It's a valid question..
Why am I so upset?
One of the trolls, presumably working for the other side, asked this in one of those passive-aggressive replies to the most recent Facebook video I posted.
So, I took a moment, and asked myself, why am I so upset,,, still so upset, and, still here dwelling on this? I have a veterinary clinic to run. More people, and pets in need of help then I can manage (go back a few blogs to read about why this is happening; hint; corporate ownership), and a personal life I would like to live in the crevices of the work life.
The problem I have is;
The taxpayers of Harford Co. fund 60% of the humane society's budget. A 1.8 M budget.
The taxpayers expect that the HSHC, as a non-profit, will follow the letter of their mission statement. See page 4 here.
The shelter has no reason, or inclination to be transparent. They will regurgitate the same old tagline; "we are a private facility." Or, they view transparency different than I do. Or, they simply choose to not ask questions they don't want to be troubled/bothered with the answers to. (See previous letters from past employees/volunteers here).
"..and listen, lemme say one other thing, if we're wrong, I mean, you learn from your mistakes, and I am I am, and we are, more than willing to identify any mistakes that we've made and correct them going forward. However, we don't believe that there are any things that we're doing wrong." George Heidelmaier. Mr Heidelmaier does not return emails. He does not face questions of inquiry. It is very hard to take criticism, constructive, or otherwise, when you ignore, deflect, and dismiss the people around you, and those in the trenches of the day to day life at the shelter. How many times have I been told "the board does not have any direct interactions with the day to day activities of the shelter." A LOT. You don't because you are either too busy to do your job, want to retain deniable plausibility.
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posted on 5/26/25 Memorial Day thanks for following our Facebook page. (not sure what the Supreme Court has to do with this?) |
A document was given to me two weeks ago. It is the Board Minutes Meeting from 4/28/25. In this document the last paragraph states that the board decided to not pursue charges for monies stolen/missing/misappropriated/embezzled (I am not certain which applies) until after the budget meetings were done. This is yet another deceitful attempt to mislead the taxpayers. I have given the minutes to the county government and what has ensued since is a search for the source of the leak. Why isn't the county government interested in the content of the document and only the source?
Which I interpret as honest, genuine, open, or demonstrating the integrity commiserate with the mission they are endowed with. The example they provided at the budget hearing of 4/28/25
They cannot afford to feed the animals more than once a day. See blog on this here.
They cannot afford to treat the parvo dogs. Their argument is listed here. None, of this is provided via any of their 4 veterinarians they claim they have. Where is the deceit in this? Well,, how many hours do these veterinarians work? It is not equivalent to 1 FT vet. Next question to ask, What are they paying these vets? I have heard it is less than multiple other management employees. Why is that?
They cannot afford two full time veterinarians.
They cannot afford to keep all of the animals that they have. Yet, they have changed the policy on unadoptable cats, and made behavior euthanasias more prevalent. (These numbers are part of the dilemma of reporting Live Release and the goal of staying above 90%).
They cannot afford to keep the volunteers. See previous blogs. I asked the County Executive to offer an open, anonymous meeting to hear some of their experiences. The most concerning part of all of this is the degree to which people are afraid to speak out publicly.
They terminate volunteers (yes, people who are not paid), for challenging the conditions, decisions, and advocating for the animals they come spend their own time with. It is absolutely inconceivable to me that anyone can be punished, or threatened with termination
Page 3 of the Standard of Care published on the HSHC website;
HSHC strives to meet or exceed the standards outlined in this document whenever possible.
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| Who wrote this? |
But,
They can afford to send 4 people to Vegas for a week,, and then not expect me to be upset about the poolside photos that caption; "current situation" with toes and a drink. 4/12/25.
They can afford to pay for PR, (affiliated with major league baseball) crisis management firms to tidy up their social media marketing as another lure for those donor dollars. What did this cost the taxpayers?
