COUNCIL HEARS CONCERNS ABOUT PET ADOPTION CENTER

  

 

Brenham City Council members heard the concerns of a local resident about the conditions and operations of Brenham new Pet Adoption Center.  Carol Jensen emailed each to the council members a 10 page letter questioning the operation and care of the animals at the center.  Her concerns included unwarranted euthanasians, poor feeding, and haphazard vaccinations and sterilizations of the animals. She also questions the promotion of police Corporal John Snowden to Animal Services Supervisor.  Snowden continues to have non-animal related responsibilities with the  police department as well as supervising the pet adoption center.

The Pet Adoption and Care Center opened about a year ago next door to Brenham’s Police station.  The $2.7 million dollar facility replaced the aging animal shelter on Old Chappell Hill Road.  In August, the center held a “Clear the Shelter Day” in which all of the animals in the shelter were adopted on a single Saturday.

Mayor Milton Tate said that the council and city staff would review Jensen’s complaints and place the item for formal discussion on a future city council agenda.

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47 Comments

  1. Thank you Carol Jensen for looking into this and speaking for the animals. We were all fooled into thinking that because the shelter is new it would be a wonderful place for animals and would be doing the right thing. This needed to be made public and now that it is I hope changes are made starting with getting someone compassionate to operate the shelter.

  2. I want to thank Carol Jensen for speaking out on this subject. She obviously cares deeply for these animals and more than that is trying to help change things for the better. I hope that calling attention to the problems, no matter where they stem from, can start shifting things in the right direction.

    1. Mimi, your words have provided more encouragement to me than you’ll ever know. When revealing a multitude of very serious concerns to people entrusted with care of the animals, the pushback and denial sometimes becomes so brutal that you don’t know if you can keep going. Many tears and sleepless nights I did not know if I could continue. But, the faces of those dogs as I lay in bed at night would not go away. And I knew I could not give up, no matter what. I am trying to persevere, though sometimes it seems hopeless, but I want you to know how much I appreciate your words. Proverbs 12:10 The righteous man cares for the needs of his animals.

      1. Thank you so very much for all your help, care, & concern for the animals. God bless you.
        Cindy Baker

  3. Just because Brenham has a new, larger adoption facility doesn’t mean all the problems of animal control are solved. It remains understaffed and under-budgeted. Whoever deemed the shelter employees “weak” for not soliciting more help is disrespectful to the staff and has, obviously, never walked in their shoes. Have you dealt with these animals and the bureaucracy on a daily basis? In addition, to imply that they lack compassion and are flippant about euthanizing animals, sounds more vindictive than like an objective assessment. I am grateful for the service of these people, who take on a thankless job that most of us would not want to do, for little pay, and no recognition. A reminder; if you look on the uniform patch, it says “Animal Control”, not animal adoption. You can thank the irresponsible pet owners for filling the pens due to negligence, abuse, and abandonment. As Brenham and Washington County grow, so will the problem of unwanted animals. Instead of using armchair social justice to attack the shelter employees, especially John Snowden, it might be better to go before City Council to fight for more funding for Brenham Humane Services.

    1. Shelter Volunteer, this is not “armchair social justice.” Animal Control is, unfortunately, a necessary function, caused by irresponsible animal owners who do not spay and neuter their animals, those who allow their animals to roam, those who bring a mama and puppies or kittens and dump them at the shelter for someone else to deal with. This is ABSOLUTELY the root of the problem, and very serious. But, the citizens of Brenham thought they had a new Pet Adoption and Care Center, meaning that adoptable animals that were unfortunate enough to arrive at the shelter would have the best chance for a better life in a forever home. But, being adoptable necessitates adequate care, such as proper worming, vaccinations, exercise, feeding, socialization, flea control, marketing, etc. After having volunteered intensively at the shelter for a significant number of hours, what I found made it very clear that the new Pet Adoption and Care Center was really just an extension of Animal Control. The animals in the adoption side were no better off than those in the intake side. If you’re just going to kill them, it doesn’t matter. But making them adoptable is a different matter. And, the records I received under the open records act, by the shelter’s own admission, show they do not have the proof of sterilization of adopted animals that is required under city ordinance and the Texas Health Code. So, now the Adoption Center is contributing to the population of unwanted animals, just like the irresponsible pet owners.

