Meriden Humane Society Issues

[kjm96]

Dear Volunteers and Friends,


The Meriden Humane Society needs help urgently. The shelter is in terrible financial shape - - no money in the bank, no money for medical expenses, or food or supplies. The shelter may be closed down they cannot get funding, supplies and help. The building is owned by the City of Meriden which can close the shelter down in an instant.

MHS has at least a dozen dogs and upwards of about 80 adult cats that need homes. Unwanted and abused animals are coming into the shelter in a steady stream. People tie them to the doorknob and fence, dump them in the parking lot, throw them over the fence, and stuff them into too small cages and boxes and abandon them. The local news recently ran a story about Charlie the puppy who is being nursed by Silk the cat. Animals like Charlie and Silk will die tragically if MHS is not able to help.

Last night four members of the Board quit. They left behind an $87,000 debt and no money. Sadly this has happened with the Board innumerable times in the last decade.

Volunteers and staff there have been saving lives for years. They work long hours mostly without pay. Last week all the paychecks bounced. Daily, they experience all the cruelty and neglect that people inflict on animals. Yet they do not give up - they keep on saving animals. They cannot do it alone.

They need money, supplies such as

Food - dog and cat
Cat litter
Bleach
Detergent
Cat and dog toys
Paper towels
Garbage bags
You name it - they need it.


Please spread the word about this shelter that needs an incredible amount of help - financial, donation of supplies, and your time They need Board Members who are willing to raise funds to pay off debt and keep the shelter running.


Please send donations to

Meriden Humane Society
311 Murdock Ave
Meriden CT. 06450

Drop off supplies at the shelter and while you are there, see if you can help with laundry, cleaning, walking dogs - whatever.

Please send a letter to the Meriden Town Council about the importance of keeping the shelter open.

Please help the people there so they can help the animals.

[Wine Guys]

Greetings!
I am an animal lover and one of our, now sleeping her last sleep, kitty's came from your shelter. I co-own a wine shop and we would like to do a Wine Tasting Fund raiser for your shelter. I realize you need help NOW... let us know what we can do for you.
Mark & John @ The Wine Cellar

[kjm96]

I sent your offer to Marlena the manager at the Meriden Humane Society.

She is swamped and they are holding a 24 hour adoptathon and food and supply drive this weekend. If you don't hear from her, call


The Meriden Humane Society
311 Murdock Ave.
Meriden, CT. 06450
203-238-3650

[catnap]

I've three cats - two of which came from the MHS...over the years I've adopted a total 6 cats from the MHS.

And over those years the rules and the cost for adopting a cat have become increasingly prohibitive. I have two sets of friends who went elsewhere for cats after one being being turned down for a cat and the second just couldn't afford the cost of adopting. The last cat I adopted was about 3 years ago - cost 95 dollars, it's over that now. I remember when cats where pretty much free..one cat I paid a 35 dollar donation back in the eighties. I fully understand that cats adopted out now are spayed/neutered and fully vacinated, which contributes to the cost.

I used to go to hanover pond on Oregon road almost every weekend to walk my dogs. Tho the building was clearly run-down and probably a health hazard, I was wary of the MHS moving over to Murdock ave, mostly because of the dogs.

at least on Oregon Road - they got fresh air, sunshine, rainshine and contact with people on a daily basis..at Murdock they are in cages without a "view". ?Letters to the editor have talked about not being allowed to see the dogs, so how can anyone adopt? Tho I do understand, under their circumstances seeing a human would just cause alot of confusion and stress for them.

It's a sad situation.

But what I don't understand, and have not seen talked about, is how the MHS got into such a dire financial straits?

[jma]

Before I give any more money to MHS, I want to see a financial audit done. No other "non-profit" agency in town gets as much money handed to them as they do, yet they're constantly one step away from closing. Time for someone with no personal investment to check the books, and make some suggestions!

[Eastside Bill]

I agree with the idea of an independent fiscal audit of what should be an upstanding organization. It seems that the Meriden Humane Society has a long history of having financial problems, going back to its Oregon road building.

We adopted a cat from the MHS a few years back and the fees charged seemed close to what we would have paid at a pet store. The screening process seemed close to what prospective adoptive parents (for humans, not cats) go through. We were also misinformed of the sex of the cat and also misinformed about a sterilzation subsidy.

