as an Animal lover,not just a pure bred collie lover. You apparently have little idea of how to care for the number of Animals the shelter deals with. Young, old,sick strays that have been beaten or just left on there own. The board and the employees do there best. During a large snow fall the shelter manager slept with the animals to feed and care for them. The board gives hours of time Vet's commit endless hours of there time. These people care, you are incorrect. The place is old and run down, and needs a lift and the staff and board are dedicated to the animals. "all Animals". They do not operate in secret, ask the director and she will help you understand what is faced each day of her 50-60 hours week. Trust me they all care and not just about the pure breed collie. The time it took you to write would have been better spent helping the shelter, care for the old and the sick stray mixed breed.

louie is right, Plus I see this woman leaving comments and blog's all over the place. she might get a job, or go to the Humane Soceity herself and see what good they do. Her one expierence does not in any way reflect the good the gang does doen there. They must be dedicated, the board is not paid they work and donate time and money. Wow! people just comment without knowing the deal. Ask yourself one question Ms. Collie, why are they doing it, if not for the Animals. Why do many vet's give time and materials? The answer could only be they care. Ask any board member,why and they will tell you. As far as oversight David Craig's chief of Staff sits on the board and keeps a watchfull eye. He as well donates time and effort to help. Learn one thing get the fact's, before public comment. Sorry i only keep mixed breads,since fancy pant people as yourself are waiting in line to take the pure breeds. last I checked, they are dogs too! I did not post pictures of me and my dog, thought it was tacky

There are least four lawyers on the board . Some practice some do not. accountant's and buisness people. The president David spends more time with the shelter than his work and family. the shelter manager is a great person and spends most of his time caring for the animals the director is a dedicated caring persomn who loves her work. many of the board members are buisness people who dedicate time to care for the animals. i am certain they are careful and dedicated. I am certain all there names are public and any past should not reflect on what they are attempting today. There are new dedicated people who are trying to do the best they can with what they have.

Would you prefer it to be run like Baltimore County where lost pets get only a 4 day stray hold? In the past week, the Harford County Humane Society adopted out 29 animals, sent 19 to rescues and reunited 13 lost pets with their owners.

As you said about the second collie, they had room in the shelter, so it wasn't in danger of being put down. With the amount of people looking for a pet coming into the shelter, the collie would have been getting a lot of visibility to find its new home. It is possible that a family had put in an application for the collie, but the adoption fell through. These things happen as I am sure you are aware. Four weeks doesn't seem like a horribly long time for a dog to find its new home. What is the normal time from when you pick up a dog to when you find its forever home for your rescue?

I believe this article does a very nice job at staying neutral. She is stating her personal experience, but ask any employee at the shelter and they will tell you "it's a business". This business aspect is understandable, but it should also be utilized more as all it takes is word of mouth for people to stop coming. The author is not cursing or bashing the Humane society, simply asking questions. Completely legitimate questions too. Every time you speak to an employee, you will get a different response on an animal's status, and on more than one occasion, the animal has already been euthanized, but the 'prospective adopter' was given the ok to come and get it. How can anyone say that is right or the correct way a 'business' should be run? I understand that they are an open admission shelter, but they have done a great job in working with other rescues only in this past year all due to complaints and questions. If you look at their statistics from last year, only 12 dogs and 2 cats were sent to rescues, yet every week their Facebook page proudly announces multiple animals had gone to rescues in the previous week. This is a great improvement! The statistics are on the HSHC's own website, not from disgruntled ex-volunteers, which a lot of people assume is where all these "lies and rumors" are coming from. I personally have been a volunteer at this shelter and do feel there can be a number of improvements, but these improvements and ideas are seen as attacks, which they are not.

Amy, i am not sure what you are saying. But a majority of the volunteers are young and give answers as best as they can .Read again what the professional blogger is saying. It is negative. when you say negative things it should be supported by an alternative. Here comments and blogging in any way negatively hurts the animals you are helping. Sometimes there are no real answers. for the record the shelter is not for profit,non-profit,,, and if it were a buisness, animals would be held based on just the ability to be adopted not maybe but for sure,animal people like the board volunteers as you are in it for no glory but to help the animals. I wish I could take them all and have a ranch were no stupid comments would affect the animals. It just gets bad when people comment without fact.

I commend Joan on opening her eyes and asking questions. This is a case of just two animals. Why would you leave an animal in a shelter atmosphere when they had offers from other rescues to take her? Could it possibly be that this not for profit agency, is actually only thinking of the profit they will make on this animal and not for its actual wellbeing? What do you think happens to the thousands of animals that they kill each year? Do you really believe they are not only held for their stray hold period and then euthanized? The shelter does nothing but show you what they want you to see and hide behind the name Humane Society, when in reality they are the local pound. They have no outside agency that comes in to audit them and they are not held accountable to anyone. So if you want to follow the HSHC blindly and believe only what they want you to see, that is your choice. But the general population of animal lovers wants to see the truth of what is done and not just the deceptive rosy picture that the shelter wants you to see.

Joan didn't say people weren't working hard. She said things are not being handled well. Her complaint mimics many that I've heard. As a member of HOPE, I know people who have gone to pick up an animal they adopted only to find it had been killed. The lack of communication at the shelter must be astonishing. When you compound that with the fact that they are following old-time protocols and ineffective procedures, you get these kinds of horrific mistakes that frustrate potential adopters and lessen the facility's effectiveness. Things need to change from the inside out, as HOPE has been suggesting all along. The volunteer staff needs to be used more effectively, the staff needs to have reliable communication tools, new spay/neuter policies need to be in place, etc., etc. And the public does have a right to know what's going on at the facility because most of its budget comes from tax dollars. There is a desperate need for new, enlightened leadership who won't say "can't" in every other sentence. Yes, Joan could talk to HSHC management, just as HOPE has, and Joan would get the same old tired rhetoric that we all have gotten. It's a waste of time to try to open real lines of communication with them. So, yes, everyone should show up at the public hearings for the shelter. And do your homework ahead of time. Things are NOT going to change because they have a new facility (although they do seriously need one). The changes needed must happen on the INSIDE first.

