Sometimes dreams, like stars, flicker before they die. The true tragedy of a partnership that never worked.. In 2002 the citizens of Washoe County passed a ballot initiative to consolidate two agencies into one regional service, forming a partnership between the County and a local non-profit, The Nevada Humane Society. Some called us unique, others called us foolhardy, both camps were right. The only thing that worked well on Longley Lane was the light switches.....and the design, which was state of the art and intended to go out 30 years in service.Anytime there is a merger of services, the new agency is troubled and vulnerable to outside influences, even sometimes a takeover, hostile or otherwise. Such was the Longley Lane consolidation saga.. Hindsight is always 20/20 and this charade is no different.. What seemed to be a problem with adoption policies put in place under Dr. Michelle Williams may not have been so random. Looking at other agencies across the country, we can see now the seeds of trouble are planted by outside interests. Dr. Michelle Williams tried to be balanced and give each dog a place on the adoption floor ( other than sick or aggressive ) the result was a very high euthanasia rate. That rate was in all probability, reflective of the true nature of shelter population, much of which is not suitable for permanent adoption. There needs to be evaluations, not every animal should make it to the adoption floor, we learned that the haard way. The cross she was crucified on should still hang in the lobby. The NHS Board of Directors, some of whom had been influenced by the unsubstantiated Winograd claims, changed policy and brought in Bonney Brown. Her history in retail little prepared her to actually run a shelter. Within weeks of her arrival the NHS leased portion of the building was overwhelmed with animals. Austin is having the same problem now.
By 2008 the flicker still had not become flame, ours was not a dream that died, but a dream that never materialized in the first place. The only people who believed the spin were those in faraway places, those of us living here knew from the smell, there was trouble. I cringe when people ask what went wrong; the sad truth is, nothing ever went right.
As NHS quickly filled beyond capacity, conditions deteriorated, animals were stored in areas with poor air exchange, and in a building meant to be demolished for a dog park. Time has proven we are indeed a case of " The Emperor Has No Clothes "
We must close this chapter of our supposed uniqueness, and understand that partnerships across the country are failing rapidly as the non-profits head for the Maddie's Fund money train and claim no kill. I don't think the Maddie's Fund people ever considered the unintended consequences, this could not have been their goal. As these non-profits operating cost sky rocket due to longer storage ( more costs ) these costs are expected to be paid for by the government, in a declining economy that is ludicrous. We are laying off employees, and storing animals for two years for a failed idea. NHS routinely turns away animals, it has failed it's contractual responsibility on many levels for almost 4 years.
So far there are no success stories when the facts are laid out and looked at. And, most assuredly, Washoe County and the Nevada Humane Society have provided a lesson in what not to do. Will we learn from it and keep our services under a sane Sheriff's Department ? Washoe County can provide adoption services cheaper, and more honestly than we can contract them out, we are not a sanctuary, nor should we try to be. We can however place adoptable animals into loving homes and lower the current recycling rate our animals are suffering under. Placing unadoptable animals in the public arena is not a crime, but it is cruel, to both adopter and animal.
This blog knows most of the elected officials in our area, a finer group of compassionate people you could not find, they took a chance and tried something new, to benefit our companion animals. Would it have worked if NHS had not reneged ? We will never know. There will be screams from the ones profiting off the backs of animals that we have "gone back in time".
Let us do that, go back to a time when animals were not marketed like Teddy Bears and stuffed into crates while " adopters " who can't care for them go to work for 10 hours . Let's do something archaic like refusing animals to people living in motels, maybe we could even say a big dog needs a yard and a fence.. Maybe we could become compliant with things like state and county code. Who knows what we can do if we shed the albatross and assume responsibility for stewardship of Washoe County animals. Oreo would like to see that happen, take the reserve money to set the County up to be self sufficient as an animal care and control agency, providing compassionate care to all Washoe animals who find themselves homeless. The euthanasia rate will increase but it will be honest instead of shipping from pillar to post, and then after 2 or 3 years having to kill the animal because it's gone sick or insane. Doing things that way is killing, they are subjected to a form of animal abuse through mental stress, euthanasia is preventing suffering. Let the NHS train pull out of the station without us, we managed with Washoe County and Reno Animal Services for years. We had less dog attacks, and returns.
Pictured is Burley Dog enjoying his French Doors in the Spring sunshine