It would seem that the high fees and intense screening results in fewer unwanted animals being adopted and those animals ending up being euthanized. Kind of a throwing out the baby with the bathwater approach.

Perhaps the Record-Journal could do some investigating into the Humane Society's operation. While the organization's goals are certainly admirable, its procedures have a problematic history.

[catnap]

Apparently I'm not alone in my thoughts. ;) People do donate - I've donated for years food, litter, blankets, dog beds...cash...and MHS is constantly in financial straits.

87,000 bucks is alot of money - what happened? - I thought that moving to the new facility was supposed to solve this issue....but not only has the money problem gotten worse, so have the condidtions for the animals..especially the dogs.

And I mis-spoke in my previous post - one of the friend was turned down for a dog..not a cat, because they both worked and someone felt they wouldn't be home enough. It was crazy - I've known these people for over twenty years...they are absolute animal lovers..I would leave my animals in my will to them.

[kjm96]

No one in power (States Atty officee would be a start.)will bother to ask and answer the question of why this happened. It happened due to a series of Board of Directors who did nothing. Many of them put down on the 2005 IRS tax return that they donated a whopping 1 hour of their time to MHS each week.

The people who were on the Board in the last several years did little to raise funds. Go look up what the Ct Humane has in it's bank - $$$ are in the millions and they are NOT a State of CT agency. They raised the money and always do. Why can't MHS do the same? Because they do not have a board of directors who will do what really needs to be done.

The shelter manager should not be out fundraising - she should be managing the shelter which is what she was hired to do.

Also I think the new BOD (if they ever get one) needs to look closely at the definition of no-kill. The true meaning is that no adoptable animals are killed. It does not mean that unadoptable animals should be warehoused for life in a shelter that only has 12 dog runs. One dog has been there for 3 years and has bitten several people; including adopters. He is not adoptable, a danger to society and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

I love animals and do not wish to see them die. However, keeping such an unadoptable dog (and he is one of many over the years) in an indoor kennel run that is small and does not offer any mental stimulation is only going to further damage the dog. In the meantime, an adoptable dog cannot come into the shelter due to no space. We cannot save them all so choices need to be made. Most "no-kill shelters carefully evaluate dogs and only the adoptable ones are taken in. MHS needs to decide if it is a home for the unadoptable or a shelter for the adoptable. Until that is more clear, many people will not donate money or time to MHS.

They need a strong Board that can make tough decisions and run the shelter in a way that will make it a success.

I commend the staff and volunteers for their amazing ability to raise over $100K in the last few weeks. Truly amazing results. Perhaps those who left the Board can ask themselves - "Why didn't we do that? It is possible."

People who in the past had no interest beyond stopping in, hanging around the shelter office, feeding cookies to the dogs, then leaving finally did join in to raise these funds. I hope they will now continue that newfound interest in helping by actually doing something.

They need a good BOD, volunteers, fundraisers and to let the manager manage. As for why they got into the black hole, I would love to hear the answer, but do not think we ever will.

[kjm96]

Hmmm why doesn't this paper investigate the MHS debt? They only do the feel good stories

[jma]

I would guess that as a non-profit organization, their financial records would be open to the public. Wouldn't someone be able to evaluate them and see where the money went? Of course, the books are only as accurate as the person entering the info.

[catnap]

I was glad to hear the news of all the money that was raised and also, very glad to hear discussions of what does "no-kill" mean exactly. And I really hope the Humane Society can really effect some postive change and keep there necks above water with this windfall.

About 8 or 10 years ago - my child volunteered at the human society on Oregon road. One morning when I brought her down there, we found a few dead cats in the corners of the outside cages. Come to find out that due to over-population, poor-ventalition and sick cats that over 70 cats had already died. If a cat comes in with feline aids or luekemia or some other desease that renders them cage-bound and cut off from all other felines, isn't it more humane let the cat go peacefully, then cage for the rest of it's life which could be over a decade? and at the same time truly maintain the health of those others cats not infected with these awful deseases?

I also hope that some of that money can be used to get those dogs doggie doors to outside cages...they way they are housed now is just awful.