The shelter might be doing the best it can with the facility that it now has, but it definitely does not use the time, talents and energy of all of its great volunteers. Many of the volunteers who had good ideas to promote the shelter's varied programs are now volunteering at other places, mainly because their ideas were simply ignored. If the shelter had used these ideas to their benefit, perhaps even more adopters would visit, and leave with a pet, and more animals, especially older ones, would be in a safe, secure and stress-free foster home. As for breed-specific rescue groups, I do think these groups should be contacted as soon as a particular breed comes into the shelter, as they are knowledgeable about what that particular breed requires. Oh, and by the way, I am also the proud owner of a beautiful Collie, who has been a "shelter dog." SAS

If you have rescues coming in and pulling their favorite dog, then what dogs are going to be left for individuals to come in to adopt? Where is the incentive for people to come in to adopt from the shelter if they are giving all the highly adoptable dogs to resuces?

The shelter takes in all kinds of animals, but staff members are not experts on specific needs these animals have. It is not just pure breed dogs. It's rabbits, rats, peacocks and other birds, iguanas, fish....None of these should be in a shelter environment. The shelter would do well establishing working relationships with rescues specializing in the care these animals need. Pure breed dogs should not be held at the shelter when they have an offer from a rescue. Four weeks is a long time for any dog to be held in a kennel. A space could have been freed up for another dog, but the shelter chose not to do that. Joan also talked about accountability, a very valid question. David Fang keeping a watchful eye over his own organization is not sufficient oversight. We all know that. What purpose does it serve to bash breed specific rescues?

Holy load of horse crap!!! First of all, the county provides a fraction of the funding the shelter requires to operate. The county pays the shelter to house the animals brought in by either county residents or animal control. The shelter does it's best with what they're given through the county and donations. For those of you who think that's not enough, then by all means go to the shelter and volunteer. Secondly Joan, are we only supposed to be concerned with the "sensitive" nature of a collie breed yet turn our backs on the large percentage of pit bulls that inhabit the shelter? If you and all the other windbags out there are really dedicated to helping animals, then why only be concerned about pulling out a specific breed? What about all the mixes? And as for the fact that the shelter called your collie a collie mix, that's because they really can't call it a collie unless they have some sort of pedigree paperwork. Do your research before blogging about something you don't know ANYTHING about.

uhm....the 5:47pm comment is not from me. Do I have an evil twin? Holy load of horse crap is not term I would use. So Joan is concerned about Collies...which would leave you more time to promote mixed breeds, right?

The County gives them $450,000 a year, and they operate on about a $950,000 budget so I'm not sure saying this is a fraction of the funding the shelter requires to operate is accurate. This information is of public record.

In reference to the HSHC not properly identifying animals as being purebreed, unless they have direct knowledge that a pet is indeed a purebreed it would be improper for them to state this. So they identify most animals as being a mix. Animals that are considered highly desireable are not likely to go to rescue since the adoption fee is good part of the shelters funding. Every dollar is needed so why send the pet to rescue unless it is not adjusting to the shelter environment. Those making the decisions at the HSHC must balance a delicate operation that fluctuates daily dependant on how crowded the shelter is, the availability of volunteer vet services, availability of foster homes, the need to maintain a healthy environment for all the animals and the funds available at the time. This fact is probably the reason the information they provide and decisions they make must change from day to day. I do believe they atteempt to do the best they can for each animal under their current operating conditions. Yes, they do make some mistakes they are human! The public should praise them for the good they do and continue to offer their help and dollars to provide medicine, groooming, supplies and as many volunteer hours as they can to provide the dogs exersize, training and daily human contact. And the cats need human interaction while being caged for periods of time.

Isn't it supposed to be about the animals? The dog would have been better in a home environment than at the shelter for 4 weeks, and it would have allowed another animal to have a space instead of being killed for being over capacity. Sadly, in 4 weeks there were probably many dogs killed and at least one more could have been saved. If HSHC wants public support than they should be willing to share ALL of the information, not only that which makes them look good. Lots of good questions have been raised by a number of people but no answers provided. It also sounds like many people have offered help and support but were driven away, and how incredibly sad that is for the animals. Employees are paid for their work but volunteers receive no money, they simply give out of the kindness of their hearts. It should be about the animals but it seems that human egos have gotten in the way. I have to say in hearing both sides of this issue, I am definitely in favor of some oversight and holding HSHC accountable and not just to themselves if taxpayer money is the sole source of funding for the new facility.

HSHC IS held accountable to the county. Each year HSHC and other groups like ARC, fire departments,etc. have to go before the county politicians and make their case for funding. Several years ago, like when that lady who stored cats all over and kept too many dogs in kennels where they would fight and get hurt was running the place the county council told them to get their act together or there would be no increase in funding. Now the council is talking about paying for a new shelter. Guess they like what they see. You people are just upset that the HSHC is not accountable to YOU. Too bad.

The council is talking about paying for a new shelter with taxpayers' money. I bet they like what they see. A sugar coated facility where over-flow animals are disposable. Yes, Dan....the people are upset.

Are there enough of you to form a team? Can you play football?

Yes, Dan.

It's amazing to me that both sides want the killing to stop. No one wants an animal to die needlessly. Then why the panic and anger and support for the staff and board of the humane society of harford county?? Why are folks stepping up and defending an organization that routinely kills animals? What is needed is a shelter that wants CHANGE. Change that would include taking in animals and placing them into homes!!! That is supposed to be the job of HSHC. Stop blaming the public for dumping animals off. It is the JOB of HSHC to find these animals homes. For years HSHC has not had the leadership to take the shelter to the next level. It takes tons of dedication from the board of directors down to the staff to make this transition. But, it can be done. It doesn't take a multi million dollar facility to make this happen. The animals won't care how much $$ is spend on a building, the animals just want to live. It's time to make some noise and make the shelter do what it is supposed to do. Create a low cost spay/neuter/shot clinic, amp up the off site adoptions, be more vocal with social media, make longer hours on evenings, weekends and holidays when folks get out more...it takes work and dedication .Stop defending the current staff who aren't doing their job. Each time an animal needlessly dies, they fail.

