitment. existing county policy, future goals. obtained by competitive bid, accountability measures)
On November 8. 2018 The County Manager sent a letter to Desert Haven Animal Society noticing theni of being in default of the lease with intent to terminate due to failing to maintain a safe shelter and also failing to provide financial reports and intake and outcome reports for the animals pursuant to the Lease Agreement and N1OU. The County Manager has received numerous reports of unhealthy or inhumane conditions, mistreatment of relationships with local veterinarians, and lack of cooperation and abandonment of assistance from Maddie’s Pet Project. a non-profit organization employed to help the shelter with management. The reports are attached.
Any information provided after the agenda is published or (luring the meeting of the Commissioners will require you to pro’ itle 20 copies: one for cacti Commissioner, one for the Clerk, one for the District Attorney, one for the Public arid tno for the County Manager. Contracts or documents req uiring signature must be subiti itted with three original copies.
Expenditure Impact by FY(s): Pro ide detail on Financial Furm)
U No financialimpact Routing & Approval (Sign & Date) I. Dept Date 6. Date
2. Date 7. HR [tate
Date Date l 7 1, S. Leg’l
Date Date 4 9. Finance V D,Ie 5. ID. County Manager .-Piace on Agenda Date Pahrump Office Tonopah Office Nyc County Government Center Nyc County Courthouse 200 E. Walt Williams Drive William P. Bcko Justice Facility Suite 100 P0 Box 153 Pahrunsp, NV 89048 Tonopah, NV 89049 Phone (775) 751-7075 Board of County Phone (775) 482-8191 Fax (775) 751-7093 Commissioners. . Fax (775) 482-8198 Nyc County, Nevada
November 8, 2018
Desert Haven Animal Society, Inc. P0 Box 3233 Pahrunip, NV 89041 Attn: Ellen Amtz. President
Subject: Notice of Default, and Intent to Terminate Lease Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Pahrurnp Animal Shelter.
Dear: Ms. Arntz
This letter shall serve as Nye County and the Town of Pahrurnp’s written notice of default and intent to terminate the Lease Agreement between Nye County (County) and Desert Haven Animal Society (Tenant), and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Town of Pahrump (Town). that were entered into on July’3.2018, At its regularly scheduled meeting on November 20, 2018. the Nyc County Board of County Commissioners will take action to terminate the lease agreement and Memorandum of Understanding.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Agreement and “Expectations of the Use of the Subsidy” of the MOU, Tenant will be considered in default for one more of the following occurrences:
• Failing to maintain a safe shelter.
• Failing to submit monthly reports to the town of Pahrump that include detailed reporting if income and expenses (including in-kind donations), the number if animals received, whether those animals received were from private individuals, Nyc County Animal Control or Ney County Sheriffs Office, and animals adopted or otherwise release or disposed of,
Additionally, Nyc County has received a number of reports for the following:
• Unhealthy and inhumane living conditions and treatment of animals,
• Mistreatment of relationships with local veterinarians resulting in the loss of local support causing the Tenant to transpot-t animals our of Nyc County for veterinary care.
• Lack of cooperation and abandonment of assistance from staff with Maddie’s Pet Project.
I8-0388B0CC Nye County is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Provider (Ellen Arntz) (November 8,2018) Page 2
Accordingly. the Nye County Board of Commissioners will consider terminating your lease at its November 20, 2018 meeting beginning at 10 am, at the Commissioners Chambers located at 2100 E. Walt Williams Drive in Pahrunip, Nevada.
Should you have any questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me at the (775) 751-7075.
Sincerely.
Tim Sutton. County Manager
TS/st
CC: BOCC Lorina Dellinger. Assistant County Manager
End: Letter from Maddie’s Pet Project Repors from Maddie’s Pet Project staff
17-0267B0CC Nye County is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Provider To: Tim Sutton, Nye County Manager and Town of Pahrump Manager, and John Koenig, Chairman of the Nye County Board of Commissioners • re-n. ,.. a ies From: Diane Blankenburg, Bonney Brown, and Mark Robison of Maddie’s Pet — ! Pet Project Project in Nevada SavingNevada’sPets
Oct. 31, 2018
We are writing to express our concerns about the future of Desert Haven Animal Society (DHAS)in Pahrump and the health and safety of the animals housed there. Our concerns are serious and time sensitive as the suffering of animals is dire. Additionally, the reasonable expectation of residents for quality sheltering for lost and homeless pets is at stake.
In the short term, we seek the reinstatement of our presence at the shelter with the authority to make animal care and outcome decisions without interference from DHASboard members.
In the long term, we ask the county to end its contract with DHASso that a new organization can be recruited or created to take over animal sheltering for Nye County and the town of Pahrump.
Maddies Pet Project in Nevada (MPP-NV) — an organization funded with $15 million for three years to support lifesaving at Nevada animal shelters and expand access to veterinary care in underserved areas — had been working with OHAS regarding grant funding and consulting services to help them improve their adoption marketing and fundraising that would improve their lifesaving and sustainability. After the shelter manager was let go and a number of other key employees and volunteers left, our team reached out to board president Ellen Arntz to offer additional help with filling the leadership and staffing gaps. The support was gladly accepted as the new board lacked adequate time, expertise and experience to run the shelter. We had multiple conversations with Ellen, and as she accepted our help, she agreed to support needed changes to meet the standards of the animal welfare industry’s best practices.
