THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 22, 1996 TAG: 9610220250
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 88 lines
Members of the local animal shelter unleashed a scathing rebuttal Monday of accusations about its operation, with the sharpest comments aimed at Commissioner Shirley Hassell.
Hassell had encouraged residents with gripes about the shelter to come to the Oct. 7 meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners meeting. The commissioner said she was lied to by shelter personnel about some kittens she had taken charge of as a favor for a neighbor.
``I resent Mrs. Hassell's attempt to demean, belittle and criticize the people who must do what is surely the most difficult and least respected job in the county,'' Gail Kowalski, president of the Outer Banks Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told commissioners Monday. ``I and our board will not . . . tolerate this abuse of our shelter staff.''
Her voice shaking as she read from a prepared statement, Kowalski related verbatim a question - including some references to excrement - she said she had asked Hassell about why she was stirring up issues that don't exist.
``Is that what your problem is? You need to invent one?'' Kowalski said she had asked Hassell.
Kowalski was angered by a claim by the Dare County animal control officer that he thought he was under Hassell's ``direct order'' to not destroy kittens she was feeding.
The officer, Burnie Lethig, told commissioners that he felt coerced because he believed ``Hassell had the authority to dictate or change policy and procedure as she desired, as the commissioners are the ones who pass the laws. I was ordered to make an exception in this case as directed.''
Reading from a prepared statement, Lethig, who has been employed by the Dare County animal shelter for 14 months, said he felt the need to ``appease'' Hassell as soon as she informed him that she was caring for five kittens given to her by her neighbor and there was no need to euthanize them.
``She had made the point very clear. Her desires were to be carried out by the Dare County Animal Shelter,'' he said.
Hassell gave the kittens to Lethig and then said she was outraged when they were put to death within hours.
The animal control officer was one of five representatives of the Dare County Animal Shelter and Outer Banks Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at the meeting to defend their policies and practices.
Hassell, who was absent Monday because of a death in her family, said in a telephone interview later that Lethig had told her the shelter has volunteers who raise kittens and nursing mother cats are available to feed orphans.
She denied she used her position to intimidate Lethig, or any other shelter personnel.
``No, no, no. I said I'd sure hate to see anything happen to them . . . I'd cared for them through the night and I've gotten kind of attached to them,'' the commissioner said.
Animal shelter manager Laura Betts gave a detailed, 16-page answer to the complaints, listing point-by-point each statement shelter critics raised about euthanasia, adoption and reclamation policies.
Betts said county law requires that if an animal is surrendered by the owner to the shelter, it may be destroyed immediately - as are feral animals. But strays are kept for at least eight days while attempts are made to locate the owner.
She also said shelter personnel follow an established protocol when selecting animals to put down.
Betts also responded to Manteo resident Donna Dieck's complaint last month that the shelter charges too much for pet owners to reclaim their animals. She said Dieck's dogs were frequently picked up by the dog warden, and that Dieck is an irresponsible pet owner and her dogs are a public nuisance.
Betts said she told Hassell that the cat her neighbor had was put to sleep because it was wild and that the shelter did not have the staff to care for newborn kittens.
All five OBSPCA representatives also had accounts of their encounter with Hassell.
But Jennifer Sawyer, the neighbor of Hassell who asked for the commissioner's help, said in a written statement the cat she called the shelter about was not wild. The cat had been petted and picked up without objecting. She said she was told by shelter personnel to feed the cat until someone could get there. After the cat was euthanized, Sawyer said, she was upset because she was told that the shelter was required to hold a stray for eight days.
``I will never call the SPCA about an animal again . . . I would just as soon let them stray - I feel they would have a better chance,'' Sawyer said.
The commissioners expressed sympathy for both sides of the issue, but said the matter should be handled by the OBSPCA board or the county's shelter advisory committee, not by commissioners. ILLUSTRATION: SHELTER REPORT
Animal shelter manager Laura Betts gave a detailed, 16-page answer
to the complaints, listing point-by-point each statement shelter
critics raised about euthanasia, adoption and reclamation policies. by CNB