In response to the comment that the adoption fee is a good part of the funding, if the animal was at the shelter for 4 weeks that same fee has to pay for the costs incurred during those weeks, so in reality the shelter is not really receiving the full adoption fee anyway (what's the saying, robbing Peter to pay Paul).

You clearly missed my point. The point being the animal should have been released to rescue as soon as possible. To use the excuse that HSHC needed the adoption fee is misleading as this same fee (or funds that HSHC will receive) 4 weeks later is likely significantly reduced if even covering costs at all by that point.

Dan, you are clearly upset, but do you mean to say that the taxpaying people of Harford County are barbarians who don't care whether or not animals die? How about posting a simple survey on your website? Do you want animals to get a chance to live or do you want to dispose of them as cheaply as possible? Every taxpayer's opinion counts, just like every animal's life.

Upset? Hardly. Puzzled about how people who know so little can try and demand so much. I have no dog in this fight (sorry for the pun). You guys and HSHC wanna slug it out, be my guest. I just know that when I was there last spring to adopt my cats I got to talking with one of the workers, and I have a clearer understanding of what they face. And believe it or not, there are people out there who believe that a taxpayer supported shelter should not be spending tax dollars to save animals. They might prefer schools doing a better job or more police protection or better roads. Barbarians is your word, not mine. You are hard to figure out. First you call them barbarians, then you say their opinion counts, Which is it Christine? And I have no idea about a survey or a website. I come here for my local news and got caught up in all of the drama. I saw this same thing play out when I lived in Seattle, and it wasn't pretty. It is a shame that it is happening here, when from what I have seen they are doing a great job at the shelter.

Dan, feel free to leave the drama at any time. Christine's point is perfectly clear. You sound like a two-bit lawyer trying to play a twisted game with symantecs. And if all you know is what you learned in a conversation with a shelter worker, how can you say we know so little? Who are you to judge? Oh, don't answer that...I already know who you are.

My experience happens to involve collies, but this could have been about any breed, not just collies. There are some very interesting points being made but it's obvious nobody really has any proof or statistics, just opinions.

The point of bringing this topic to light was to hopefully to start a dialogue on whether or not there should be some kind of transparency or independent audit of that is open to public scrutiny. The shelter gets so much of it's funding from the county and is about to have major construction for a new modern shelter funded by the county with our tax dollars. I'm not sure why that is such a radical idea.

I've worked for several local non-profits and they all rely on funding from outside sources to keep their doors open. To get major grant funds, or government funding, requires a massive amount of pre-justification with statistics and results, goals and reporting down to the penny of how those funds are spent, and if your goals have been met. For an organization with a mission to help animals, obviously the care and what is best for the animals is a huge part of those results. This kind of reporting is routine in non-profits where large funding is supplied. Why would we not want the same accountability for our tax dollars?

Why wouldn't an operation that is run efficiently and humanely not want to supply that information? That alone could bring more donations from individuals and more volunteers.

The shelter is doing the best for the resources it has. I donate $$, adopted a cat, bring supplies (when I can). For all you naysayers out there - what have you done? The best thing people can do is spay/neuter your pet. Have a little extra cash? Give up your Starbucks for a week & donate to the shelter! Volunteer an hr a week & give some affection/attention to the animals. They & you will feel great!!! I am an animal lover (4 rescue cats) and feed/trap/neuter/return ferals or friendly strays dumped in my neighborhood. I realize I can only do so much & save just so many....

I wasn't aware of the controversies prior to reading these comments.
I feel it comes down to a few key points and some possible solutions which can mirror how we do things in human health care:
1.Treat each animal as an individual with records and communications that follow it.
2. The shelter should have a communication chain with each animal having it's own record that is kept in one central location. That record will be started when the animal comes in, gets treatment, gets an adoption inquiry, gets released to a rescue, gets adopted or gets euthanized. Nothing can happen without having that record in hand or in sight for an erecord. When the animal is no longer at the shelter, the record is moved to an archive area. People need to be instructed to not comment on any animal until they have referenced the record. If a computer file is being used, pop up or other obvious warnings can be used to indicate pending actions such as adoption, transfer to shelter or planned date of euthanasia.
3. Accountability is key. You cannot adovocate for more funds, more staff, more anything without accountability. Good record keeping as mentioned in #1 is key and the rest of the records will flow from that. It should only take a moment to run a report to see how many days of food and shelter were used, how many vet and volunteer hours were used, how many animals were adopted out, transfered to a rescue or euthanized. It really is a very simply tracking data base issue.

There are some individuals who know very well what goes on at that shelter and some of them hide behind the name “Humane” Society. Their motive being job security and profit (I realize they are a non-profit, but their goal still is to bring in as much money as possible to spend on everything but the animals). Then there are some who know what is going on at the shelter and they are called HOPE, whose only motive is to save the animals (not truly vicious or terminally ill animals, as HSHC leads you to believe), educate the public and bring transparency so people know what is really going on at HSHC. Dan said it very clear, when he said what about the taxpayers who don’t want to spend money on animals and think they should be disposed of after their hold, to cut costs. The board and management are very good at cutting costs to the animals already and now we have some understanding of why they do what they do. They must be governed by these taxpayers, or are these taxpayers, who don’t want their monies wasted on the animals. Don’t you think the fact that thousands are killed each year without a blink of an eye, corresponds with what Dan said?