We had also been contacted by two national animal humane organizations that had received alarming reports by community members about conditions at the shelter and the treatment of animals. They agreed to hold off taking action when they learned we were trying to help. On Aug. 6, we sent consultant Don Jennings to serve as acting shelter manager. Over the course of the next 10 weeks, we sent additional help from among our own staff, past employees from Nevada Humane Society, and experienced individuals from other animal care organizations. (Allof this support was provided at no expense to DHAS.)Without exception, the individuals reported grave and disturbing accounts of what is happening at DHAS,related to animal care and management practices. The team we sent in attempted to address numerous short-term crises — including transferring numerous cats and dogs to Washoe County for care and adoption — and Don specifically tried to set DHASon a long-term path toward stability. They were thwarted at most turns, often with outright hostility, erratic behavior, and behind-the-scenes sabotage. Through it all, those sent in by Maddies Pet Project in Nevada persevered in order to help the animals. Finally, on Oct. 23, Don was ordered to leave, and Ellen announced that DHASwas ending any relationship with MPP-NV. Two board members have since resigned.
As experts in animal shelter management — including running Nevada Humane Society for seven years while making it a national model for lifesaving and teaching the Animal Shelter Management Certificate Program for the University of the Pacific — we know the situation at OHASis dire and needs immediate attention. Below are three sections of highlights about animal concerns, financial and legal concerns, and what we accomplished before ties were severed —these are just highlights; many more details and examples could be offered.
In addition, we have included photos and attached separately eyewitness accounts of activity at DHAS.
Finally, we urge you to call in all four county animal control officers and their lieutenant to hear their perspectives on the poor shelter conditions, board member behavior, and progress made by MPP-NV. Respectfully, Diane Blankenburg, Banney Brown, Mark Robison £e€t/OAhL&i1 F----- 7250 Pembroke Dr. . Reno, NV89502. 858-395-3677 Animal Care Concerns
While numerous actions (listed later) were taken by Maddie’s Pet Project in Nevada (MPP-NV) to improve conditions for the animals at Desert Haven Animal Society (OHAS),many animal care issues persist.
• At least eight dogs deemed too aggressive for adoption because they would be a danger to the community are languishing in small kennels with little room to move and no social interaction or enrichment because they are too dangerous even for the staff to handle. By standard animal sheltering protocols, this is considered inhumane. These dogs were assessed by the chief operations officer of Nevada Humane Society (Art Westbrook) who agreed that the dogs should be euthanized. Don’s repeated efforts to provide humane euthanasia for these dogs were rebuffed by Ellen Arntz and other board members.
• Basic disease prevention and cleaning protocols are not followed and not understood by staff and board members. These include leaving open isolation room doors, using the same tools and supplies on sick and healthy animals, not wearing personal protective equipment properly (or at all), and not providing vaccinations in a timely manner or consistently. This needlessly puts animals’ lives in danger. MPP-NV provided supplies and best-practice protocols to attempt to address some of these issues, but efforts were thwarted or undermined by board members.
• DHASlacks adequate staffing to care for the animals. The field of animal shelter medicine has created widely accepted calculators to determine the minimum number of staff to do the minimum amount of care and cleaning acceptable for shelter animals. Based on the National Animal Care and Control Association’s rubric for basic care, DHAShas only one-third of the staff to accomplish the minimum amount of care for the number of animals it handles. Because of staffing fluctuations and the need for some staff to drive to Las Vegas for basic veterinary care (because local vets have been alienated), staffing sometimes drops to one-fifth of the level considered necessary. These staffing shortages are causing the majority of the animals in the shelter’s care to get sicker, deteriorate mentally, and become less likely to have positive outcomes. MPP-NVattempted to increase staffing levels by providing funding to DHAS,but the board refused to sign the funding agreement.
• Animals are severely overcrowded and housed in highly stressful conditions that are considered inhumane by nationally accepted sheltering protocols. There are numerous reasons behind the overcrowding, including previously poor adoption efforts, alienation of local vets that delay basic care needed before adoption, lack of understanding about disease and housing protocols, and under-staffing. Examples of overcrowding include a 20’ x 20’ room holding 45 cats stacked atop each other in crates and cages next to barking dogs and a 10’ x 10’ room filled with small dogs stacked atop each other near large impounded dogs. Animals are caged in between kennels in hallways. Cage sizes do not in every case meet the standards in Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) for size of housing. MPP-NVaddressed a few of these concerns in the face of strong objection on the part of some DHAS board members.
Adequate treatment and routine veterinary care is not provided on a timely basis. Dogs and cats do not reliably receive vaccinations upon intake and, even when they are given, they are not properly documented. Medications are not provided to sick animals as they are prescribed (medication to be given twice a day are routinely given only once a day). The inability to get timely medical procedures for animals hinders transfers to other animal organizations as well as quick pet adoptions and returns-to-owners, driving up costs. Record keeping is spotty and unreliable. The shelter struggles to get spay/neuter surgeries and rabies vaccinations because local veterinary clinics have been alienated by board members. The organization is able to transport only a few animals a week to Las Vegas to receive spay/neuter procedures. They cannot afford an adequate transport vehicle nor staff time to make these trips. MPP-NV had been working on addressing the need for vet care, and one relationship with a local vet was re-opened to provide rabies vaccinations with the agreement that the clinic would never have to deal with the board president. We received an offer of help from a second local clinic to help on the same condition that the DHASboard not be involved.
7250 Pembroke Dr.. Reno, NV89502. 858-395-3677 • Record keeping regarding individual animals is poor. It was evident that the leadership at OHASand staff did not know how to properly use the shelter database software to accurately track the status of animals. Upon Don Jenning’s arrival, there were more than 200 animals showing in the database that were no longer in the facility. Veterinary care was not accurately tracked for individual animals, and photos to identify animals were spotty at best.
Financial/Legal Concerns
• Employees were routinely asked to clock out and “volunteer” to finish their work, in violation of employment law. Employees have reported this to us, and this has been witnessed by our representatives at the shelter. This opens the shelter up to lawsuits, which is not an unlikely occurrence. Nevada Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation (NV DETR)has made two recent judgments against the shelter and in favor of former employees let go this summer. These total about $50,000 and further strain its finances: Roxanne Marchand ($30,625.00) and Taylor Aguiar ($19,454.49). Some board members worked to undermine efforts to hire additional staffing.
