How many of us have gotten letters like these?

Everyone. Every rescue group has gotten these letters- that's why Jodi and her cronies are having a tough time figuring out who is behind this website. This one came to us.

The public is calling for better than you, Jodi. Not just this person, but "everywhere she looks" people are telling her about the killing at Capital. Maybe that's why Franklin is so overwhelmed with dogs- because people KNOW that everthing is killed at CAHS, and of course, Franklin County is an open admission shelter for dogs only. I imagine that if there were an "open admission" alternative to Capital for cats in Columbus they'd be bursting at the seams too. But if they actually tried, and didn't have missing grant money, didn't have ongoing broken heating and ventilation systems while salaries sit at six figures, didn't send all their caring volunteers packing, I guarantee that you'd never hear a bad word about them, even if they did still have to euthanize. Sort of like- well, Franklin County Animal Control.

Here's the letter in it's entirety and our response following. We won't kid you- it felt great to respond with the honest truth. We made them aware of the problems at Capital and the reasons WHY so many groups in Central Ohio have to turn away her sweet kitten. We're encouraging every group to rail against Capital Area when they get the "I don't want to take here there because she'll just be killed" letters and give out our website. Use this blog as a template- maybe we'll post a downloadable one on the website for rescue groups to copy and paste.

Hi, My name is J. S. and I found a link to your website while looking up information on the Capital Area Humane Society. I was looking for information on them because last weekend just before we had the bitter wind chills I found an older kitten on our back porch. She was freezing and hungry. In fact she had been in the cold for about three days when we found her because our neighbor moved and left her cats behind. We figured we would take her in and try to find her a home. We have a fifteen year old cat who doesn't take well to other cats so we knew it would be a temporary thing. Unfortunately no one can take her, we have reached out to everyone in our network. I have either called or emailed every rescue organization in Central Ohio, most never responded back, the ones who did were full and everywhere I look I am told that if I take her to CAHS she will be killed. Obviously if I wanted that I would have just left her outside. She is a super sweet, well mannered cat and we would love to keep her however our cat that we have had has now stopped eating, my husband who has asthma which is normally controlled with medication is now wheezing constantly. I figured since you had such a stance against CAHS you could tell me where I could take her to help her find a home. Please help us!

Dear J.S.

We applaud you for bringing this kitten in from certain death in the cold. Please continue with the next step and look to your network of friends, relatives, co-workers, workout friends at the gym, fellow parents, church members, or anybody else who you may know that might be willing to take this kitty into their home. We are a watchdog group asking Capital Area Humane Society to take responsibility for their actions- many of our group are made up of those rescues you have already called I'm sure.

You should be furious that this kitten that is perfectly friendly and healthy will be facing certain death at the "humane society" after surviving the cold. With their facility, funding, staffing, resources, and long held connections with the Columbus Dispatch, why should this kitten not have a chance? We certainly are- understand that every rescue group in Columbus comes in a distant second to Capital Area in recognition, support, and funding. If any of those groups had half of what Capital had they would be fighting over the chance to place your sweet kitten. Capital Area has every resource to try and do better and they DON'T- ask yourself; why should their "executive board" be paid $70,000, $90,000, or $120,000+ if they can't do any better in their jobs than kill everything in their care? Than to kill your rescued kitten? It's not your job to find homes for homeless animals but it IS theirs- and obviously, they're paid VERY well for it!

This is why we have no answers for you right now on this problem. We are doing what we've been doing for 10 years or more- detouring every caring person away from the "door of doom" and begging them to take responsibility for the pet themselves. It should not be this way, and you should not stand for this behavior.

This correspondence will be posted on our blog but we will omit your name and contact information.


Coalition for Responsible Shelter Practices of Central Ohio
www.capitalarea.org
http://humanechange.blogspot.com

Dispatch Shame

Circling the wagons... someone said to us would be Capital Area's defense for their actions when this website first went up. Today the Columbus Disgrace-er, Dispatch- ran a story on the Franklin County Dog Shelter's problems which included, among other things, director Lisa Wahoff's personal relationships. Screaming out on the front page: NOT FIT FOR DOGS.

Rita Wolfe-let's see a front page story about staff finding kittens who have frozen to death in the sick rooms of Capital Area because their heating system goes unfixed. (True reports- though no photographic evidence which is why we haven't mentioned it yet. One of our insiders actually had to thaw a dead kitten from it's cage with a hair dryer when water from it's bowl froze it to the stainless steel.)

Meanwhile a few pages back, they again make themselves look like the rag that they are with their line-item "Pets" classified that boasts puppies just in time for Christmas. Didn't some editor of Barbara Carmen's question running a story of how overcrowded the dog shelter is when they clearly help to facilitate the overpopulation problem?

The Columbus Disgrace- we're counting the days until you go the way of the Detroit newspapers.

Groundbreaking lawsuit

We've put up the website. We've created a blog for discussion. We've sent letters to the board members. We've been out there in the real world leafleting. What do you think might be the next step to show the Capital Area Humane Society that we're serious about change this time? That they have to answer the animals cries for help this time? That they can no longer kill indiscriminately while at the same time calling themselves "humane"?