Usually a motive would exsist to hide fact. what would the motive be for the people running the shelter to hide the facts? The area to house the animals is small. so, a limited amount of animals can be kept. They are treated as pets by the staff and by all who work at the shelter. I am certain if there was a way to have a "no kill" shelter the board would have a "no kill" shelter. Why is it so difficult for you who write in to understand they are doing G`D's work. Do you dummy's, actually think the board meets once each month and kills animals and steal funds? you should all know who the board members are, ask to speak to them. I am certain some of them feel under attack and prefer not to talk. if in your hearts you truly belive the board and the workers are there to steal and do not care about the animals don't bother

Again straight & simple is we all do the best we can for the animals but there just are not enough people willing to adopt a pet from a shelter, rescue, etc. Fact is most people want their purebred from a breeder. People need to be educated on the value of owning a shelter animal.........win-win situation for the human & animal companion

The shelter has a lot of motive to hide facts; they rely on animal lovers to donate to them. Most people don’t realize they kill thousands of animals a year and unless they earmark their donations, they could be used to help kill the animals. Many people have tried to talk to the board and have been denied. Omar you do realize board meetings consist only of board members, right? So how do you know what is and isn’t discussed, because they do not share this information with anyone outside of the board? I would have to disagree with you about the board and management wanting a no kill shelter. As soon as it is mentioned they clam up and walk away and start crying that the people who suggest this don't have a clue. I don't believe any one has said they steal, just that the money does not benefit the animals. There are many audits that could and should be done. An audit should be done to make sure the financials are accurate and monies are being spent properly by management, the controlled substances should be audited for accurate record keeping, MOSH should be doing audits for safety records and compliance, the animal records should be audited to verify the shelter is being honest on the handling of them and I could go on and on. These are requirements of all businesses (non-profit included). Once again, I would have to ask myself what makes them so different?

Not really sure where these ideas come from, but there's a member of the board who is a VOLUNTEER. There's also an annual audit of ALL controlled substances by the state of MD. Quit spouting off about crap you don't know anything about. No matter what the shelter does it's criticized.

Gee instead of everybody pointing fingers at each other or at the Humane Society why don't you all channel your energy & go to the shelter, volunteer to walk a dog, pet a cat, help those over-worked people who are at least making an effort. Better yet donate some needed $$. Jeez nothing worse than arm-chair critics who think they know what's better...............

I'm amazed that not one of the Shelter haters have stepped up to say they they can do things better and want to take over the job!!! The shelter is doing the best they can with what they have/what is given to them- all we can do is hope things will greatly improve when new shelter built. In the meantime again get over there and help them care for the animals and donate $$.....Like the old saying goes "put your $$ where your mouth is"

Somehow the question of whether or not an organization that gets half of their operating expenses and a capital project for a shelter paid for with our tax dollars should have some public accountability has been lost. This is not about HOPE, or whether or not people here donate, help, rescue, or even if the shelter is currently run great or not. It's about whether or not there should be some routine accountability, reporting and auditing done of a BUSINESS that is mostly funded by tax dollars. Right now there are no real answers available and a lot of speculation because it appears none of that exists. I don't understand why anyone, the shelter, the county, the taxpayers, animal lovers, would be opposed to routine business accountability.

Joan have you contacted anyone at the shelter with any of your questions about any of the accountability yourself? If so who, and what did he/she say?????

Just looked at the last newsletter available on line. It says the shelter takes in approximately 4,500 animals per year. A 60% kill rate is 2700 dead animals, an average of 225 animals die each month. We need to do better.

Are you kidding me? The last thing we need are more public employees for politicians to coddle. These are animals we are talking about not people.

As one who has no affiliation with the county shelter or no kill rescue groups, first and foremost, if the Harford County is willing to put up money for a new shelter, Take It! You can settle your squabbles later. Also, those who have nothing to hide, hide nothing. If the public or government agency is putting up most of the funds, they have every right to demand full disclosure

If they had nothing to hide then why would they erase her facebook comments instead of replying to them??

I agree with Joan on the need for accountability, too MANY unanswered questions! As for HSHC and Hope, the only negtive comments I see on this blog are from HSHC supporters and staff. Seems like a political tactic to me, smear the other person if you have no real argument.

For those that say the shelter is doing the best that it can, or that we can't move to no-kill, check out this MSNBC story on those that have done exactly that with dramatic differences in how many animals make it out alive-
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31555018/ns/health-pet_health/t/no-kill-shelter-nation-maybe-years/#.TpefaJviFvU

In the time that I have lived in Harford County (about 25 years) I have seen a dramatic shift in perceptions about companion animals. I remember when the first doggie daycare was opening and people stopped at the booth and looked at what it would offer and laughed as if it was absurd. But it's packed every single day now. Other small businesses have cropped up offering specialized services and foods in addition to the big box stores.. What was acceptable 25 years ago is not necessarily acceptable today, especially when there are so many other remedies to the overpopulation of pets coming into shelters, such as low cost spay/neuter clinics, feral cat spay/neuter release plans, education of the public, working with other organizations and professionals to assess the temperment of animals. If most of Michael Vick's dogs have been able to be rehabiliated why are the results here so high for euthanasia? Still more questions than answers.

I think it's important for animal lovers to attend the hearings to see what the plans are for the future in the new shelter and what accountability will be in place, what contracts are in place. How often are they up for renewal? . I for one don't want to see a bigger shelter just become a bigger place that can double the number of animals that are currently killed. Anyone know when those hearings will take place?

Vick's dogs? Seriously? He was ordered by the court to pay at least $18,000 PER DOG to go towards rehab, and most of them still haven't been placed in homes. Vick's out, and most of them are still in rehab. Shelters gets like $150-200 per dog in its budget. Be real.

So it is about the money after all and not about the animals, David...uhm Dan?? What happens after the $150-200 are spent and the dog has been cooped up for a while?

Enough of the playground fights. They only ones suffering are the animals. I will continue to volunteer to walk dogs cuddle cats work countless offsite events etc. Thank you to those who have continued to support us at hchs

Wow, I thought the political blogs brought out the crazies; boy was I wrong. I find it hard to believe that anyone who works or volunteers at a shelter would unnecessarily euthanize animals. What exactly are they supposed to do with unwanted pets? I have no doubt that they place as many animals as they can in whatever way possible, but at the end of the day there are animals that for many reasons aren't placed. How long should these animals be kept and at what cost? I see children around the world starving to death. I see people losing their jobs and homes. I see people dying in the aftermath of natural disasters. For every dollar that is spent on boarding a dog or cat for extended periods, human lives could be saved. I know many will be quick to vilify my comments and frankly I don't care. In a perfect world no animal would be euthanized and they would all get to eat from gold plated bowls while having their bellies scratched. In a perfect world no human would starve to death or die from a treatable disease that could be cured access to basic medical treatment. If you feel so strongly about helping animals then by all means volunteer your time and money. I for one will continue to send money to charities like St. Judes. Some of the people on this blog sure do have a twisted sense of priorities.