They pay for a headhunter, XXX, the same headhunter placed the previous ED. The one with 10 shelter placements in 15 years. Further, if the HSHC pursues allegations of missing funds with the prev ED will the other shelters have similar concerns? I have said before, follow the money. It's always about the money, isn't it? Again, cost to taxpayers please?
They can afford to hold onto unadoptable cats longer as they alienate and seek payment for these cats from the rescues who have previously placed hundreds of unadoptable cats. They changed their policy of transferring barn cats, the cats so poorly socialized/traumatized that they are deemed 'unsuitable for a home' to selling them for a $25 adoption fee. It costs about $10 a day to keep an animal at a shelter, most unadoptable cats are a liability vs an asset, and the HSHC is now so petty and vindictive (see previous interactions between the rescues who have severed ties with them) that they are now doing what they have historically done, weaponized the compassionate actions of those who just want to help an animal in need. See Barn Cat Buddy program here.
Here are my questions;
What makes the HSHC immune to the criteria the rest of the non-profits have to adhere to?
Board members are brought onboard via what mechanism, with what criteria? How can 60% of the budget provide 1 board seat?
What board members hold a license that makes them personally responsible for the legal, financial, and ethical information they are privy to? See HSHC Board minutes from 2/28/25 last paragraph.
Who owns the buildings that the taxpayers paid for on their property? Does this mean Harford County is stuck with HSHC because we were silly enough to build something we no longer own, or need but wouldn't have access to?
Does anyone understand what having a license, (with much looser criteria than I have to follow in my private practice), about who can euthanize an animal at a shelter. Did you know that the very loosely designated criteria of who can perform a euthanasia is provided by the MD Dept of Ag. There are checks and balances in place.
Every life matters. Every life at every place deserves a chance. In this county, with its citizens, the taxpayers expect that treatable animals will be treated. Euthanasia will be done by a veterinarian only after they have gotten an examination by a veterinarian when they are deemed to have "severe parvo symptoms" (see parvovirus notes on the HSHC page here). Why can't anyone give me the information on which veterinarian oversaw these dogs and determined their health status? Still to this day, over 2 months later, I do not have this information. This is what transparency, making a poor decision, and integrity is all about.
,,,,, and most importantly for me, I am furious that someones animals are being euthanized based on someone else's non-credentialed, self-admitted no animal care experience, nevermind, not a shred of veterinary experience, at their whim and without legal recourse. If that pet was my own pet, and I always treat every patient that comes through my private practices door as if it is my own, then I would topple this place with every dying breath I took.
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| "trashy and whiny" |
Here is their posted Mission and Vision Statement;
"MISSION AND VISION The Humane Society of Harford County promotes the humane treatment of homeless, stray and abandoned animals by providing shelter, care, adoptions and community education. HSHC’s vision is to end pet overpopulation and to advocate for the humane treatment of animals. HSHC envisions a shelter where all healthy and treatable animals find new homes, where they are housed in a low-stress, comfortable environment, where spay/neuter surgeries are performed on shelter pets prior to their adoption, where residents can turn in times of personal crisis for help with their pets, where citizens are educated on the proper care of animals, and where abused and neglected animals can receive the love and care they need to recover. Working in close partnership with the Harford County government, Animal Control (under the direction of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office), rescue organizations, local veterinarians, our volunteers and foster homes, and the citizens of Harford County, HSHC is confident that it can and will achieve its goals."
So, that is it. That is why I am still here, and still so angry.
I am not alone in the belief that;
Pets are not property.
The good intentions, hard work, and immense physical, emotional, and financial endeavors the public places in the HSHC's hands is not consistent with their ethics or values.
Me, personally, I am way out on a limb, feeling like I have to continually ask myself if I am just being a drama-queen, or a siren in the fog trying to steer ships that I cannot see from harms way, or some girl in the woods just crying wolf over-and-over-again, without any chance of the woods ever listening, or, caring, or having any inclination to doing anything about any of it? I have pets to take care of myself and here I am fixated on this. Why don't I take my own advice and choose my battles better? Why can't I just give up like everyone else has?
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