FAYETTEVILLE — Three employees of the Fayetteville Animal Shelter were terminated in the last 10 days, after problems were found during an investigation into complaints about euthanasia procedures.
Jill Hatfield, animal services superintendent, Mitzi O'Dell, animal services coordinator, and Jerry Lennox, animal caregiver, were terminated from their positions, Yolanda Fields, community services director, said Wednesday.
The terminations didn't have anything directly to do with the complaints received, but were based on other things discovered during a weeklong investigation, said Fields, who oversees animal services for the city.
Hatfield, who joined the shelter in 2001, was offered a different position outside of animal services Monday but declined that job on Wednesday, Fields said. The official reason for her termination is nonperformance of duties.
O'Dell, who was with the city more than 20 years, was terminated Monday for nonperformance of duties, Fields said.
Lennox was terminated Sept. 13 for communicating with other employees in a threatening nature, Fields said. She did not elaborate, other than to say that was based on feedback from co-workers.
When reached by telephone Wednesday evening, Hatfield said her personal situation shouldn't be a focus.
"The most important thing is that animals are in need at the shelter. Five thousand come in each year. People need to remember to adopt pets, rather than buy them. And to spay and neuter their pets," Hatfield said.
"The shelter is highly understaffed and highly underbudgeted. I know the economy is bad, but that shelter has been understaffed for years. Still, I'd put it up against any shelter in a large city. We had a 53 percent adoption rate in 2008, which is better than many shelters," she said.
Hatfield said she doesn't know what is next for her professionally.
"Eight years in animal welfare, working for a municipality, is a real drain. The stress of euthanasia alone is pretty immense. My big key and goal right now is to spend time with my daughter, and we'll see what comes up," she said. "My personal situation shouldn't matter, the other two employees' personal situations shouldn't matter."
Fields said a weeklong investigation into procedures at the animal shelter came at the direction of Mayor Lioneld Jordan.
Jordan was approached by some residents and shelter employees who had concerns.
"The mayor told me, 'Find out what's going on at the shelter,' that it was very important," Fields said.
According to a report provided Wednesday by the city, the issues were whether:
◊State protocols for euthanasia were being followed.
◊Protocols for the selection of animals to be euthanized were being followed.
◊Adoptable animals were consistently placed on Petfinder, an adoption Web site.
There were also "certain personnel issues."
One specific concern was that live animals could see the bodies of euthanized animals.
Legal research and conversations with veterinarians showed there are no state protocols on animal euthanasia procedures, the report stated.
The employee who reported allegations to the city wasn't aware there are no state protocols and wasn't familiar with many shelter policies.
Fields said there are no actual policy changes needed as a result of the investigation, although she does want a revision to standard operating procedures, as they aren't in the format she likes.
Recommendations stemming from the investigation:
◊Creating written protocols for euthanasia procedures and training. The training should be formulated and supervised by the shelter veterinarian or animal shelter superintendent.
◊Placing a curtain in the cat room and a metal screen in the incinerator room, to shield dead animal bodies from view.
◊Using only plastic cages on wheels in the euthanasia room so "isolation room overflow" dogs can be turned away from viewing another dog involved in euthanasia.
◊Creating written protocol regarding the selection of animals to be euthanized. This should be done by a group or committee, for a system of checks and balances, and "for purposes of hopefully lessening the emotional toll on any one individual having to bear that burden."
◊Establishing a written protocol for a system to ensure no adoptable animal is inadvertently left off Petfinder. A shelter employee should be responsible for maintaining that system and double-checking it for proper placement, rather than a volunteer.
News, Pages 1, 3 on 09/24/2009