{"id":1990,"date":"2011-05-23T19:14:22","date_gmt":"2011-05-23T23:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/05\/county-animal-shelter-issues-joe-pritchard-lcc-work-session-23-may-2011.html"},"modified":"2011-05-23T19:14:22","modified_gmt":"2011-05-23T23:14:22","slug":"county-animal-shelter-issues-joe-pritchard-lcc-work-session-23-may-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/05\/county-animal-shelter-issues-joe-pritchard-lcc-work-session-23-may-2011.html","title":{"rendered":"County Animal Shelter Issues —Joe Pritchard @ LCC Work Session 23 May 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"In his County Manager’s report at the work session this morning,\n\nJoe Pritchard reported on:<\/a>\n
\n\n<\/a>\nIssues that I think you’ve heard about… animal shelter.\n<\/blockquote>\nPresumably the issues reported by David Rodock in the 15 May 2011\nValdosta Daily Times\n Animal shelter probed\nUse of drugs investigated; employees speak out <\/a>\nand\nby Gabrielle Sarann for WCTV on 19 May 2011\n\nLowndes County Animal Shelter Probed:\nThe Georgia Department of Agriculture is keeping an eye on an area animal shelter and has cited it for several violations<\/a>\n
\n“I’ve seen a lot of the animals come in the shelter and not got vet care\nand sometimes that comes in the form of euthanasia,” says Susan Leavens,\nan animal control officer for Lowndes County.\n

\nThis led several Lowndes County Animal Shelter employees to file a\ncomplaint with the Georgia Department of Agriculture.\n

\nIt launched an investigation citing the facility for not providing\nhumane care.\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nJoe Pritchard continued in his report:\n

\nAugust of 2010 the Department of Agriculture called me and asked\nfor a meeting about issues of concern.\nThey expressed those issues centered around\nmaintenance of records …\nwhat was classified as humane treatment.\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/a>\nMr. Pritchard referred to “specific castration of a pot-bellied pig”.\nHe didn’t say whether he considered that inhumane treatment;\nhe merely discussed it after referring to things “classified as humane treatment”.\n

\nHe continued:\n\n\n

\nThere was also some concern as far as\nmaintenance of the security of drugs out and kept in files.\n<\/blockquote>\nHe said he conducted a personal interview with some staff.\n
\nWe were not able to substantiate\n…\naccusations other than that … castration of pig.\n<\/blockquote>\nWhat about this from WCTV:\n
\nAnd in routine inspections over the last year, several euthanasia\nviolations were written-up.\n

\n“It did not matter how you euthanized or what numbers you used, it didn’t\nmatter if it was a 30lb dog and you used 6 cc’s,” says Leavens. “It need\nto be 60 pound dog.”\n<\/blockquote>\nOr this:\n

\nThe Department of Agriculture says the Lowndes County Animal Shelter\nfailed to provide care to an emaciated bulldog picked up in September.\n

\nThe report says its gums were white and it couldn’t stand on its own.\n

\nSusan Leavens says she did her best to care for the dog, but it took\ntwo days for the director, Linda Patelski, to have the dog euthanized.\n

\n“Three or four times that day I’d spoken to her about that particular\ndog,” says Leavens. “On each instance, she was doing something else. The\ndog was never seen by a vet that day.”\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nThis morning Joe Pritchard said they examined the character of\nthose testifying for the complaints\nand he said they found biases.\n

\nThat could explain what WCTV quoted him as saying:\n

\nLowndes County Manager Joe Pritchard says, “I don’t believe through our\ninvestigation, nor through any info we received from the Department of\nAg, are able to indicate any malicious intent.”\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nPerhaps if he’d spent more time investigating the content of the\naccusations rather than investigating the whistleblowers,\nhe might have found out more.\n

\nHere’s\n\nthe video.<\/a>\nHe went on for more than five minutes, all in the same monotone, about castrations, euthanasia, misplaced drugs, and a verbal reprimand.\n

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