      1. Speaking of not having records indicating proof of sterilization, I would like to know if ALL the pets given away free on ‘Clear The Shelter Day’ were spayed/neutered. If this was not the case, then the cycle is just going to repeat with these animals!

        1. No, they were not. And, under the city ordinance and Texas Health Code, the shelter is REQUIRED to receive proof of sterilization for EVERY animal adopted out within the time designated in the Code. This was one of the record sets I requested to see under the open records act. John Snowden’s official response was “no responsive records.” In other words, he could not produce the required proof. And all the animals released on Clear the Shelter day were not spayed/neutered unless they had come into the shelter already spayed/neutered. The shelter, according to the Code, is supposed to follow up on every adoption. If the required proof is not received within the designated time, the shelter is to confiscate the animal, and the citizen is guilty of committing a Class C misdemeanor. But the shelter could not provide proof that these required procedures have been followed.

        2. @spayandneuteryourpets – agree! The shelter should also do a better job with the community in assisting with low cost spay and neuter education.

      2. From my past experience, Brenham Humane Services gave vouchers to those adopting animals for spay/neuter for underage animals, and the older animals were spayed/neutered prior to adoption. Is this not the current practice? All shelters are required to sterilize their animals prior to adoption, at the very least. To imply that the adoption center “is contributing to the population of unwanted animals” is a false narrative. You are underestimating those who go to the shelter with the sole purpose of adopting a rescued animal. Either the animal is spayed, neutered, and microchipped prior to adoption, the adopters are given vouchers, or they have their veterinarian spay or neuter. You are also incorrect about the euthanasia rate and Austin Humane Services. I volunteer there as well, and they send animals out to no-kill shelters and rescue groups. Unfortunately, animals do have to be euthanized, as their job, like Brenham Humane Services, is about animal control. Many animals arrive sick or overly aggressive. We have taken many animals home to heal and socialize, and they went right into adoption. If the shelter does not currently have a foster program, perhaps they should look into it. There are many volunteers who may not have time to get to the shelter every day who would be delighted to take a foster home to fatten up and lavish with tlc.

        While I commend you on your efforts, I can’t help but see that there is a lot of unwarranted negativity that accomplishes nothing. Instead of accusations and false implications, ask the shelter personnel how YOU can help. Have you brought bags of puppy chow, labeled it, and discussed it with staff? We saw a need for food and treats and would bring them regularly. Once again, instead of trying to have the shelter director and/or staff replaced you should make an effort to work with them and state your case for an increased budget, i.e., more employees. Criticism and harsh judgement are meaningless unless you are prepared to do the heavy lifting, with or without recognition. After all, it is about the animals.

        1. Yes, shelter volunteer, I did ask the shelter personnel how I could help. I donated food and treats and dog beds, even though the shelter should certainly have food for the dogs in their budget. I then volunteered all day, every day, for a couple of weeks to try to get the dogs’ pictures and bios on the website and Facebook page, which had not been updated in three months, and some dogs had been there for three months without even being given a name. I then got as many dogs as possible out for exercise every day, because shelter personnel never took them out of their kennels. I then presented the numerous care problems I had discovered to management, and was stopped at the front door the next time I came to walk dogs by a Captain in the Police Department who then proceeded to videotape me and tell me that I was not welcome to volunteer there anymore. I then requested records from the City that were not provided voluntarily by the Police Department, only to find that one of the reasons the budget is stressed is because the supervisor is working for the Police Department as required by his job description, while his entire salary is being charged to the shelter. And his salary is significantly more than the national average for an appropriately educated, experienced, compassionate, qualified shelter supervisor. So, how could I have helped more? I am helping now by trying to insure that qualified personnel can be hired so that dogs are cared for properly and volunteers are cherished instead of vilified.