Thanks Nick, well said.

It’s hard to have HOPE in situations like this, but when an eager group of people are willing to step up to the plate and save lives as has been done in numerous communities diverse in demographics and socio-economic status, I would say to them, Never Give Up and Never Back Down! In the end, love always wins!
http://nokillallegany.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/never-give-up-hope/

We have the power to build a new consensus, which rejects killing as a method for achieving results. And we can look forward to a time when the wholesale slaughter of animals in shelters is viewed as a cruel aberration of the past. We have a choice. We can fully, completely, and without reservation embrace No Kill as our future. Or we can continue to legitimize the two-pronged strategy of failure: adopt a few and kill the rest. It is a choice which history has thrown upon us. We are the generation that questioned the killing. We are the generation that has discovered how to stop it. Will we be the generation that does? -- Nathan Winograd

Why are we fighting about this? We all read this blog because we love animals. End of story. We want the best for out furry, scaley, and feathery companions. If HCHS is doing as well as some people claim, then why hide it? Show how well you are doing and how well you have improved? If HCHS isn't doing as well as some people claim, then we need work together for the animals. We need educate people on their pets, support spay and neuter programs and make this a no-kill nation.

I am a life time animal lover and while I am currently not able to foster/volunteer (I have in the past but there are currently financial/space/transportation issues) I do everything I can to support my local animals shelters and the general health of companion animals. I take a big pride in helping people get properly educated about their pets, I point them to shelters and rescues when people come to me looking for pets (it happens a lot since I use to work with animals), and I direct them to affordable places for shots and spay/neuters.

So can we act like adults, stop name calling, and agree that we want a nation where animal life is cared for and valued, where people are educated on the pets they keep, not treated as disposable, and where death is not the option for pets without a home.

Nick, you are entitled to your opinion, but I disagree with calling people who are passionate about saving the lives of animals as being crazy. Christine, no one here is denying that truly vicious and terminally ill animals should not be put down. It has been the shelter’s stance that this is what no kill means, and it does not. How do you justify the killing of the other 90+ percent of the animals that you kill? To date, everyone keeps giving these examples of vicious dogs. How about all the cats that HSHC kills on a daily basis? Instead of promoting lifesaving alternatives, like TNR or Low/No Cost S/N, which would help solve the problem, HSHC would rather just keep killing thousands of animals and blaming the public, overpopulation and lack of funds. However, this article was about making the shelter accountable and transparent to the public. I agree with this whole heartedly and I hope the County reconsiders its stance on this subject. The County is spending millions of taxpayers’ dollars with blind faith, in these hard economic times, that the shelter has given them accurate and credible information. This should not have been done without outside audits from unbiased agencies.

What is the mission of the Humane Society of Harford County? Is it to save lives and place as many animals as possible? Or is it to simply warehouse animals and hope that somebody comes in to adopt the ones that don't have any health or behavioral issues and kill the rest?

The Humane Society presents itself as a caring organization trying to help animals. If that is true, why wouldn't they want to be adopting models that reduce the kill rate and increase the adoption rate? When I wrote this blog I expressed frustration for not only the way one particular dog's fate was handled, but for not having any public access to information that proves one way or the other if the organization is actively working towards this goal or if they are simply continuing antiquated practices that do nothing to decrease the kill rates of animals that wind up there. Yes, they are a "private" organization, but with the amount of funding from tax payer dollars to perform a service reaching 50% of their operating funds and now funding of the construction of a new shelter, taxpayers have a vested interest in seeing these funds are put to the best use and the growing consensus is that the kill rate at the shelter is unacceptable, especially in light of models producing dramatically different results.

I am not a member of HOPE of HSUS, just a concerned citizen and I need answers and accountability before more of our tax dollars are spent to just make a big problem bigger.

If ya'll think that the shelter routinely kills dogs out of laziness explain why there's a 11 year old broken down terrier that has been there for several months and pit bulls waiting for a home since last March? I adopted Scooter in June from them; his intake papers indicated some food aggression and no interest in toys; clearly he had not been loved or played with and had spent some time in the street. If they cavalierly euthanized dogs believe me Scooter wouldn't have lasted a day. He was 19 lbs of skin and bones and although fairly small had been there 5 weeks. We adopted him because he seemed sad and disconnected - he's turned into a wonderful dog. Reality is they have finite resources and a never ending stream of animals - 60% of which appear to be stray cats and pit bulls. If anybody is rotten to these animals it's the people that dump them like their garbage or do not spay or neuter their less than desirable pets (pit bulls). If a dog shows aggression (pit bulls) they go on hold to be observed...if the dog seems dangerous what choice do they have? There'd be no room for adoptable dogs if they kept antisocial animals alive because the reality is nobody would ever adopt them. To the lady who only seems concerned about her purebred collies - get a grip. If you had half the concern for the unwanted mut dogs rather than your pedigrees you might not seem like such a hypocrite. Start you own freakin' shelter if you don't like the way somebody else handles the job.

According to your statement, Karl, the Harford County Animal Shelter seems to be a true No Kill Shelter. I guess the people from H.O.P.E. must have overseen something along the way. Would you mind sharing with us the shelter statistics from 2009 and 2010 since you seem to have some kind of insider knowledge on which you must have based your comment. You see, the shelter constantly is refusing to release any statistics to the public which seems to be a questionable act. Every shelter has a finite budget. It is known that the Harford County shelter has a budget of around $1,000,000. Now, I can point you to some other No Kill Shelter in the same size operating with a smaller budget. This other shelters also have something called transparency and accountability which for some unknown reason totally is missing in Harford County. Of course the other shelters also have a lot of other things like extensive volunteer program, progressive foster and adoption programs and not to forget the fundraiser programs. And did I mention the large support from the community? That is why they call it "No Kill Community".

