Valerie Beckett Maricopa County Animal Abuser Phoenix Arizona

Under Ms. Beckett's leadership, the MCACC has seen a disturbing decline in its culture. Volunteers and full-time staff have become disheartened and reluctant to work with the county's animal shelter.

One of Ms. Beckett's major missteps was hiring Michael Mendel in March 2022 to manage the Animal Care and Control department. Mendel's leadership has been marked by bullying and incompetence. He has mocked individuals for minor errors, accused staff and volunteers of undermining him, and even tried to get a former employee fired for speaking out about her experiences at the shelter. Which included reporting him for animal abuse due to the temperatures the animals had to suffer at shelters due to lack of air conditioning, putting animals down knowing they have adoption plans, and just being terrible to animals.

In fact, Valerie knows these things and refuses to do anything about it which makes her just as bad an at fault for the death of animals that were not necessary.