      3. There are a lot of states that are no kill now. We ship animals from Texas to many other states that have their overpopulation problem under control. Saying that as the city grows the problem will grow as if it can’t be controlled is a terrible attitude. People who run an animal shelter should be proactive and work to end the problem. That’s what animal control means! Spay, neuter and vaccinate. That is the answer. Meanwhile, the poor dogs that end up at the shelter due to negligent owners deserve kindness and compassion until they find their forever home. It sounds like some things need to change.

  4. this is no doubt personal between the whistleblower and either Mr Snowden or the City…… I find it vindictive and personally know that the shelter is being better ran now than it has been in several years, we have top notch people on that end and this is merely a person that didn’t get their way and is reacting as such…….

    1. Exactly this. I wonder if this complainant actually compared the stats from previous years to the current statistics.

      Also, it is irresponsible to be throwing out comments about 50% of the animals being euthanized when it is simply untrue.

    2. It would be nice if you would be courageous enough to give your name. I have no problem revealing mine. I have documented proof for everything I have said. Anyone is welcome to see it. Mr. Snowden has no education or experience to qualify him for the position of animal services supervisor. He was a patrol officer and detective right up until the time they gave him the job. His salary, overtime and all benefits are being charged to the Pet Adoption and Care Center even though he, as clearly stated in his job description, is still doing work for the Police Department on non-animal related cases. He is being paid significantly more than the national average for an animal shelter supervisor, significantly more than his predecessor, and is not even working full-time for the shelter, though he is charged 100% to the shelter. The deficiencies in the care of the animals are well-documented by the firsthand accounts I have given to the Mayor and City Council, and even further confirmed by the documents I received after requesting them under the open records act. There are even violations of city ordinances and the Texas Health Code. And, by the way, I had no idea who Snowden was until I started volunteering at the shelter and what I saw made me cry so hard I couldn’t sleep and didn’t know if I could go back. Someone has to stand for the animals, and I fully intend to do that.

      1. You say Cpl Snowdwn doesn’t have the necessary qualifications, what are the necessary qualifications then? Animal control school? PETA classes? Being a licensed vet?

        Same with ‘experience’, what experience is needed? 5 years as an animal control officer? 2000 hours volunteering at an animal shelter?

        The more I read your comments, the more I believe you have a personal vendetta against Cpl Snowdwn. You may not feel that way, but that is how you are coming across.

        -R

        1. Rusty, I would suggest you go online and look at sites like indeed.com for animal shelter supervisor positions. There are many, and they all require education and experience related to animals, and discuss humane treatment of animals and animal enrichment programs to help make dogs more adoptable. When you have personnel that do not know how to and/or fail to provide proper worming, vaccinations, exercise, socialization, feeding, veterinary care, etc. you do NOT have a Pet Adoption and Care Center. I would be very happy to provide you with all the documents that I provided to the Mayor and City Council, which document in detail all the failures in all these areas, as well as the violation of the City Ordinance and Texas Health Code which REQUIRE proof of sterilization, which the shelter was not able to provide when I requested these records under the open records act. Snowden himself provided the official response of “no responsive records.” I have no vendetta against anyone. I just believe that people who have been proven beyond a doubt to not be performing their job adequately need to be replaced. And this is especially true when those suffering as a result are the animals who have no voice.

      2. It is obvious that you are vindictive towards John Snowden, for whatever reason. It would also appear that you have not only alienated the shelter staff, but law enforcement as well. I, also, did not previously know Mr. Snowden. If you care to stay in the good graces of City Council, et.al., I suggest you temper your arguments and become more of an advocate, either silently through your good deeds, or by helping to increase the shelter budget.

        As far as my “courage” is concerned, you don’t know me or my story.