• UHAShas not lived up to the requirements of the Memo of Understanding (MOU) with Nye County to provide detailed reporting of income and expenses, including in-kind donations, the number of animals received, whether those animals were received from private individuals, Nye County Animal Control or the Sheriff’s Office, and animals adopted or otherwise released or disposed of. These reports are listed in the MOU as a requirement of receiving funds from the county. MPP-NVwas not able to provide reports because we were not given access to DHAS’financial records. Also, it may be impossible to make accurate reports on the number of animals handled because of the widespread reporting inaccuracies in the shelter’s database due to failures to create and update animal records properly.
• The prolonged presence of severely aggressive dogs exposes DHASand the county to the risk of massive financial liability, both from an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)standpoint and because liability waivers for volunteers are spotty at best. • Workers compensation and quarterly tax notifications routinely are ignored.
• Personnel documents are not kept or haphazardly kept. 1-9and W-4 forms are missing. MPP-NV team member Don Jennings made steps to address this, but was not supported by hoard members. • Two board members put shelter purchases on their personal credit cards and then wrote checks to each other from the shelter’s bank account to reimburse themselves. Even if they have not done anything wrong, it is inappropriate for an organization of this size to do it because of the potential for abuse. The county has a right to expect that the contracting agency use best practices for managing finances.
• The practices of the DHASboard of directors do not meet standard acceptable practices for nonprofit leadership. A small group of four individuals, all loyal to the board president, makes decisions, The board president fails to keep the full board informed of legal issues facing DHAS.Though the bylaws require a code of conduct be created and followed, this is not the case. Board members engage in inappropriate behavior such as creating hostile scenes at the shelter, cursing at people on the organization’s Facebook page (which was removed by MPP-NV), blaming others (including MPP-NV) for the organization’s lack of good practices, and creating hostile relationships with local veterinary practices such that they are unable to provide timely vet care.
Accomplishments by Maddies Pet Project in Nevada at DHAS MPP-NV accomplishments include:
• Transferring more than 70 dogs and cats in multiple transports to Washoe County for care and adoption by Nevada Humane Society and the SPCAof Northern Nevada. • Changing the days and hours of adoption to be more community friendly, allowing people who work to reclaim lost pets and to adopt (opening the shelter on weekends and after 5 p.m.). Special adoption programs were set up for seniors and veterans. Weheldaspecial adoption event where 18 animals were adopted over three days 7250 Pembroke Dr. • Reno, NV89502. 858-395-3677 (compared with the normal 4 adoptions that has been the average over that time frame). Allof these actions increased adoptions and decreased the length of stay for animals in the shelter. Longer lengths of stay increase costs and the likelihood of animals becoming sick.
• Securing the services of an accountant — Paul Healey —to take get DHAS’books into shape, free of charge. • Clearing and cleaning space and purchased cages and dens to relieve overcrowding and create more humane conditions for animals.
• Ensuring that DHASpaid fines and got workers comp coverage payments up to date.
• Ensuring that DHASpaid fines for late filing of employee taxes and got this up to date.
• Bringing in our own team, including individuals with extensive sheltering experience, to assess needs, provide additional care, support existing workers, and attempt to put best practices into place.
• Creating a new website and Facebook page for DHASbecause the old ones became inaccessible after previous staff left.
• Creating a new donor program. • Re-establishing relationships with local veterinarians, who had refused to provide spays/neuters and rabies vaccinations for shelter animals because of erratic and hostile behavior from DHASleadership. • Purchasing equipment and supplies to ensure that staff was able to provide proper care to animals. This included a woods lamp to detect ringworm, protective gowns, caps that prevent the spread of infection from isolation wards, disposable litter boxes, and cat dens.
• Attempting to give DHASthree years of funding, including $110,000 in the first year, if they would agree to adopt standard best practices for animal sheltering at the facility. The board refused to sign this agreement. This funding would have enabled DHASto purchase additionally needed equipment and supplies and to hire adequate staffing. Additionally, it included the offer of expert consulting advice and hands-on support.
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7250 Pembroke Dr. • Reno, NV89502 • 858-395-3677 Nevada o HUMANE SOCIETY Arthur Westbrook 2825 Longley Lane Reno, NV 89503 October 30, 2018
Tim Sutton Nye County Manager 2100 E. Walt Williams Dr. Ste. 100 Pahrump, NV 89048
Dear Mr. Sutton:
I recently visited your county shelter run by Desert Haven Animal Society. I was very saddened to see the conditions that the animals are housed in.
On October 17, 2018, 1received a call from Bonney Brown the Chief Executive Officer with Humane Network asking if I would be able to travel to Pahrump to transfer dogs to our organization and also behaviorally evaluate a few aggressive dogs at the shelter. When I amved at the shelter I was immediately shocked by the foul odor that was coming from the building. Upon entering the building I immediately noticed the conditions that the dogs were being kept in. The dogs were being housed in wire crates that were too small for the dogs that were being housed in it. The dogs that wcre being housed in these wire crates were living and being fed in their own feces and urne. ‘l’he crates had not been cleaned all day and the dogs were covered with flies. There were dogs that were housed on top of other dogs and the urine and feces from the dog on top was seeping into the kennels for the dogs on the bottom. These crates were shoved into office spaces, outside and most concerning the middle walk way of the shelter were the rest of the dogs are housed. The dogs that were being housed in the middle walk way were being subjected to a constant 24 hours of stress. They have dogs barking at them from all four sides constantly which add to their stress and anxiety,
The shelter also houses 8 dogs with severe human aggression issues. When talking to the staff member that was working that day. He said that no one can go into the kennels with those dogs and they have to use a catch pole to move them around. I asked him how they cleaned those kennels if they can’t get the dogs out. He stated that they spray the kennels with sanitizer down while the dogs are housed in there and try to rinse the kennels as best as they could. I asked if there was any plan to euthanize those dogs and he stated that there is no plan for euthanasia. These dogs are too dangerous to put up for adoption and there is also no regard for staff safety, as the staff has mentioned to the Executive Director that they do not feel comfortable working with these dogs.
