Friends of the Shelter volunteer Wendee Brunish boxes up harnesses for removal from the Los Alamos Animal Shelter as Shelter Manager Victoria Murphy looks on. Brunish said the harnesses were purchased by FOS at the request of FOS volunteers for their use. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
Friends of the Shelter Board President Wendee Brunish unlocks Bucky, the donation dog, to remove him Tuesday from the Animal Shelter. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
Friends of the Shelter volunteer Mary Timmers, left, is assisted by Los Alamos Animal Shelter manager Victoria Murphy Tuesday as items are removed from Shelter storage by FOS. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
Friends of the Shelter President Wendee Brunish, along with FOS board member Mary Timmers and local attorney Wendy Marcus arrived at noon Tuesday at the Los Alamos County Animal Shelter and presented Shelter Manager Victoria Murphy with a list of items they said belonged to the FOS and announced that they planned to begin removing those items.
The FOS severed its relationship with the Shelter late last week.
Marcus told the Los Alamos Daily Post she was there to “de-escalate the situation”, however, the only Shelter representative present was Murphy who Marcus said was “polite and professional”.
Murphy was the only employee onsite Tuesday because two of the public safety aides were at training in Santa Fe and the third was not on duty. She was given a list of items the FOS planned to remove, however Marcus said only items related to the annual Dog Jog fundraiser and some training videos were to be removed.
Los Alamos Police Cpl. Gabriel Nieto arrived on scene and observed the removal operation. The Shelter front doors remained locked until Murphy was free to assist members of the public waiting outside. Two people were in the socializing room with a dog they are adopting and a third was in one of the dog kennels with another dog she said she also was planning to adopt.
Los Alamos Police Chief Dino Sgambellone said he and Deputy Chief Jason Wardlow Herrera visited the Shelter Tuesday after the FOS representatives left and assured Murphy that any items she determines are needed for the operation of the shelter would be immediately purchased by the Department.
“The public should rest assured that Department staff along with existing volunteers will make sure that all animals at the Shelter will be cared for appropriately,” Sgambellone said. “We are already receiving offers of resources and assistance from members of the public, however, for the time being, Department staff are regrouping and taking care of what needs to be done.”
Sgambellone said Tuesday that the decision of the FOS to pull out of the Shelter was no surprise. He said that the Department has been developing a plan for some time to ensure that normal operations at the Shelter would continue should the FOS withdraw their volunteers.
Sgambellone said the Department had been working on a memorandum of understanding with the FOS for more than a year and a half and that he had met with Brunish and the group’s attorney as recently as three weeks ago. He said FOS had pulled back a little on their financial help for medical issues at the Shelter several few months ago. He said members of the group had come to him to discuss what they felt were issues with Shelter staff several times over the past few months.
“I was surprised, however, that the FOS opted to announce their decision in an email rather than in one of our meetings,” Sgambellone said.
Sgambellone said the Department had recently hired an experienced Public Safety Aide supervisor for the Shelter and had hoped that with an onsite PSA supervisor as well as the existing Shelter manager, some of the issues would take care of themselves.
“I had hoped they would give it some time,” Sgambellone said.
Sgambellone said he met with County Manager Harry Burgess to discuss the financial ramifications if the FOS withdrew their financial support to the Shelter, which amounted to some $20,000 in 2015 and $26,000 in 2016. Sgambellone said he plans to transfer funds from other line items in the Department’s $8.6 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year to cover the shortfall caused by the FOS pull out.
In 2016, the Department reported a total of 387 intakes at the Shelter, which included 58 transfers. Of those, 153 were strays and 91 were surrenders. Five animals were euthanized in 2016, Sgambellone said and the remainder were adopted out.
Burgess confirmed Tuesday that the LAPD FY-2018 budget line item for Animal Control is $390,822 out of the total LAPD budget of $8.6 million.
“Chief Sgambellone and I have discussed the Shelter’s needs for the upcoming fiscal year and we are sure we can find the funds we need,” Burgess said.
