Devore Animal Shelter euthanazia, work-release prisoners, cruelty to animals, possible violation of Hayden Act Devore, California

Clearly something is going on at this shelter. Too many people have witnessed things that were not positive at this place, none of which I've seen have any other agenda but to help stop the killing and abuse at shelters. For every pet killed there is a human responsible, the breeder, the dumper and in some cases, the shelter staffer...many different reasons. However, there is NO excuse for animal abuse, ever! Regardless of who you are.

It is odd that this "investigation" by the city found no infractions. I've never seen a perfect shelter, it must be outstanding! Or could it be that the shelter knew when the "investigation" was and able to clean up their act? Sounds like corruption at the highest level. We know that shelters make more money when they sell a dead pet to the rendering plant than if they adopt it out. The logs can be falsified, like all records. There is no real verification possible with the systems in place.

Here is the problem: if the management of this or any shelter has nothing to hide, then open up and let volunteers and others be involved.  You need their help! Work with the people that want to help, your priority must be for the welfare of the animals, not your personal agenda and petty vendettas. If you are going to work in secret, then expect people to question your methods. If you have nothing to hide, be transparent! Have you ever heard, "me thinks thou protests too much".

Shelters should have a front desk where people dumping their animals are cared about, spoken to with respect and listened to. Many people dump for reasons we may not agree with but be open to helping and have compassion. If the person needs pet food, pet health care, fence, spay/neuter, transport to the vet, training issue for goodness sake, work with local rescues, they are a great resource. Many of these people don't want to give up their pets! The DDR (Downtown Dog Rescue) has saved over 1,000 dogs from being dumped in the South Central Shelter just by doing what every shelter should be doing...interaction with their local community. They are making a huge diffence in their community and saving lives. Currently shelters are just holding cells for killing, that must change.  

So open up your shelter, let the light into your dark world. You have nothing to fear if you are as perfect as you claim. Put camera everywhere! Shelters used to be the last place that the light of truth shown, those days are gone. You will be found out, you will be prosecuted for the evil done to these innocent souls. Animals are conscious and loving creatures with a soul, no one has the right to abuse, exploit and kill them. No one. And people that work at this or any shelter, you should care if your co-worker is abusing animals, cause you could be next. Animal abusers don't stop at abusing animals, they abuse people too.

Communities must recognize that abuse to ANY living being is unacceptable & endangers EVERYONE. Children should be taught to care for and respect animals. If you want to stop child abuse, then stop animal abuse! Children have a natural empathy with animals but it is easily destroyed by cultural habits and desensitization programming by parents, educators, Big AG, law enforcement, religious organizations and the media.

Randall Lockwood of the ASPCA  '"We discovered that in homes where there was domestic violence or physical abuse of children, the incidence of animal cruelty was close to 90 percent. The most common pattern was that the abusive parent had used animal cruelty as a way of controlling the behaviors of others in the home. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at what links things like animal cruelty and child abuse and domestic violence. And one of the things is the need for power and control. Animal abuse is basically a power-and-control crime.”

The FBI describes the triad of being abused as a child, reacting by torturing animals and becoming violent to humans so well established that animal cruelty cases are being used as a means of identifying possible suspects in violent crimes as an indicator of future offenders.

Dr. Harry Hovel of the New York State Humane Association said every year more than 4,000 teens under the age of 18 commit murder. "Virtually all of them were abused and began abusing animals by their early teenaged years."

Hovel said, "Many lives could be saved, much human tragedy and suffering could be prevented and a great deal of money spared if police forces, prosecutors, judges, social workers and the public were able to recognize the strong connection between animal cruelty and human violence and take animal cruelty seriously."

 Make the euthanasia logs public for the last year not a computer copy, the real logs. The handwriteen pages that describe the cc per dose per weight (hopefulyl you are weighing the anmials and not "flat dosing" like so many shelters try to get awwy with) If you can produce these logs for the public online and allow veternarians to give thier opinion on weather you are killing humanely or not, this would clear your name that is, if you are indeed killing humanely.

It's a simple task and then the world will know the truth be it good or bad about Devore.

Animal Protection - Not Animal Rights

Many unfounded accusations were filed with the San Bernardino Grand Jury. The Jury did enter Devore anonymously to investigate as well as announcing themselves later. After a thorough investigation, the Grand Jury found no evidence of the accusations. This is not the first investigation of Devore based upon unfounded accusations. Independent agencies have also visited Devore and every time came away praising Devore. 

Thousands of public records were pulled with a previous lawsuit against Devore. Nothing was found and the attorney withdrew because of lack of evidence. The attorney was nice enough to admit that the lawsuit was unfounded. A new station came to Devore unannounced. The reporter stated that Devore kennels were warmer than his house and the shelter was one of the cleanest he had seen ever before. Although the ones making these accusations were posting on the internet that this news station was going to do a story, there was no story and nothing came on about it. 

These accusations against Devore are being leveled by those who have either been cited for their own abuse of animals, those who are radical/extreme animal rights people, and those who have their own personal vendetta against Devore. Devore meets or exceeds California state standards for shelters. Although the Hayden Act has been suspended, Devore continues to remain open 7 days a week, hours to suit those who work. This means more animals being returned to their working owners, more adoptions because people who work can come after work, and more time spent taking care of the animals. Devore has 48 outside adoptions a year when most shelters have none. Devore has had a national award winning spay/neuter program that has been copied since 2001. 

Recently these same accusers started keeping the phone lines tied up at Devore in their campaign against Devore. This means people can't get through to check on their missing pets or on adopting pets. This is not the action of those who honestly care about the animals at Devore. This is an action of people who have a vendetta of some type against Devore. They also paint a picture that the public will see barrels of dead animals as demonstrated on some of their websites and blogs. One even admitted that the picture was not from Devore. This pushes the public away, causing more euthanasia. No man will bring his family to a place where they might see these barrels. Again these actions show that the accusers don't care about the Devore shelter animals as much as they care about fulfilling their own agenda, whatever that might be. To learn the truth about Devore, visit www.DevoreShelterFriends.blogspot.com 

To date, no proof has been submitted of any of these accusations although it has been requested many times. Devore cannot solve a problem if they have no proof there is a problem.

Devore exceeds the California minimum standards for shelters. Devore has a national award winning spay/neuter program. Devore has heated kennel floors and have been accused of letting a dog get frostbite, impossible. Recently a TV reporter came to Devore based on these accusations, he came unexpectedly. He walked away praising Devore as one of the cleanest shelters he had ever been in and commented that the kennels were warmer than he kept his own house.

Devore has undergone many investigations based on a small group of people making accusations. It has cost the taxpayers money. The Grand Jury investigated and had nothing but praise for Devore. Reporters have come and gone, no stories, nothing there to report. 

The real ripoff here is those people who continue with their vendettas against Devore for their own hidden agendas. Condemning shelters hurts the animals in the shelters, it turns the public away from the shelters and adopting there. What man would subject his family to seeing barrels of dead animals or cruelty. Instead that man will go to the nearest rescue and adopt from them. So to paint this horrid picture of Devore means that the people doing it are awaiting with open arms and they adopt their animals out to that man instead, leaving those in Devore to die. 

Here is a blog that answers the accusations with factual, official truth. www.DevoreShelterFriends.blogspot  Tell these people to stop wasting your tax dollars unless they can prove what they say. Thousands of public records have been pulled and nothing has come of it. Stop wasting our hard earned money with this vendetta. Nothing is there.