282513 Longley Lane • Reno, NV 89502 • 775-856-2000 Fax 775-284-7060 549 Airport Road • Carson City, NV 89701 • 775-887-2171 Fax 775-887-2128 nevadab ii na nesoci e ty.org The cat’s housing is the same as the dog’s housing. There are cats stacked on top of each other and they too are living in their own feces and urine. The cat liner boxes had not been changed in days and there were feces and urine dripping into the cat kennels below. There were multiple kittens running around loose, I asked the staff member if he knew that there were loose cats. He said they knew, and that it was ok for them to be loose. The eats were under so much stress that all of them were sick with upper respiratory infection.
I am saddened to hear that Humane Network and Don Jennings are no longer consulting with Desert Haven Animal Society. During the two days that I was there and speaking with Don he was on the right track to getting things fixed. He was re-creating their shelter database so that all of the animals had proper identification. He was working with rescue groups in Northern Nevada to help alleviate some of the overcrowding issues and also trying to improve the living conditions for the animals. On my last day there I witnessed a pretty hostile conversation between Don and Ellen the CEO for Desert Haven Animal Society. Don wanted to transfer two small dogs to the Nevada Humane Society which Ellen did not agree with. I had to intervene as she started to raise her voice and curse at Don. I explained to Ellen that she is in way over her head and that she should let me take the two dogs as they would be better off at the Nevada Humane Society. I was eventually able to convince her to let me transfer them. In my opinion Desert Haven Animal Society does not have the resources nor do they have knowledgeable staff to run the county shelter. Desert Haven Animal Society is also in violation of several Nevada Revised Statutes when it comes to how they house their animals.
If you have any questions about this letter please feel free to contact me at (775) 856- 2000 ext. 304.
Nevada Humane Society Samantha Tackett
From: Timothy Sutton Sent: Thursday, November 8, 2018 5:29 PM To: Samantha Tackett Subject: FW: DHAS
From: Susan Ryhal Sent: Monday, November 5,201812:48 PM To: Timothy Sutton
Good morning, Mr. Sutton
My apologies for taking a while to respond. I was on annual leave last week.
Oh boy. Please forgive me for my brutal honesty and this will likely be lengthy.
In answering your questions, I will address them in order asked. I am no expert at Sheltering but I have received training in Shelter management and humane care as well as have personally had extensive exposure to many professionally run facilities most of my adult life.
Are the Animals being cared for? Yes and No. Are they being fed and watered? Yes. Are their kennels being kept clean and free of feces and urine on a regular basis? No. I spent the last week observing the conditions of the kennels. The dog runs on the inside of the facility seem to be kept cleaner throughout the day than the dog in runs on the outside of the facility (probably because the public doesn’t see those dogs). The flies that are all over the animals because the feces and urine are particularly bad. I saw a dog in an outside kennel on Saturday that has a wound on the top of its head and it was covered with flies. The other outside kennels were regularly covered with flies which the dogs had nowhere to escape the pests. Simply due to a lack of timely and efficient cleaning practices. Is the Shelter being operated humanely? Not when you have people running it that really have no idea what they are doing. Again, they are being fed and watered, their basic medical needs tended to and their kennels/cages semi cleaned but these animals are being warehoused in a facility that was not built to house the number of animals that are being brought to the facility and you have managers/staff that have absolutely no idea or experience to network getting these animals moved from the facility thus animals just continue to pile up throughout the facility. At times there are over 200 animals in that shelter that was designed for approximately 50 dogs and cats combined. The shelter has 32 dog runs that are approximately 4’xl 0’. These runs have now been divided to house two dogs in each run (one outside, one inside). This in of itself is inhumane. The kennels are reduced to provide a 4’xS’ foot area for dogs to spend day in and day out for an indefinite amount of time in hopes that they one day find a home. This 4x5 foot area has a large water pale, a ‘cot’ for them to lay on which is approximately 2’x3’ which now leaves these dogs to have 4 square feet to poop, pee and stand at their bowls and eat. Many times I have seen the dogs pooping on their cots because they have nowhere left to poop. These dog runs were designed to allow the dogs the option to go OUTSIDE and pee and poop and have the ability to come inside if they choose to get away from their own excrement. Here, they are forced to sit in their own waste until someone has the time to get to them. Sometimes that’s not until late morning early afternoon when the animals have been unattended since closing the previous day. What concerns do you have with shelter operations? I am concerned about the LACK of experience and qualified personnel that are responsible for the welfare of these animals. ALL of the personnel and volunteers but particularly, the management. I am concerned about the animals that have to sit in these small cages day in and day out with not enough qualified staff to keep them clean or exercised. There are dogs and cats at the shelter now that have been there for MONTHS. Any professional experienced no kill organization would tell you that a “No Kill” facility has many facets that have to take place in order for animals to remain physically and mentally healthy while in LONG TERM facilities. I see dogs that have come into the facility menially sound that are now so aggressive they would attack you if not for a fence separating them from you yet they stay there day after day exposing the staff, public and other animals to potential injury. Some dogs come in that are already highly aggressive to begin with and obviously unadoptableyet they sit in those dog runs (half dog run) with the inexperience untrained staff going into the kennels with them to clean or as one kennel tech told me Saturday shejust hoses the kennel out with the dog in it. Disturbing and inhumanepractices to say the least. Sanitation.The facility would literally make you want to gag when you walked in the door. At any given time of the day. There was feces strung tracked all through the facility from kennel staff walking in feces and tracking it throughout the facility. I had to