The most immediate concern is the quality of care for the caged, homeless animals at the shelter. In recent years the treatment of these animals has been unprofessional and substandard. Someone adopting an animal could not be assured that the animal had been tested for disease or provided with proper medical care, neutering or adequate nutrition, let alone training or socialization.
Recent actions of the existing Board have jeopardized the very survival of the Humane Society. Without intervention its Redwood Valley property, donated by a generous woman from Willits, may be lost to foreclosure. The property taxes have not been paid for four years although the membership was led to believe that the current board had paid them. The financial records have also been removed from the office and repeated demands by the members and the Attorney General have been ignored.
The sorry conditions at the shelter have continued for many years despite the efforts of many caring volunteers. Confronted by a wall of resistance from the current Board, caretakers have faced harassment, lawsuits, assaults, lock outs and animal abuse. This hostility has succeeded in running off most well-intentioned volunteers.
In a recent article in the Ukiah Daily Journal, Lee McGraw, president of the Board of Directors, stated that he wants to abolish volunteers because they are more trouble than they are worth. Never in our experience have we heard a shelter operator decline the loving care offered by community volunteers to lonely, caged animals who turn themselves inside-out with joy at the sight of a caring friend!
In a hostile takeover of the organization four years ago Lee McGraw and his family took control of the board. McGraw, his wife Blanche, his brother Chuck, and two tenants have dominated the organization ever since. They fired the staff and, ironically, stated that they would be running an "all volunteer organization". Adequate staffing and volunteer participation has never been a reality during their tenure. Consequently, accusations of abuse and neglect have been ongoing.
With this background of tyrannical leadership, substandard care and neglect, a group of dedicated volunteers are using their personal time and money to try to protect the animals at the Humane Society from further neglect and the organization from further mismanagement. Repeated attempts to get help from governmental authorityÐfrom the sheriff to animal controlÐhave been unfruitful because there is little energy to protect the rights of homeless and abandoned animals. The matter is now up to the community and its voting power as members of the society.
With community support a new board of directors at the Humane Society could begin to build a viable and productive shelter for the animals we all care about. We believe that the animals at the Humane Society shelter are not trash to be thrown away or warehoused, but rather valued members of our community worthy of tender care while they are caged and awaiting a loving family. We believe that the quality of care we give our most vulnerable animals is a reflection of our society.
We hope to initiate, for the first time at this facility, procedures and practices appropriate to standard shelter operations and nonprofit organization management, such as:
¥ an aggressive spay/neuter program
¥ reliable medical care and nutritional support
¥ active adoption program
¥ fundraising
¥ a newsletter to communicate with the membership
¥ networking with other animal organizations
¥ public education and training programs
Candidates for a new board of directors and a team of committed volunteers have begun the process of transforming this shelter into a truly humane temporary home for abandoned animals.
What you can do
We are requesting that concerned members of our community join the Humane Society to become voting members and vote for change at this critical election. For more information about the candidates for a new board or to get involved please contact Sallie Palmer at (707) 463-DOGS.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1998
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited