Galvanized by public protest over the Humane Society of the Harrisburg Area’s prepared euthanization of among its dogs, a variety of previous volunteers and employee required modifications in the animal well-being organization’s leading management and operations.
The Humane Society came under examination recently when it informed volunteers it prepared to euthanize Pursuit, the dog who had actually lived in the shelter longest, and a favorite of the volunteers.
That stimulated a public protest, and a demonstration at the shelter on Grayson Road in Swatara Township last Monday. During the demonstration, a volunteer spirited the dog far from the shelter. But that hasn’t always ended the criticisms.
On Sunday, a group of about 12 previous Humane Society volunteers and staffers collected at a West Shore dog grooming shop to openly voice a series of other problems — lots of very first raised on Pursuit-associated Facebook pages recently — that they state are adversely impacting animal care.
This group, about half of whom were associated with the Pursuit demonstrations, yields there have actually been a variety of success stories at the Humane Society’s shelter for many years.
And they don’t challenge the society’s own numbers that reveal all-animal euthanization rates struck a four-year low in 2022, or that the society’s passed latest state kennel inspection in June reveals the shelter passed.
But, to an individual, they said they think the Pursuit case indicates a top-down design of management with a history of doubtful spending choices, which relates argument and recommendations for enhancement with dissent that need to be quashed.
“There is an aura of fear and intimidation… if you did not like whatever it was, you were intimidated to either like it or we’re going to punish you, and the result was they ended up throwing out some longstanding volunteers just for one complaint, internally, about the conditions of the heating and air conditioning,” said Tim Delp, a one-time volunteer of the year at the society.
On Sunday they required Executive Director Amy Kaunas, who has actually led the non-profit because 2006, to step down, and for modifications to the Society’s board of directors.
Kaunas has actually not been offered for interviews in the previous week, however the society reacted recently, and, as just recently as Sunday, to PennLive’s concerns about a few of the problems raised.
There are 3 significant stress to the grievances aired Sunday:
Key enhancements for animal well-being have actually been neglected.
Several volunteers said Sunday that the primary kennel locations for dogs at the Humane Sociaty’s Swatara Township complex is not air-conditioned, which interior temperature levels have on lots of events surpassed 90 degrees.
They pointed out a particular case in which they said a proposed present for setup of a/c in the kennels was rejected. Meanwhile, the critics argue, the Humane Society has actually spent for cosmetic tasks to the firm’s exterior that have little to do with animal well-being.
Other speakers said comparable pleas to set up more industrial-scaled equipment for dish-washing and laundry equipment — tasks that volunteers state they are needed to dedicate a part of their shifts to at the cost of getting dogs out for strolls — went unheard.
“How can I wash dishes when I’m the only volunteer (to walk dogs) for three hours?” asked Mike Carroll, a Middletown homeowner who offered from 2017 through 2021.
The Humane Society’s board develops the organization’s capital strategy. Asked particularly about the a/c today, the society said there is a significant compromise that features that sort of enhancement that the board, since yet, hasn’t wanted to make.
“We’ve had multiple HVAC contractors review our facility, but any changes would require the elimination of our open-air kennels that allow dogs to access the outdoors 24/7. Dogs love being outside. It’s part of what makes them happy.”
Former volunteer Tammy Care countered Sunday that other shelters in York and Lebanon have a/c.
“I simply discover it entertaining that the front of the building has ‘welcome” in 10 different languages yet… we have no air conditioning (for the dogs),” Care said.
2. Former volunteers said they do not feel valued.
Many former volunteers stepped forward Sunday to say their efforts have been hampered by poor communication, and some claimed they were “fired” after making what they considered suggestions for improvements in animal care and volunteer service.
Humane Society filings show that total volunteer numbers are down, though there is some discrepancy over how much.
In the Humane Society’s 2019 internal revenue service filings, firm leaders said there were 150 volunteers. In its 2021 tax filing, the volunteer lineup was positioned at 66, however in a number of actions to PennLive.com today, the Society put the existing volunteer count at 100.
Protesters stand throughout from the Harrisburg Humane Society in an effort to stop the scheduled euthanization of an American Bulldog mix called Pursuit. The dog has actually been at the shelter because October 2021. February 13, 2023. Dan Gleiter | [email protected]
Some of the drop was a function of pandemic-related procedures, however that doesn’t explain everything, the previous volunteers said.
“I would go back there in a heartbeat if everything got changed, and somebody ran the place like a real rescue,” Carroll said.
Asked about the culture problems raised throughout PennLive’s reporting recently, the society’s action was: “We’re working on doing everything we can to make our 100 volunteers feel comfortable in expressing their views.”
That consists of, the society said in an email, the establishment of a volunteer advisory committee comprised of individuals who have actually been on the rolls for a minimum of a year and with 100 hours of logged service — and more individually and small-group conferences.
The society likewise competed its study of volunteers last summer season revealed lots of felt their input was listened to, valued and thought about.
“With so many volunteers, we know we’ll never be perfect in this area, but we continue to work hard to show our thanks to each and every one of them,” the society said.
3. The Perry County farm and board oversight.
Many critics today have actually questioned the society’s ownership and usage of a farm in Perry County, where executive director Kaunas lives.
Kaunas’ wage was noted at $114,086 in 2021, according to tax filings for that year, with extra payment of $10,911. It was not instantly clear what that other payment represents, or if Kaunas pays lease on the farmhouse.
But in action to PennLive’s concerns, the society defined Kaunas’ residence there as a task requirement.
“The executive director is required to live at the farm and is on call 24/7…
“Our farm is critical to serving our mission, and we’re thankful to have someone of Amy’s experience providing a constant presence to help oversee animals who need time at the farm to recover and heal. At any given time, we have up to 30 farm animals. While many animals can live at our traditional shelter, like dogs and cats, others must stay at the farm, like pigs, goats, cows, and horses.”
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As for Kaunas’s general payment package, the society’s tax filings specify that its board sets the director’s pay after an evaluation that consists of a take a look at development towards the society’s objectives, and what leaders of other similarly-sized non-profits are making.
Lori Zink, a previous marketing supervisor from Elizabethtown who said Sunday she was fired in 2014 for doing things beyond her official task description, said she thinks the board has actually ended up being too enamored by Kaunas’s fundraising expertise.
When she worked there, Zink said of the board, “all they cared about was the fundraising money. They did not care about the staff. They did not care about the volunteers… As long as Amy could get donors to write checks, that was really all that they cared about.”
Of $4.43 million in overall incomes reported in 2021 with the Pennsylvania Department of State, the bulk – more than $3.2 million – originated from donor contributions, bequests, grants and fundraising events. The rest came mainly from adoption charges and other services to the general public, agreements with city governments and, in 2021, forgiven federal income defense program loans.
Expenses for 2021 was available in at $3,024,000.