advise them to clean it up MANY times as that is how diseases are spread. Volunteers and staff walking through the facility holding litter pans covered in feces with their BARE HANDS and touching door handles and other common areas while still holding feces covered litter pans in their dirty hands. I have addressedthis on multiple occasions as this is exactly how disease is spread. What improvements have you seen since Desert Haven came on board? Animals lives are being saved no doubt. But, at what cost to the animals? In my opinion, the inhumaneovercrowding,the unqualified managementand inexperienced staff has done nothing to “improve”our animal welfare in Nye County. Is there sufficient staff to care for the animals? NO! Did Don Jennings involvement hurt or help the shelter? When I heard there was a new interim manager at the shelter, I was skeptical as I assumed it wouid be another unqualified person. After a few weeks of observing the new manager, the conditions of the shelter began to slowly improve and speaking with Mr. Jennings about the issues that are concerning regarding humane care for the animals, I began to realize that Mr. Jennings and his organizationwere truly QUALIFIED and capable of making the changes to the shelter necessary to improvethe quality of care for the animals that are brought to that facility as well as providing a quality and resourceful service to the community and its animals. I had several conversations with Mr. Jennings over my concerns about humane care and every time I addressed a concern with him, he immediately began working to fix the problem and made sure the staff stayed on top of it. I saw tremendous improvementswithin the facility and the quality of care given to the animals. Mr. Jennings and his organization were a blessing to be honest. Don Jennings and his organization assisted with preventing 53 dogs from being seized and taken into the shelter by sending their staff members (maddies Fund) to assist with a hoarding case to get the owners down to their legal limit (by taking to various rescues out of state) and spay and neuter all of the ones that stayed with the owners. All at no cost to the county. This saved the county Thousands of dollars in fees to the shelter. Are the Facilities adequate for Nye County’s animal population? NO!. This facility was built back when the population of Nye County was somewhere around 5,000. We are at nearly 37,000 people, the commissionersraised the permitted number of dogs and cats from 5 to 10which has certainly increased the number of animals coming into the shelter. I don’t know the statisticsbut over the last 4 years, I see the increase in volume of callsjust in running at large animals that are impoundedby our department. Then you have surrenders, quarantine’s, abandoned animals, cruelty cases, protective custody’s for incarcerationor hospitalization.The facility is beyond run down, outdated, inadequatedrainage system and infested with rats and insects. Has DHAS Board and staff been cooperative with you and your team? I have only had dealings with the current Board members, Ellen Arntz and Jane Carbone. Most of the time, yes. However, the problems that I have addressedwith them seem to usually yield the same responses. “We don’t have enough money for more people”, “we don’t have any more room” “what do you expect us to do?”. I found myself repeating myself over and over and over again telling the staff the issues that were occurring with humane care. For instance, that ALL animals have to have access to water at all times. I hear “but they spill their bowls overnight”. I tell them they need to secure a water source that can’t be spilled. When the staff comes in the animals that are in small crates literally only big enough to stand up lay down and turn around need to be tended to first because they are sitting, literally sitting in feces, no water because bowls are turned over and their food has been spilled as well now contaminatedwith feces etc. I continued to address these issues and it was not until Mr. Jennings came in that pails were purchased for the dog crates and secured in the crate so it could not be spilled. Really, I don’t think that the Staff or Board members intentionally ignore what I or other ACO’s say, the bottom line is they DO NOT HAVE THE EXPERIENCE TO RUN A SHELTER. PERIOD. The capabilities are not there. Financially, professionally, humanely etc. No qualificationsat all.
Mr. Jennings and his staff were the light at the end of a very dark and sad tunnel. I would have anxiety over having to go to work and have to take animals to that facility. The dreadifil feelings I had having to take peoples animals into that facility were starting to go away because I could see the improvements.I was saddened to hear that Mr. Jennings and his organization were gone. Since they left, I am once again starting to see the shelter falling back into the previous conditions. SOMETHINGmust be done with this facility!
2 ______
I think Jane and Ellen have good intentions and work from their hearts. They work hard at TRYING to run the Shelter. However, they arejust not qualified to run a shelter in any respect. That is the honest truth and the animals suffer because of it.
My apologies for this email being so long but, I felt it necessary to give you as much information as possible.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Respectfully,
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From:TimothySutton Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2018 2:48 PM To: Susan Ryhal
Hi Susan,
It was recommended to me that I reach out to you and get your opinion on the Pahrump Animal Shelter operations since DHAStook over. Specifically, I’d like to know the following:
• Are the animals being properly cared for? • Is the shelter being operated humanely? • What concerns do you have with shelter operations? • What improvements have you seen since DHAScame on Board? • Is there sufficient staff to care for the animals? • Did Don Jennings’ involvement hurt or help the shelter? • Are the facilities adequate for Nye County’s animal population? • Has DHAS’sBoard and staff been cooperative with you and your team?
Any insight you can provide would be helpful.
Thank you,
Tim
Tim Sutton
3 Nyc County Manager Pahrump Town Manager 2100 F. Walt Williams Dr., Ste. 100 Pahrump, NV 89048 (775) 751-7075 (Office) (775) 751-4269 (Desk) (775) 277-0284 (Cell) (775) 751-7093 (Fax) tsutton @Co.nye. nv. us
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4 October27, 2018
Dear )Jr. Tim Sutton and \Ir. John Koenig,
I am writing to you today in regards to the conditions of Desert Haven Animal Society in
Pahrump, Nevada. On October 17, 2018 1 visited this location and was given a tour of the facilities. I would like to share with you my experience.