        1. Shelter volunteer, I would be happy to hear your story, and would love for you to identify yourself. I have a hard time believing someone who has to hide under a pseudonym instead of revealing their name. I am sorry if people have been alienated, but sometimes the truth hurts. And I am doing my best to be an advocate for the animals, because they certainly did not have one before, and they desperately need one. I have done “good deeds,” and I would like to have done them silently, but it’s hard to stay silent when you see what’s going on and how it will never get better unless someone dares to challenge the status quo. And it’s hard to tell if the shelter budget needs to be increased without a further determination as to exactly how many hours the supervisor was spending on police work while being charged to the shelter. And it is quite probable a very qualified supervisor could be obtained for much less than what the detective is being paid.

      3. Also, how much work is he actually doing on police cases? You don’t know, do you? Again, so many assumptions made. You can think what you want but it doesn’t make it true.

        1. Logical Citizen, I have actually requested that information under the open records act, but have not received it yet. I, too, am eager to see what the totals are. And I certainly never ventured an estimate, since I did not know. But I DO know his job description calls for such work as one of his Essential Duties. In fact, more verbiage is devoted to this duty than any of his animal-related duties. And I have been told by the Police Chief himself that he HAS done such work.

    3. @growup – The new shelter is being run much better than before, however there is much more that should be done. If you run a shelter, you should be up to date on best practices and educated in shelter management.

  5. Anyone that knows the staff at the shelter knows that euthanasia is never their first choice and something they do NOT enjoy doing.

    I hope everyone remembers that it’s easy to hear one side of the story and run with it but there’s always more sides than that.

    1. Logical Citizen, I agree with you that the staff do not make euthanasia the first choice, and they do not enjoy it. But with properly educated, experienced, compassionate personnel who are actually working full time for the benefit of the shelter instead of being used for police work, maybe there could be a great volunteer program, great networking with rescue groups, someone planning great adoption events, enrichment programs for the animals to make them more adoptable, more efforts to educate the public about responsible pet ownership, etc. All of these are things that competent shelter supervisors are made responsible for and carry out, making every effort to help the animals. The shelter did have one great adoption event on August 19 for National Clear the Shelter Day, but this was planned completely by Kathryn Kwiatkowski of K’s Mutt Hut. She paid for the radio ad. She got the Brenham High School Band and cheerleaders, Blue Bell, Chappell Hill Sausage. She had her employees go over the day before and bathe all the dogs. She and her employees and other volunteers staffed the event and helped match adopters to dogs. So, this was NOT an event that can be attributed to the personnel of the shelter.

      1. I agree that there needs to be networking, adoption events, socializing, medical care, behavior training, etc. I also agree that it is mostly irresponsible pet owners that are to blame for the shelter being full. I was a fur baby foster for years and served on the board of a 501c3 animal rescue organization. We had contracts with a local vet for low cost spay/neuter, vaccinations, etc. We networked with other rescues including some out of state. We were all volunteers who worked our tails off because we wanted to save and protect every animal that we could. There is no feasible way to save every one as much as it hurts me to write. I think the two biggest things that are needed at the shelter are: a large group of organized volunteers and more money to cover necessary animal care. I’m not saying that there aren’t volunteers. I’m just saying that there needs to be a lot of volunteers who can organize. A small number of people can’t do it. If we can make this a priority, and do so in a positive, unifying way, many animals can find their forever homes. But it will take people volunteering their time and energy. Thank you to all of the volunteers. I know all about your hard work and this animal lover appreciates it!