There was an interesting lawsuit stemming from a complaint against the Los Angeles County Animal Control in December of 2007. It was settled in October of 2008. The main points of the lawsuit are as follows:

"Under the settlement, the county cannot kill impounded animals before holding them for four days unless they are terminally ill and must notify animal rescuers which cats and dogs are slated to be put down."
How many stories are out there of Capital killing animals the same day as they are taken in? How many of these are actually scanned for a microchip before deemed a "unadoptable" and stuck in their tummies with Fatal Plus?

"The settlement resolved a year-old suite alleging that to eliminate overcrowding at the shelters the county used a legal loophole to rapidly dispose of adoptable pets by deeming them 'irremediably suffering.' The action alleged that shelters 'routinely kill healthy and adoptable animals'... The suite accused the county of using minor illnesses, such as colds, as a criteria to kill and thus avoid paying for veterinary care and shelter space."
Who does this remind us all of? 85% of animals that come through your doors are unadoptable? Or are you just "rapidly disposing" of them?

"The settlement sharply defines the kill criteria now as 'an animal with a medical condition who has a poor or grave prognosis for being able to live without severe, unremitting pain despite necessary veterinary care.' These conditions include kidney failure, distemper, blood loss, head trauma, and unmanageable pain"
Notice "stress" was not one of the fatal conditions on the list. And they also threw in "despite necessary veterinary care" for good measure. So for example you can't leave an animal without food for a few days so it develops one of those fatal conditions thus making your job twice as easy. (Not wasting time feeding it, not wasting time adopting it!)

The article about the settlement goes on to describe a letter sent to the director of the agency, Marcia Mayeda, sent in November of 2007 expressing concerns that the agency was killing animals without engaging in reasonable efforts to identify the animal's owners and killing tame cats wrongly classified as feral. Gee, substitute Jodi Lytle Buckman's name in there and you could be talking about Central Ohio instead of Los Angeles!

As part of the settlement, Los Angeles County will be required to turn over all the records of the animals it euthanizes. One of the greatest things about the resolution to this lawsuit is that area shelters and rescues stepped in to help alleviate the burden on Los Angeles County so that they could meet the euthanasia guidelines. Sadly, many organizations have offered numerous times to work with Jodi and the Capital Area Humane Society to help reduce their kill rate only to be told "no thanks".

By the way, we all heard Jodi on the radio the other day asking for donation money for the shelter. It reminded us of the big 3 automakers flying to Washington D.C. to ask for bailout money to save their companies after their horrible mismanagement ran them into the ground. Did you take your corporate jet to the radio station?

View the press release from the No Kill Advocacy Center on the victory.

View the court order that outlines the regulations with which the Los Angeles Department of Animal Control must comply.

View the article by Noah Barron in the Daily Journal regarding this case.


They have even set up an online complaint form for whistleblowers. Look for that to come soon on our main website... see how great it can be when we all share ideas?

Open letter to the board members of Capital Area Humane Society

Over the past week we've been giving out flyers all over Columbus- at malls, Wal-marts, grocery stores, and other venues. We've been talking to people and getting the facts out there. Oh yes, and the following letter went out in the mail to board members yesterday. 

Dear [board member]

This is an open letter to the board members of the Capital Area Humane Society. A group of independent rescuers in Central Ohio have formed a coalition to speak out against the wasteful practices of director Jodi Lytle Buckman and the board who has permitted her actions for so long. With euthanasia rates of cats at 85% and no goals, plans, or aggressive programs in place to address you horrific kill rate, Capital Area Humane Society is no more than a backwards critter control facility. Your "executive board" has done all it can to alienate volunteers and disenfranchise donors while enjoying their ridiculous bloated salaries.

Rescuers in central Ohio are calling for the immediate dismissal of Buckman and complete reorganization of the Capital Area Humane Society. There are progressive groups right here in Columbus that are willing to step in and help implement aggressive programs with new ideas for reducing euthanasia rates. So many groups around the country with a fraction of the resources are doing twice as much to help their companion cats; can't we say that we're better than killing 85% of cats that enter into the area's largest, most well funded humane society?

Jodi and her executive staff have lied to our faces and yours repeatedly to protect their jobs. It is no doubt that they will do so again, but please, take a look at your empty adoption floor Visit the euthanasia room and stick the next 30 cats in the abdomen to die. Go online and see what other humane societies with the same problems are doing to find solutions. Visit Mingle with our Mutts at the Franklin County Dog Shelter and ask yourself why Capital Area isn't hosting a similar event and does not even participate in the existing one?

If you can not do any of these things please ask yourself why you are on this board in the first place.

Visit our website at www.capitalarea.org and find this letter on our blog at humanechange.blogspot.com.

Coalition for Responsible Shelter Practices of Central Ohio

Slideshow

For everyone who voted that 85% is the best we can do, please watch this slideshow put together by the Columbus Disptach about the Capital Area Humane Society narrated by Jodi Lytle Bucman. Then come back here and rant and rave about how we're doing the best we can by these little guys.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/multimedia/audio_slideshows/2007/09/238/index.html