?dv first steps into the shelter were met with a strong smell of feces and various odors. This follow-edus through the entire shelter and back out to the parking lot. We were first taken to a small room, which seemed to once he a break room, that housed their smaller breed clogs.There were seven 2x3 foot wire crates in this room, stacked two high. I was informed that this is where these dogs lived and speit their days clnc to lack of kennel spacc Although these dogs did not have enough rooni in their crates, they did have a few things the large dogs did not: blankets and some cluiet.
XVewere then walked back to the main kennel area where we were once again met with clogsin wire crates. To the right, there were four large dogs in crates with two smaller dogs stacked on 101).These clog-shad zcro priacy from other clogsand not nearly enough space to la down comfortably. We moved towards the actual dog kennels and were met with another 8 —10large clogsliving in wire crates. These dog-swere living in the walkway between the kennels. They had clog-sstaring at them from even direction and were clearly overw-hclmcd. Customers were forced to maneuver around these dogs, sometimes bumping into them, just to walk dow-n the aisle to view others.
The dogs that did have kennels, only had half to themselves. There were so many dogs in the facility that the kennel guillotines were closed and dog-swere housed on both sides. This means that some clog-snever came inside, and others never saw the outdoors. There were about ten dogs with a red tag on their kennels. When asked what this meant, the staff informed us that these dogs could not be handled and were sitting awaiting a behavioral decision. The further we vent into the tour, the more I saw how-dangerous many of these red tag dog-swere and how they were affecting the other dogs.
After leaving the inside of the kennels, we quickly passed through one of the cat rooms to get to the outside of the kennels. The pungent smell of urine and feces greeted The room was dark and the cats were living in the wire crates much like the clogs. However, these crates were much smaller and stacked much higher. We were told that there were three loose cats in this room that they could not catch. I was surprised by how close these cats were being housed to the dogs. Every time a dog-;voulclhark, the cats in this room would flinch and prish themselves further into the corner of their crates. We were told how difficult this room was to clean and be in clue to the amount of cats, cages and clutter. The staff then took us to the outside of the kennels, where different dogs were housed. Mans’ of these clogshad red tags and were displaying offensive aggression towards everyone walking by. They were clearl agitated and frustrated and were making other dogs stressed. None of the dogs on the outside of the kennels had blankets and most of their waters were dirt).-and brown. I distinctly remember walking by kennel Cl. There were two red tag dogs housed together on the outside. This kennel was infested with flies and both dogs were covered in them. The feces in their kennel looked like it hadn’t been cleaned all day as both the dogs and their food bowls were coated with it.
Once we saw the outsides of the kennels, ve were taken to the overflow shed. While walking there, we met two more dogs living in wire crates. They were both stepping in their feces and covered in flies. We arrived at the overflow shed where approximately twelve more dogs were being housed in wire crates in the clark. \Iost were sitting in their feces with barely enough room to stand up and turn around.
Lastly, we were taken to the cat building. This building once housed the vet clinic, but is now being used as a cat room. In the old surgical room, cats were both free roaming and in cages. The rabbits were also being housed here alongside the cats. We were told that the surgical room housed a litter ofpars’o puppies six months ago. Due to not having the proper cleaning procedures, the room had not been used to house clogssince. Ever room we entered in this building seemed to be at its highest capacity of cats.
Overall, I have quite a few concerns with how the animals at Desert Haven Animal Society are being housed and cared for. Without a \eterinanan on site, we were told these animals must wait to be transported for an• vet care or surgical procedure. Many of the dog-swere coughing and had not been seen or started on medication. \Vhile the staff we met seemed dedicated and passionate, they lack leadership and guidance. I hope you will take this letter into consideration when looking into the future of DHAS.
Thank you for your time,
Emily Lancione.
Nevada Humane Society To Whom It May Concern:
28th 7th I spent 10 days working with Desert Haven Animal Society from September to October and my
observations were appalling. Below are several examples of the interactions and observations that I feel are of extreme concern,
My background in animal welfare extends over 8 years with multiple organizations, sol was sent to Pahrump to work with the shelter to help increase adoptions and transfers, work with staff on best
practices and assess what help was needed in what areas. I did not realize the extent of how poorly the shelter was being run by the current board.
When my co-worker Vonice and Ifirst arrived, Ellen was on vacation and for the first few days there was not a board member on site. Apparently Ellen is the board member that medicates the cats with help from Jane. This meant that for at least two days, not a single cat in the ISO room received medication. Once we realized this was going on, we tried to immediately find out who is assigned to do this in their absence and when was the last time they were treated. We received a different answer from different staff members and basically learned there is no process, it happens when it happens. The animals in the ISO room had volunteers going in and out, cross contamination happening and no care for their medical conditions. One of the cats needed his eye removed and I learned later (a week or so after we left) that one of the kittens had died. Working in the field long enough, I realize these things happen, however I feel these animals died and sat suffering due to negligence with basic care. Taking the animals to the local veterinarian is not enough if you don’t have a proper procedure for administering their medication.
Ellen also has an incredibly negative view of her community and has an old school way of thinking that the animals are better in her care than in a home. An example of this was when we were showing Ellen our plan for moving the feral cats into a more humane situation than the intake room. We started discussing this as being a temporary solution and that the goal was to get them out of the shelter and adopted as barn cats. Itried to explain to her that feral cats can be successfully adopted if you explain to the adopter that you can confine the cats for 3 weeks and get them used to their scent being in the barn or shed. She cut me off to tell me that the people here won’t listen to what we tell them. Itold her I don’t feel we can discredit every adopter and that there is bound to be one person in the community that will do the right thing in order to not have the cats become coyote bait. She exclaimed that she has lived here for 10 years and knows that there is no way these people are willing to do this and that’s why they can’t be adopted.