        1. Mom of 3, there have been a number of people, knowledgeable about animals, who have attempted to volunteer at the shelter, but have received such poor treatment by staff that they never come back. There are very few volunteers anymore, and certainly not enough and not enough consistency to provide a significant part of the care for the animals. If there were competent, compassionate, people-and-animal-friendly leadership for the shelter, I believe an effective volunteer group could be established. But, when you go in to volunteer and see the hopeless situation for the animals due to the care issues I have documented for the Mayor and City Council, and then receive poor treatment by the staff, it is difficult to want to ever go back. There is a small group of us associated with a 501(c)(3) that have donated many hours and a great deal of money to save as many dogs as possible from the shelter, but we have, for the most part, been met with contempt, skepticism, and attempts to thwart our efforts by the personnel at the shelter, even though we are making their statistics look better and saving them the time and expense of having to deal with the dogs we remove. We are doing everything we can to help the dogs, but shelter personnel many times appear to be doing everything they can to stop us from helping the dogs

    2. @logical citizen – are healthy dogs being euthanized? If so, shelter management is to blame. Simply put, they are failing at their jobs. Rescue groups are called rescue groups for a reason. Work with them. Bring in a rescue coordinator. See it work.

  6. To: Carol Jensen, if you want something done get P.E.T.A involved in the investigation.
    If all we do is drive by and say oh how nice of a building we have and the main interior is full of non educated staff then it has failed the main purpose of the building and should of stayed in the molded old building with I’m sure a less animal lose monthly.
    You half to go above and beyond to get anything done in Brenham because all they wanna do is push issues under the mat!

    1. You’re exactly right. That is why I have spent many, many hours documenting everything so that I can prove it, in court, if necessary. I tried to get the Police Chief to do the right thing. That did not happen. So, I have now implored the Mayor and City Council to do the right thing. There are still additional steps that can be taken, but I hope that won’t be necessary. The animals deserve someone to speak for them, and what is going on with the personnel at the shelter is just plain wrong.

  7. I was also questioning Snowden’s position with his lack of experience. Euthanasia should be a last resort instead of a first resort! Need to get someone in there who can run things correctly and had a true love for animals!

    1. Pet lover, I suffered last October for a full month with elevated blood pressure meds when I had to surrender my 10-month old pup fearing that he would be euthanized for being in there for right at 30 days. Thank God, he went to a wonderful family of one of my friends and is now safe and secure. Another friend rescued my beloved 11-year old Lab that had to be surrendered after she was there for just 3 days,

    2. Snowden’s entire career has been as a patrol officer and detective. The Center needs someone with education and experience related to animals, and who absolutely is compassionate about them.

  8. The shelter needs outside help but is too weak to ask for it. Take a look a look at the euthanasia rates. Pathetic! Brenham should be ashamed. Our city deserves so much more.

    1. Jesse, you are so right. The city DOES deserve so much more. Citizens who love animals gave $1.5 million to help build this facility, believing it would make things better for the animals. But if this beautiful facility is not run by people with relevant education and experience, who are competent and above all compassionate about animals, it will never be a success. It would be so wonderful if we could be like Austin, which has a euthanasia rate of 4%, instead of our rate of over 50%.

      1. I live in Austin and I’ve heard that the reason why Austin’s rate is so low is because they send their animals to outside facilities for euthanasia so they don’t look bad…don’t be fooled. it is happening just as much here but they have a middle man do the dirty job.

        1. Do you have proof, or is this “just a rumor?” I have proof of everything I’ve said about the Brenham issues. Even if you forget the comparison with Austin, Brenham has a multitude of serious issues that need to be corrected, and that can only happen with qualified personnel.

        2. Sending them out of state or to other rescues and shelters is the right thing to do. The shelter doesn’t work with local animal rescues or openly rescue transfer. There’s no way of knowing what animals are there either because they don’t post pictures. If they transfer them to other shelters and rescues and have a 4% kill rate because of that then they are doing the right thing!

    2. Jesse, I also felt ashamed of Brenham after finding out about these conditions and operations, especially in light of the fact this is a brand new, expensive facility paid for by contributors and taxpayers and not even a year old yet,

      1. Thank you Carol, and I appreciate your response. I’ve no doubt many others will support your position,

        1. Angela,
          I have forwarded to you all the documents. Thank you for your interest. There must be more pressure on the Police Department from more concerned citizens, or these issues will not be adequately and permanently resolved.

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