Animal Champion Fired

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Leanne Hayden

TX. FERRIS ANIMAL SHELTER - A personal opinion of recent events & a thank you - PLEASE READ - A SAD DAYThursday, September 24, 2009, 1:42 AMMy apologies for this long email. My personal disclaimer about this email is this - I see things from my perspective and my personal opinion is all I can give those of you I call my friends in the rescue community. I encourage you to form your own personal opinions but feel it is my duty to inform you as the volunteer that has been posting the pets since approximately August 2008, that I will no longer be posting Ferris Animal Shelter pets. In no way is this email intended to be

anything other than personal opinion surrounding recent events and my personal thank you to Misty and to those of you that have helped the Ferris Shelter animals. I am emailing it to those of you that I regularly correspond with regarding shelter animals at various city shelters that allow me to help by posting their pets.

 

 

 

I thank you for all the support you have given the Ferris Shelter animals over the last year. They cannot say thank you but I can. Thank you. Thank you for saving them. Thank you for helping them live.

 

I WILL BE WORKING ON PUTTING TOGETHER SOMETHING TO SEND YOU SHOWING SOME OF THE PRECIOUS FACES EVERYONE HELPED SAVE OVER THE PAST YEAR FROM THE FERRIS SHELTER....

I have their pictures ...

 

 

 

 

For those of you that may not be aware, Misty Clark, the Animal Control Officer (ACO) that has saved so many Ferris animals over the past year was fired today, 9/23/09, by the City of Ferris.

 

In my personal opinion, I find it quite disheartening that the City Council of Ferris doesn't "seem" (in my personal opinion) to care about the pets in their own city shelter or "seem" to care about how their city is perceived in the media or to those of us in the rescue community. I have heard several people comment about the 1950's/1960' s dog pound mentality and the backwards nature of this small rural community based on the kill 'em all July directive from the Ferris City Council.

 

I only hope the citizens of Ferris are aware of how their city is being perceived in the media by the general public, due to the city officials making these decisions and I hope that they care. I know I would personally care if this were my home town or city. I hope they would care about the timing of Misty being fired after apparently making EEOC complaints.

 

I base my personal opinion and my personal perception of their lack of caring on the Ferris City Council July directive to Misty to kill all animals in the shelter, kill any new incoming animals, and cease all adoption activities as well as their most recent mandate of giving animals only 10 days before killing them, regardless if the shelter is sitting mostly empty.

 

Pro Tem City Manager Bill Pardue's comments in the Ellis County Press to Megan Gray where he stated this July directive to kill all the animals was done as a "shock factor" were especially concerning to me since I personally care about the animals in this city or I wouldn't volunteer to post them and personally find it disturbing that a city official or officials would do something as a "shock factor" to any employee.

 

I have asked myself many times why the terminology of "shock factor"? I have asked myself, if perhaps the directive was meant to be something to be upsetting and cause her to quit? I know she had requested a bathroom to this animal shelter, that from my understanding (and I have not seen this, so only know what I have been told) was already budgeted. There is only a sink at this shelter and Misty has been driving to the local EZ Mart for well over a year to be able to use the bathroom facilities. This directive to kill all the animals came not long after that request. Why? It doesn't make sense to me.

 

Only the city officials involved can answer these questions. I hope people that live in Ferris will ask.

 

Direct excerpt from The Ellis County Press dated July 8, 2009 in an article by Megan Gray.

 

Mayor Pro Tem and temporary City Manager Bill Pardue, said he placed that mention in the memo given to Clark as a “shock factor.†“Misty is an animal lover. She does a really good job at what she does, which is rescuing and adopting animals out, but she really needs to focus on patrolling too,†said Pardue. “Our facility wasn’t made to be a rescue shelter.â€

Misty Clark, ACO and Department Head (per the city website - this has recently been changed) took a city shelter that was previously 100 percent kill, down to definitively under 10 percent kill. I may be incorrect but I believe it was somewhere around 5 percent. This through being a space based shelter. The City of Ferris reaped the benefits of these postings at $40 adoption fee per the animals that were adopted out to the general public.

 

 

Let me repeat that - this ACO worked to change this shelter from 100 percent kill to around 5 percent kill and no more than 10 percent kill. Animals were consistently transferred to 501c rescue orgs or adopted by the public. I don't remember a time when it was so full that it got to the point that animals had to die due to no space. We consistently worked hard to post every day or every few days and get them adopted or rescued in short periods of time. That is a truly amazing statistic when you see the DFW city shelter kill percentages often published in the media. In my opinion Misty should have been winning awards and this small shelter should have been touted as a model to other city shelters of similar size. Again, just my opinion.

 

 

In the last month or so, I have personally spoken to the latest City Manager, Eric Strong, who informed me on the phone that he works for the Ferris City Council and is following their directive of a 10 day kill schedule, regardless if the shelter is empty or mostly empty. I understand Misty refused to sign this directive from speaking to her. It apparently is the same directive that was handed down in July with the only change being from complete kill and ceasing all adoption activities to going to a 10 day kill schedule from what I understand. Did the ceasing of all adoption activity statement get stricken? I am not aware.

 

I did not feel that Mr. Strong gave me a direct answer to my question about what was wrong with the way the shelter has worked over the past year as a space based shelter and why now the 10 day kill directive. The previous kill them all July directive had some statements that seemed contradictory in nature. He was unable to provide me details as to what City Council meeting minutes either directive was discussed, agreed, or voted on, which I requested. I wanted to be able to forward these meeting minutes to all of you that care about these animals. He told me he worked for the City Council since they hired him and they wanted this 10 day directive, and I told him he also worked for the taxpayers since the City Council should be doing what the taxpayers of this city want since the City Council members

are elected by these taxpayers.

 

I can only hope that the taxpayers will speak up and be the voice for the animals in their city shelter and clearly let the City Council know what their wishes are surrounding these animals and this city shelter. I hope that they care.

 

There were at least 11 animals in the shelter today, 9 are puppies, 1 is an older 8 month old Blue Heeler pup, and the last a dog that had not yet come around that may not be suitable for adoption.

 

I do not know the fate of these animals, but for those of you concerned, I understand you probably need to call the City of Ferris City Manager Eric Strong at 972-842-5761 if you can help them. I so hope these puppies and pup will be safe and I am of course, so concerned about the fate of any future incoming animals into this shelter since previous ACO's did apparently did kill them all and none were adopted or rescued out according to shelter records.

 

Misty has in her possession a reference letter from a previous City Manager of Ferris that left in the first quarter this year, that speaks very highly of her as an ACO and I saw a newspaper article where he spoke of her in glowing terms from this same time period.

 

I personally thank her for allowing me the privilege of helping post these shelter pets in this city and for truly being what I would consider forward thinking and a true example of what can happen when just one person cares enough to do something and make a difference. The power of one moving many to care. So many animals were saved during "Misty's watch".

 

 

Please take a moment and help me thank her for everything she had accomplished for this shelter, for this city (even if they may not recognize it, I know those of us that have seen these faces she has helped save week after week recognize it) and especially for these animals.

 

We are their only voice. They cannot tell people they want to live. You can see it in their eyes. It's up to us to speak for those that cannot speak for themselves. For the innocent.

 

Please take that time and make that call to thank her or email her directly. And if you know of a shelter in the DFW area that needs a great ACO, in my personal opinion the best of the best, I hope you will let them know about Misty Clark.

 

You can email Misty at misty (AT) mytocn (DOT) com or call her directly at 469-682-5441.