I believe her negativity towards the community is felt by the community. Vonice and I were having dinner at one of the restaurants in town when the waitress asked us about our visit. We explained why were there and she exclaimed how great this was because they are in serious need of help and everyone knows about the “coup” that happened (meaning the firing of multiple employees) and expressed that we have an uphill battle ahead of us because they are challenging women to work with. Another example was one of the employees at our hotel. She mentioned that she used to volunteer at a shelter in San Diego and was excited to volunteer here. She tried a few times and was treated so poorly and felt so unwanted that she never returned. She was excited to hear that we were revamping the volunteer program and gave us her info to contact her if/when things changed.
My initial visit was spent mostly working on improving the cats housing situation while trying to find transport to ease the overpopulation of dogs until the next visit when we could assess behavior and look more at the cleaning procedures, etc. for the dog department. So most of my examples are cat related, simply because I did not interact with the dog staff this time around.
Below are some other incidences that I witnessed that Ifeel are worth mentioning:
• I met board member Barbera on 10/3 and we were discussing the importance of having an inventory in order to account for all the animals in the shelter. The computer program and kennel cards seem to be something that Barbera is very protective over because she did not like
the fact that Iwas interested in helping them get organized. She was very adamant that she had taken pictures of every animal, that they all had kennel cards and that everything was as it should be. There were multiple cats that had no kennel cards with them and the staff couldn’t
identify who they were so I asked Barbera if there was a process that staff was aware of so when they move either cats or dogs, the location is updated in the computer and the paperwork gets moved with the animals. She started yelling at me that “I was treating her like she was stupid and as though they didn’t know how things are supposed to work but they have experience and she owned a dog grooming business for S years!” Clearly she wasn’t going to use my help.
Unfortunately, the kennel cards have yet to be organized, the locations have yet to be entered into the database and the staff have yet to be trained on how to properly rotate and animal through the shelter. In the event of a disaster, there would be no way of knowing what animals are in the facility.
• Don put in place a way of identifying animals that need medical care with a list on a corkboard outside of his office. This would have been sufficient had staff and volunteers followed it.
Unfortunately, I continued to find random sticky notes with messages like “8/31 black kitten
sneezing”. This is no help to anyone, least of all the animal. I do feel that because the board was not behind Don’s changes, the staff and volunteers also would not follow. There was a clear feeling of confliction because the staff was afraid of being fired if they did not listen to Ellen.
• On 10/6 while putting kennels up in the outbuilding for the feral cat rotation, Vonice overheard Ellen telling Sheri that a sick cat is NEVERto leave the shelter and that a cat should not go back to the person who surrendered it. Here was the situation she was referring to:
The previous afternoon around 4:00pm a woman came in to check the status of a kitten she had brought in. Wiskers (528-C) was brought in on 9/1/18. when she found out that he was still here and in the same room he was in when he arrived (the intake room), she broke down and started crying wanting him back. This is greatl So we went forward with the return. The kitten had not been vaccinated (nothing was entered in the system indicating it had) and was starting
to show signs of upper respiratory. Vonice and I both spoke with the woman about using a warm washcloth compress over her eyes as well as showering with her in the bathroom, etc. We informed her to contact us if it started to get worse, but that we’d rather the kitten be in her home than in the shelter.
Ellen later called Don shouting that every animal in the shelter has already had a vaccination, however, many (8 of the 30 that we identified for transfer) have no notes entered into the database about receiving vaccinations, there is nothing indicated on their kennel cards (or any paperwork) and no way of tracking down what staff or board member may have been there to vaccinate on intake. This is an incredibly unsafe practice for any shelter! When we asked Ellen to show us that these animals had received them, she blamed staff for not doing their job (though it was unclear if she meant the actual vaccinating or entering into the computer).
Had we not let this kitten return to the caring citizen that brought him in, he would likely still be sitting in the intake room, not rotating to an available for adoption area, not being vaccinated and growing sicker with his upper respiratory infection by the day.
• On 10/5 two 5-week-old kittens came in showing signs of upper respiratory infection. One of them was wobbling and seemed a bit off, so we decided to use a parvo test to check for panleukopenia. Ellen had never heard of this before so we tried to explain it to her what panleuk is and that the test is the same as parvo for dogs. She decided to call her vet Jack. Meanwhile,
Vonice and I ran the test and it showed a faint positive. Vonice asked Ellen if they have a procedure for this and she said no, but that her vet told her cats don’t get parvo so we’re in the clear. Had these kittens had panleuk, they would have been exposed to other cats in the shelter and due to the negligence with vaccinating, an outbreak could have occurred. Not to mention that no one was trained on how to feed these kittens, there is no process for calling a foster parent and Ellen and Jane pretty much told us they were our problem. So had Vonice not cared for them, nothing would have been done for these kittens.
• A small example but shows character nonetheless, on 10/5 Ellen was yelling, in front of everyone, at Sandy for walking through the back hail eating a sandwich. She got yelled at for
eating food in the building (not in a customer area, in which cased Iwould understand). Meanwhile, Barbera was sitting in the volunteer office eating chips. The way the board members treat the employees is truly unprofessional. They are on edge and fearful of losing their jobs.
In my expert opinion, Desert Haven Animal Society is in dire need of help for basic humane care as well as intervention with shelter best practices, skills for customer service and how to manage people. They will not succeed going forward with their current leadership.
Vanessa Porter,
Maddie’s Pet Project in Nevada outreach manager October 29, 2018
To Whom It May Concern:
Here are some of the thing that I observed at DHAS.