Sounds good. Do you have a link to all of your stats? What shelter are you?

In response to Kimberly--I have adopted and volunteered from HSHC in the past--horses, dogs and a cat. I also have volunteered there. I stopped though. I chose to volunteer for other organizations that follow the no kill philosophy and are more open minded to change.

"dangerous/unadoptable" dogs/cats are great candidates for sanctuaries and TNR(cats) ..these connections need to be fostered between HSHC and the organizations that can help many animals that are deemed unadoptable

It still amazes me that everyone here I think has the same interest at heart-to save animals lives and get them into homes. And yet, here we argue...the point is, the animals deserve better. Better than what is now being done. Isn't that the goal? Instead of defending and making arguments, put all that time and energy into finding animals homes.

Karl why don't you look at the statistics HSHC shared on the animals they put down (which once again I would question the reasons why). Of the almost 1800 cats/kittens killed in 2010 they only have so many that they consider feral. These cats are not unwanted except by HSHC, which is made quite clear by the 2 they sent to rescue in 2010. They are cats and kittens that could be found homes with more effort and the true feral could live if the HSHC would take the initiative to start a TNR program.

I have one other question for HSHC. Why do you have Alley Cat Allies (ACA) as one of your "likes" when you do not follow anything that ACA stands for? HSHC kills all ferals and does not promote TNR in any form. Alley Cat Allies works toward ending the killing of cats in the shelter system, because animal shelters are the number one killer of all cats. What is HSHC doing to change this?

Peter and all you other feral cat supporters...you need to understand how seriously inappropriate and ridiculous it is to fix and release thousands of wild cats in this county. Feral cats are an invasive species and don't belong denuding the woods and fields of songbirds and anything else that crawls. Would you condone packs of wild dogs? Of course not...so if HSHC is indeed euthanizing feral cats they're doing the responsible thing.

Any feral cat release program is totally stupid.
Once you capture a cat it is almost impossible to catch it again if you had to. They bring havoc to the nature surroundings. And the worst case is a starving sickly cat dying slowly in the woods.
Absolutly irresponsible program.

How does killing a feral cat NOT solve to problem?
You stated Stanford had 1200 cats. now 80. Where did they go? They died, right? If you captured then killed them would you not also be at the 80 number? They don't go away faster because they are fixed. They die slowly and don't reproduce. Dead cats don't reproduce either.

I have been taken care of ferals for 30+ years. A few of the gentleman here seem to be very uneducated on the subject matter of TNR. Cats do not starve because they have a care taker and the colony stays by the food source. The HSHC can attest to this with the colony of ferals that were on their property that they killed. They would not have stayed there for years without that food source. Cats are not the number one killer of birds, humans are, so if you want to wipe out the cat population because you feel they are wiping out the birds, you would also have to wipe out a lot of other species of wildlife including birds (because believe or not they kill each other too), and I guess you would have to kill all the humans since they are the true number one killer of birds. Just because you do not like a particular species of animal, does not give you the right to eliminate them and no excuse that you come up with justifies the needless killing of cats and animals in general. Currently Baltimore City has a very good TNR program, because obviously they care about life and are not looking for excuses to kill cats. Once again Alley Cat Allies is an excellent resource to learn about TNR and actually this Sunday is National Feral Cat Day with over 300 events being held nationwide. I guess I can assume the HSHC is not doing anything to celebrate this, since there stance on the subject is to just kill them.

Nick this article is for you. It is from the, 10/13/11, Hawaii Tribune and it shows Hawaii also uses a TNR program. http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/sections/news/community/low-cost-spayneuter-clinic-sunday.html

Hey Pete, why is there no vacuum effect when the cats are TNR'd then die? Does the food or caretaker go away as the #'s dwindle?
And I'll push this a little further. If everyone trapped and killed feral cats there would be no cat to fill the voids. But because crazy Miss Smith has to feed all of the cute little wild kittys they continue to thrive.
Feeding feral cats should be treated as cruelty to animals. You are providing just enough energy to reproduce and survive. We don't feed and protect rats, voles and snakes. Why treat a feral cat/dog any different?
The bottom line is, get a pet, give it a loving home and get it fixed.
I believe that sucess in other areas with TNR have been achieved because of the publics inability to make a difficult decision. But those people embrace a "humane" costly fluffy scheme.

Actually the blog was about making the HSHC accountable and transparent to the taxpayers of Harford County. The HSHC should be, and have been, required to do this. Everybody is trying to figure out why they seem to be able to have sole authority on what goes on there and not have to answer to anyone. If what others on this blog have said is accurate and they report to the County, then the County should be reporting to the taxpayers, and letting them know what their money is being used for. Especially, before a multi-million dollar project was decided on solely by the HSHC and government officials, there should have been an outside audit done and the citizens of the county should have been able to have their say in the matter, being that it is their tax dollars footing the bill.

Oh no.... the cat haters are weighing in. I bet these people never think about birds at all until somebody mentions cats? It may not even be cheaper to kill ferals. All the time and money spent killing them at the shelter could be used more wisely. Are people really afraid feral cats and dogs and wild boars will take over the neighborhood unless you kill them? I'd be more worried living next to an animal hater.

Well Nick, I guess then you have to kill all the house cats too because they are carriers as well. So, what do we do? Create a large massaker? Should we call the National Guard and ask for help?
Oh no, wait.....
"Toxoplasmosis, the disease of which T. gondii is the causative agent, is usually minor and self-limiting...."
By the way, if you would read what I posted earlier you would know that during TNR the cats also get vaccinated. Did you miss that point?