Sgambellone said that although the FOS will no longer assist the Department with medical costs for Shelter animals, the Shelter will continue to utilize the services of both local veterinary clinics as well as emergency veterinary services in Santa Fe and a clinic in the Espanola Valley.
The FOS Board had announced their separation from the Shelter late last week in an email to local media stating that it felt it was an appropriate time for them to “focus exclusively on assisting privately-owned companion animals and their families and private rescue organizations, including groups such as Dew Paws Rescue, McKinley County Animal Rescue and Otero County Animal Rescue”, which they already support.
The email said the FOS shift in priorities will “help reduce the population of homeless and at-risk companion animals by providing assistance directly to privately-owned companion animals and rescue organizations”. It said FOS is not suspending its support of spay/neuter programs and catastrophic medical care assistance for “privately-owned companion animals”.
A separate email sent to FOS by Brunish June 22 indicated that based on the treatment of an FOS representative at a recent Shelter staff meeting and “frequent, ongoing, unsubstantiated complaints about volunteer action and because our volunteers were not being treated with courtesy and respect” the Board had made a “difficult decision” and voted to suspend the Shelter volunteer program.
The email alleged that the FOS board continually receive complaints and threats about their volunteers “while these same volunteers are often asked to perform tasks that are rightfully the duties and responsibility of the Shelter staff but require volunteer effort and help to accomplish”.
“However, it is clear at this time that FOS volunteers are not valued, respected, or appreciated,” the email stated. “We cannot continue to subject ourselves or the volunteers to this unwelcoming environment.”
Earlier this week Brunish said she told Sgambellone many times that the FOS wanted to be treated as valued partners and complained that FOS have been treated rudely by all Shelter staff. She said FOS has been losing volunteers at a high rate for some six or seven months. She said that at weekly meetings with Wardlow Herrera and Shelter staff, FOS volunteers are accused of breaking rules they don’t even know about. Brunish said that while in meetings with Sgambellone, he had assured her the FOS were valuable partners at the Shelter, she felt he didn’t pass that message down to the Shelter staff. Brunish also expressed concern as to whether or not the Shelter would take care of the animals following the FOS pullout.
Sgambellone said earlier this week that he would like to recognize and thank the Friends of the Shelter for their partnership with Los Alamos County and the contributions they made for animal welfare within the community.
“It is unfortunate that the FOS Board has come to this decision, as regardless of any disagreements that may have occurred, I have had an outstanding Shelter staff that has worked very hard to consistently deliver quality service to the community,” Sgambellone said. “I value and appreciate the partnership we had and I wish FOS all the best as they go in a different direction.”
Meanwhile, the Shelter is accepting additional volunteers from the community and anyone interested can go to the Shelter or call LAPD Dispatch at 505.662.8222. Prospective volunteers are required to complete the County’s adult volunteer agreement and release of liability form. New volunteers also will attend an open house and be introduced to the Shelter Volunteer Handbook. They also will train with Shelter staff or existing trained volunteers.
Los Alamos Police Cpl. Gabriel Nieto observes Tuesday as Friends of the Shelter remove items from the Animal Shelter. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com.
Los Alamos Police Cpl. Gabriel and Shelter Manager Victoria Murphy watch as Friends of the Shelter remove items from the Shelter. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
Los Alamos Animal Shelter Manager Victoria Murphy, right, takes notes Tuesday as local attorney Wendy Marcus, left, and Wendee Brunish prepare to remove Dog Jog items from a shed behind the shelter. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
Bucky, the donation dog, prior to his removal Tuesday from the Animal Shelter by FOS volunteers. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
Volunteer vehicles wait to transport Dog Jog materials from the Los Alamos Animal Shelter storage area. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
Oblivious to what’s going on at the Shelter, Daniela Salazar and Josh Carter socialize with Mango, a dog they are in the process of adopting. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
Carly Long cuddles a puppy she is hoping to adopt from the Los Alamos Animal Shelter. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