Animals are not medicated per script. Ellen meds so animals receive meds usually lx per day only and only when she is there. I medicated animals when Ellen was not at the shelter. No one knew how to
med. I was told that Eric might be able to med but I never saw him med a cat. I did ask him if he was medicating the cat; he said no, Ellen meds.
Isolation area: Volunteer/employees not using gowns, door wide open people, walking in and out freely, ringworm and sick animals housed together. Ellen believes ringworm does not spread to other animals. No disease control. Ellen is clueless about panleukopenia; we did ask her, she had no idea.
Cleaning animals: Cats are left in cages when chemicals are used, no gloves, litter boxes where not cleaned daily, cross contamination happening with scoopers, employees/volunteer did not change cleaning rags after each cage. Several times, there was no one to clean the cats. I needed to help or they would not have been cleaned. Cages never cleaned under, walls covered with urine and feces. No general cleanliness.
Cats in the intake area where stacked 3 high, overcrowded. Dog urine/feces would come into the intake area from the dog runs when cleaned — yes, into the cages on the floor. Cats did not receive FVRCP vaccination. A lot of the cats sneezing and have goopy eyes. Respiratory issues.
The dog were lined up in cages/kennels down the middle of the dog run. Some of the free-standing cages had two large dogs with no room to move or space to potty. Many dog runs had two or more dogs in a half-run. The dogs are not moved out of cages when cleaned — and, yes, the cages are cleaned with chemicals. Very rarely did I ever see any one do p.m. cleaning. The flies, roaches, and rat dropping are uncontrollable. Dog are not taken out of cages, no exercise or enrichment.
The employees are very afraid of losing their jobs. They were told no over time, to clock out and finish cleaning.
Hope this helps.
Vonice Reed,
Former cat care manager for Nevada Humane Society Colonel John D.Reed, USAF(ret) 1655 Oakhurst Avenue Reno NV89509 (775) 287-0021 [email protected]
Mr. John Koenig, Chairman Board of Nye County Commissioners
Mr. Tim Sutton, Nye County Manager Town of Pahrump NV
Gentlemen, 29 Oct18
Last week, 1participated in the transport of some animals both to and from the Nevada Humane Society, from the Desert Haven Animal Society, in Pahrump. I had little contact with the people at the Southern Nevada shelter, but the attitude of the leadership there is palpable and mostly negative. I was told numerous anecdotes about those running that shelter. To pass these on would be hearsay, so I will decline to do so. What was clear is that the leadership of Desert Haven did not welcome the No-Kill animal shelter experts of the Humane Network, and in fact made worthwhile assistance and advice untenable. I have known Ms. Bonney Brown, Ms. Diane Blankenburg, Ms.Vanessa Porter and — of course — my wife, Vonice, for over a decade. My wife was the Cat Care Manager of the Nevada Humane Society for over 10 years. These ladies have been at the forefront of the “No-Kill”movement, and I can assure you that they are, indeed, experts in this area of knowledge. Further, I have only seen maturity, good leadership, compassion and good humor from each of these women. These traits went unrewarded in Pahrump. I have seen the NHSimprove dramatically over the years in animal care, veterinary clinic care and the ability of the shelter to get animals adopted. These traits are distinctly lacking in the shelter in Pahrump, and a terrific opportunity may have been lost due to the recalcitrance of the “leaders” of that shelter. One anecdote I can share with you is transporting about a dozen dogs from Pahrump to Reno. I had expected the dogs to bark most of the way, which is normal. However, to the contrary, as soon as the van started moving, I never heard a peep out of them, I had planned on stopping at Hawthorne rather than Tonopah, but decided to check on the animals in Tonopah, because they had been so quiet. When I pulled open the door, I actually woke all the dogs that were sleeping soundly. It would seem that the dogs were much more comfortable bouncing around in cages on blankets than they were at the Desert Haven shelter. It perhaps speaks poorly of how they are habituated in Pahrump. Mythoughts..
John D.Reed Samantha Tackett
From: Timothy Sutton Sent: Friday, November 9,2018 12:43 PM To: Ellen Arntz Subject: Fwd: Ellen and Jane at DHAS
Ellen,
Here is another complaint I received today. I did not request these, they’ve just been coming in.
Tim
Forwarded message From:“ChrisJuranty”
Hello,Iam Christopheriuranty and Iworked for Desert HavenAnimalSocietya few months ago. Roxannesaid Ishould email about myexperience with Ellenand Jane, When they came in and Roxannewas fired, Itried to take it with optimism, but under them the shelter became much worse of a place for the animals. Ido not remember them taking the dogs to the vet as much as Roxanneand my previous co-workers did. Theyinstructed me to clean the feral cats cages, without the training to do so. Iremember seeing Ellentoss a tin can of dog food into a kennel with a yorkie.She didn’t put it into a bowl, she just took off the lid,and threw it in with the poor thing which very easilycould’vecut it’s mouth on it. The reason I left was because Ifelt as though Ihad to. Severaldays prior to my last day there were pictures being posted online of it and Ellenand Jane demanded that if Icouldn’tstop it, they were goingto tell animal control that Iwas the one doing it. Please keep in mind that Ionlyworked part time from 7-12. well on my last day Iwas cleaningthe feral cat room and Ifound a kitten alone on the floor alone. Itold Ellenand Jane about it and found that the rest of a litter was dead in the parents cats cage. Theyconfronted me about the pictures again during that and explained that Iwas goingto be responsible for it and Iwasn’t goingto stay and work with them when they couldn’t accept responsibilityfor their inabilityto train me for it and, from my understanding, goingto give me an animal cruelty charge on my record. So Itold them Iquit and left.
P.S.The reason this was late was because I had gotten myarm hurt a few days ago and was unable to type. Butthank you for your time.
- Christopher Juranty