Pete, no need to be petty and condescending in your tone. If the real goal is to rid us of feral cats, then do it? I don't think that is your goal. You want nature to takes its course by allowing these cats to die a slow nature death. Good for you.
the present programs don't work because of irresponsible pet owners. Getting your cat fixed vs removing it. Fixed, the cat goes back into population and kills for fun and doesn't reproduce. Put to death, the cat is gone. No reproduction in either case.
In your scenario, you feel better 'cause a kitty is free. In mine the community is better due to one unwanted feral animal on the loose. Thanks but I knew what the "R" meant. Thats the second thing in that plan I have a problem with.
Please don't bother explaining it to me again. I know you are much busier and smarter then I. Just do me a favor and stay out of Belair politics. Western Maryland needs you, so stay there.

RW Willy, don't worry, I don't go away that quick. I might come down and pay you a visit. What you say? By the way, you didn't answer my question. Did you just forget? I will repeat it for you:
"You have no results, nothing to show for. It doesn't make any sense that you want to continue something that doesn't work. Please, explain it to me."
It is the goal of every community to remove the feral cats. But sofar there only is one proven way to successfully do that. Unfortunately your local animal shelter would like to continue the slaughter that brings no results for the community.

RWW: It's "busier and smarter THAN ME." Peter is welcome to help enlighten Bel Air (not "Belair") residents about current theories, practices and methodologies any time because this isn't just about Bel Air or Harford County. The movement he represents is nationwide.

Joan,
I agree with you. Any organization that receives public funding should have a policy of transparency.

Nick, I wasn't refering to you specifically. Let's forget about the cats for a minute. I am intrigued by your knowledge of wild boars. I grew up in a country where wild boars are native and plentiful. They can be a nuisance. They dig in the ground. They are protective of their young. They are smart animals. How would you deal with the wild boar problem that has been created by irresponsible human beings importing such animals to this country?

Nick, I'm going to ask this question again and for the third time since nobody seems to be willing or able to answer my question. Please name 1 community in the US that has successfully eleminated feral cats by killing them in a Shelter.
Come on Nick, you are a smart guy. Don't let me hang here.

Isn't anybody worried that rodents will take over once you kill all the cats? Don't they carry diseases?

New York, New York
Neighborhood Cats began doing trap/neuter/return (TNR) for cats in the Upper West Side of New York City in the fall of 1999.

Recent statistics from New York City's Center for Animal Care & Control show that since 1999, the number of stray cats entering city shelters from the Upper West Side has dropped by 73 percent. (In 1999, 277 cats entered the shelter from this area; during the first six months of 2003, only 38 cats have come in.)

In the first year alone, the rate dropped by 59 percent (114 in 2000). Elsewhere in the city, the rates were generally going up during these same years.

Dallas, Texas
Since 1999, Feral Friends of Dallas has neutered over 1,200 feral cats as part of their "Race to Reduce Litters." The group found homes for 3,919 friendly stray cats.

Feral Friends works with participating vets around the Metroplex, loans out humane traps and offers low-cost and no-cost sterilization for feral cats. Their "Team Feral" volunteers are specially trained to help individuals in need of extra help.

Portland, Oregon
Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon's mobile spay/neuter clinic has neutered over 15,000 feral cats across the state.

Utah (statewide)
From January 2002 to August 2003, 7,187 feral cats have been fixed in Utah through the No More Homeless Pets in Utah campaign. These were done at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary clinic, through the Feral Fix Program, and on the Big Fix spay/neutermobile. There are 14 Trap Trading Posts across the state, utilizing 275 traps, and working with 667 caregivers 65 participating veterinarians provide spay/neuter services using a voucher available from the program with a $10 co-pay. See the No More Homeless Pets in Utah website for details.

Cape May, New Jersey
Since implementing a community-wide TNR program in 2001, Cape May Animal Control (.pdf) has reported an 80 percent drop in feral cat complaints.

San Diego, California
In 1992, San Diego Department of Animal Control euthanized 15,525 cats at a cost of $121 per cat. That year, Feral Cat Coalition San Diego, a private, volunteer organization, launched an aggressive spay/neuter program for feral cats. By 1998, the number of animals killed each year dropped more than 45 percent, at a savings of $859,221 to taxpayers.

San Francisco, California
The San Francisco SPCA has been working with feral cat caregivers to control the feral cat population since 1993. The city showed a 71 percent drop in euthanasia rate for all cats after six years of TNR.

Through their Feral Fix program, the SF/SPCA provides vaccinations and spay/neuter surgery for San Francisco feral cats, all at no charge to their caregivers. Since the program began, they have altered over 10,000 cats in neighborhoods throughout the city. Cat Assistance Team members work together to humanely trap feral cats, transport them to the Feral Fix, and provide ongoing care and socialize feral kittens before placing them in homes.

Phoenix, Arizona
AzCATs aims to eliminate cat overpopulation in Maricopa County, Arizona through non-lethal methods. Since 1999 they have helped 14,000 cats through their high-volume spay/neuter clinics for feral cats and other programs.

Maricopa County spends $61 to trap, hold, and euthanize one feral cat, versus $22.50 to spay or neuter and return a cat. Maricopa County Animal Care and Control encourages communities to adopt TNR by passing associated costs along to them.

Examples of Successful Community-Wide TNR Programs: http://tricountytnr.giving.officelive.com/Documents/App_3_-_Examples_Succesful%20TNR_Programs.pdf

National Animal Control Association moves toward feral cat management:
http://www.animalsheltering.org/resource_library/magazine_articles/sep_oct_2008/broader_view_of_cats.pdf

http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/pdf/Management_claims_feral_cats.pdf

Data against TNR...food for thought.

http://www.tnrrealitycheck.com/basicInfo.asp

More.

Food for thought- How quickly cats can grow-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRgIKehHr-c

To the lady that thinks rodent populations will surge without cats - clearly you know nothing about ecosystems. Every rodent, chipmunk, cardinal and sparrow that a feral cat kills gratuitously is a meal that native animals won't have. Native predators include snakes, owls, foxes, hawks and eagles. TNR my arse. The right thing to do is euthanize feral cats and if that's what the humane society does I think I'll write them a check today.

Spoken like a true animal lover. I'm extremely proud of you, Karl. You are an asset to any modern community.
Let's just kill what we don't like. We know the killing didn't change anything the last 50 years but what the hell, let's just continue with the senseless slaughter because that is what we love to do. I don't see anything humane on the mass killing of animals. Is there such a thing as humane euthanization? What about humane rape? Humane slavery?
“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”. Animals qualify as others.

