NIAGARA FALLS, NY - Results from a special investigation into alleged mismanagement at the SPCA of Niagara have been released.
Erie County SPCA Executive Director Barbara Carr was brought in to investigate the allegations from some board members, workers and volunteers.
Carr found and details many problems, ranging from poor management oversight to bad record-keeping to what many consider to be inhumane euthanizations.
Most disturbing to many was how many of the animals were put down. Carr said animals were given shots injected directly into their hearts that were "excruciatingly" painful. At that point, Carr got emotional describing the procedure, which is illegal in some states.
Much of the report focused on what Carr determined were failures of leadership from the board and the executive director.
Carr writes, "It's clear that the NCSPCA is dysfunctional in many ways. Without standard operating procedures, without careful record keeping and record retrieval, without trust of one another, without a clear chain or command, with any strategies to improve, this organization will continue to disappoint and enrage the community."
She continues, "There is an overwhelming culture of distrust at the shelter. Some staff distrust the Executive Director, the Executive Director distrusts many of the board members, many board members distrust the Executive Director and some staff and volunteers distrust some staff and staff distrusts some volunteers. Everyone seems to distrust someone associated with the SPCA. They gossip, pass on written complaints about each other to one another, try to get each other fired, go behind backs of one another to people in authority and make complaints. The evaluation team has witnessed this rather childish behavior at all levels of the organization, by board members, the Executive Director, staff members, and volunteers."
Carr concluded that, "The board as a whole should view this as unconscionable, and these board members should be held accountable or replaced."
Two On Your Side's Melissa Holmes asked Carr who's to blame. She responded, "There's blame to go everyplace."
Here are some items outlined in the report, which was headed by Barbara Carr and her staff at the Erie County SPCA:
- Several healthy animals were euthanized by the SPCA of Niagara because of lack of space at the facility. Most were cats.
- In one day, seven dogs were euthanized, no records could be found.
- SPCA of Niagara does not have an overall "Standard Operating Procedure" for shelter operations.
- By laws of the SPCA of Niagara are outdated, last revised in 1986
- SPCA of Niagara Board not following the by laws to protect facility
- SPCA of Niagara has no paid employee overseeing volunteers
- SPCA of Niagara staff untrained, only learning from each other
- SPCA of Niagara needs to reach out to other organizations to assist them
Carr says she hopes this report is will be used as an instrument of change and healing.
WEB EXTRA: Click here to read the full report
What's not in the report, but Barbara Carr did confirm with us the number of euthanized cats and dogs from March 2011-December 2011. She says they were euthanized for a variety of reasons- at the request of the owner, sickness, age, aggression, and even healthy dogs were put down because of lack of space at the shelter. Here are the numbers:
Dogs:
March: 22
Apr: 41
May: 54
June: 42
July: 62
Aug: 63
Sept: 45
Oct: 52
Nov: 38
Dec: 23
Total: 442
Cats:
March: 23
Apr: 129
May: 262
June: 228
July: 237
Aug: 317
Sept: 310
Oct: 275
Nov: 144
Dec: 91
Total: 2,016
Carr says the records were so poorly kept the actual numbers could be much higher. She says Executive Director John Faso knew little about what was actually happening. According to page 23 of the report, "Any reports that would have been run on euthanasia certainly would have pointed out that there was a huge discrepancy in what the Executive Director believed and what was actually happening."
Noticeably absent when the results of the probe criticizing their governance was revealed, were any members of the Niagara County SPCA Board, who asked Carr to conduct the investigation.
Carr confirmed they were invited to attend her Friday morning news conference.
Attorney Paul Cambria, hired by the Niagara SPCA Board as an advisor, says he did not advise them not to attend, but confirmed that he is advising individual board members not to speak with reporters.
"Part of the problem was that various board members were going to various media outlets saying different things. We advised them to start acting like a board with one voice, and that means they are given information, that they meet as a board, they make a decision as a board, and then they communicate."
As of this time, however, the only communication seems to be coming through Cambria, who says he concurs with the factual findings of Carr's report, and has recommended the board adopt a new Mission Statement, Standard Operating Protocols, Job Descriptions and By Laws to be implemented on behalf of the organization.
But while board members aren't speaking now, they were interviewed for Carr's report, which reveals that nine out of ten of them agreed they'd not acted adequately, or lived up to the responsibilities expected of them.
According to the report, one said "the board is dysfunctional", another said, "I think we have had our head in the sand", while another simply stated, "It's a mess."
Cambria also recommends that a determination must be made as to what current directors would remain, and would like to see every one of them be made to undergo re-appointment process soon.
"Once that happens, then they can decide beyond that who stays or who goes," Cambria said.
It may turn out, according to Cambria, that some or all of the positions may need to be replaced, including the current Executive Director John Faso.
Faso, whose performance as Executive Director of the SPCA and its Rainbow Animal Shelter was criticized in the report, declined to speculate about his future with the organization.
"I'm not going to comment right now," Faso told WGRZ-TV. "It's a 116 page report...until I have a chance to thoroughly look at it and to read it I'm not going to comment," he said.
Faso later promised to sit for an interview with us after he read the report. He later called and cancelled the interview. We also either called or went to the homes of all of the current board members. All of them either declined an interview or never responded; however, board member Robert Lee, who is elderly and has missed several recent board meetings, agreed to speak to us i"in a few days" after he reads the report.
Over the past month, 2 On Your Side has been looking into the allegations, which have sparked many protests and concern not only in Niagara County, but around Western New York.
Click on the video player above to see Maryalice Demler's report on the key figures in this story, their backgrounds, and what they're saying about what's happening at this shelter, where the primary mission is to care for and protect animals.
WGRZ-TV, wgrz.com
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