I might add the evil people at the humane society placed a 12 year old nearly blind beagle last week...they should be ashamed of themselves.

Peter unless you're having sex with your cat; rape isn't exactly a word that makes sense here. If public monies are being used to build and maintain the shelter I don't want my money spent on a bunch of homeless cats - better spent on animals; including some cats that are already properly socialized, and adoptable. You and your like minded cohorts can start your own privately funded shelter - I would just suggest to you catch, fix and release is not appropriate to people that understand it isn't responsible and borders on strange.

I agree w/Peter, he has a brain and a heart. More than I can say for some of these posters.

In case anyone wants to adopt a pet... http://ow.ly/6YLER -BG

When I wrote this blog I had heard about the TNP program for feral cats but didn't know much about all the details. This discussion has been very informative in that regard. It appears, unlike Karl asserts, that this program doesn't introduce a new animal into the ecosystems, it does just the opposite, it slowly eliminates one. From the many reports from various cities it's pretty obvious that feral cats are everywhere, not just Harford County. TNP programs are not introducing this species into the ecosystems. They are already there! These animals, continue to breed and put new kittens into the system, as well as those that man indiscriminately dumps pet cats into the mix.

If anyone looked at the link I posted, 2 cats can produce 2 million cats over 5 years. You don't need to be a scientist to do the math to see how quickly this problem grows and grows and grows. Rounding up cats and killing them doesn't stop the problem because the rest are still out there breeding. It's a never ending cycle.

The TNP program has a proven record of success. The cats are not out there starving and have some human providing a food source so they aren't hunting for food. The cats that are fixed are unable to breed so numbers continually go down because as the colony shrinks, so does the food supply and it only supports the # for which there is food.

Humane- Having/showing compassion, Inflicting minimum pain..
Death- the cause or occasion of loss of life

Nice video from Best Friends about community cat caretakers- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lLy-2-Ej1pA#!

Indeed yes; let's educate. Feral cats are responsible for the death of 480 million songbirds per year and the extinction of 33 species of birds.

http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/101208.html

Give it up Karl, good try though.
these people want feral to enjoy a great life in your backyard. While some crazy cat lady feeds them and monitors the colony.

You know, we encounter people like you all the time. In the end, it doesn't matter what you say because almost every community, City Council or County Commissioner is a bit smarter and does understand. If we show the City Council or County Commissioner how they can save tax payers money by supporting TNR it almost always is a done deal. You see, killing the feral cats cost tax payer money, TNR is paid for by Grants. It is that simple. Furthermore, you still didn't show us a community that successfully removed feral cats with the method of killing. You know why? There is no community in the US that ever was successful with that method. Not in the last 50 years and not in the last 100 years. I on the other hand can show you and every community, City Council and County Commissioner hundreds of communities that have successfully lowered the number of feral cats with TNR.

Karl and Willy, happy national feral cat day.....
http://www.alleycat.org/Page.aspx?pid=388

TNR is ludicrous. I firmly believe that all wild, non-native/invasive species, both plant and animal, should be removed and destroyed, whether hog, python, nutria, mute swan, kudzu or feral cat. They are environmentally disasterous and result in the wasting of millions of dollars annually just to overcome their impact.

To any reasonable, rational people who read this blog, here is a website that outlines the problems and failures with TNR. Please take the time to read it and go to the bottom to sign the petition opposing this ludicrous practice that places us all in jeopardy. To those of you who are being controlled by a mind altering parasite; please disregard since you have already had your mind made up for you.

Phil, are you the gentleman who yesterday said something about being an unapologetic breedist? I completely respected that, but now I am wondering what breed of dog you are refering to. Is there an indiginous North American dog? I look around and I don't see much plant or animal or even human life that is native to these parts. How far back would you go to restore the natural balance you would like to see? 200 hundred years? 400 years?

That is right Nick, you cannot speak for Phil, so don't be rude. I am sure Phil can and will speak for himself.

With all due respect, the biggest threat to natural habitat is man. Between using every possible inch of land for housing or malls and the environmental hazards of pollution, trash and chemicals, or running them down with cars and trucks, it's obvious man causes the biggest threat. If we leave man alone we will be drilling for oil in many endangered species backyards. Not many things influence the environment and ecosystems than a major oil spill. In the case of feral cats, it was man that introduced them into the environment as well.

If TNR is such a horrible idea, why are more and more shelters, both public and private moving towards it, including those here in Maryland?

Remember, even if the feral cats are all killed at the shelter, the operation is still below any modern acceptable level of adoptions. There are just too many animals being killed.

Nice article from Valerie to National Feral Cat Day:
http://www.examiner.com/animal-welfare-in-atlanta/today-is-national-feral-cat-day

Joan, please feel free to read my Blog about PETA "The Truthiness of PETA": http://nokillallegany.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/the-truthiness-of-peta/

And while you are there read the Blog that my friend Jodi wrote about H.O.P.E. too:
http://nokillallegany.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/never-give-up-hope/

Humane Society Board President David Fang has posted a response to this blog: http://patch.com/B-wnR -BG

David has extended an invitation to meet with him to discuss my concerns and we are in the process of arranging a convenient time for both of us. I will refrain from further comment until we meet.

VIDEO: At Tuesday's Harford County Council meeting, a resident challenged the Humane Society to a save rate of 90 percent: http://patch.com/A-nb6p -BG

Follow up- http://belair.patch.com/blog_posts/animal-house-follow-up-on-harford-humane-society
Sorry about the formatting of the outline. It didn't seem to convert correctly.

As time passed by,we saw Peter expossed as a lyer. Joan switch gears more than a train, Michele call her attorney again. Then Joan say her "I" eleven Times Peter trying to save face, Michele sue again, Chrisyinie threaten and all for what? You are all phonies, and you all deserve to be in shelters and let the animals run loose. Ignorant, stupid uncaring bunch of wind bags, who lie cheat and sue!!!

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