Animal Shelter News

Inhumane Treatment Or a Doing Their Best? 

By: Doug Clark, The Sampson Independent,  February 07, 2004   

    
  CLINTON - A Roseboro woman's claims of inhumane treatment of animals at the Sampson County Animal Control Shelter have diminished the potential for adoptions there, according to shelter officials. However, the woman's claims have shone a light in the dark underbelly of a county shelter in need of some major renovations, according to Roseboro resident and animal lover Teresa Stewart, who brought the allegations against the shelter two weeks ago. 
   
  Stewart alleged that employees at the shelter were treating the animals inhumanely and are adopting dogs out of the shelter that have contracted parvo. Her allegations stemmed from a mid-January visit to the shelter to adopt a dog. Accompanied by her 9-year-old son, Stewart says she was "highly disturbed" at what she saw that day.
  
   "Well, I went in to adopt a dog," Stewart explained, "and I looked over and saw all of these puppies. There were six newborns in all, sitting in a cat trap. I asked where the momma was because the puppies were whining because they were hungry. I was told that the mother had died the previous day. So I asked why are they just sitting here on the cold floor starving to death. The lady (shelter employee Diana Williford) that was there on duty just looked away - I was highly disturbed. It was just really, really mean. From what I saw, as an animal lover, if they were going to kill them puppies that day, they should have taken them to the gas chamber right then ... not let them sit there and slowly die, suffering. I know a lot of people don't have the heart to do that, whack them upside the head or something like that - I know I don't. But that shouldn't have been done to those puppies. Especially after I asked."
  
   Since Stewart was told the dogs would be destroyed that same day, Stewart, who was not charged a fee, took four of the six puppies home.   The next day, all four puppies died.
   
  "I didn't like the way she (Williford) looked at me when I asked her where the momma was for those puppies," Stewart said. "After that look, she turned around and ignored me. I just don't understand it. There were two litters of two sets of puppies. Why couldn't they combine all of those puppies into one pen and take that momma dog out and put them in with all of those puppies? If she didn't want to take care of them, why didn't they try other alternatives to letting them sit there and suffer? Two of them had died that day already that is why I took the four of them out of there. You have to give them puppies a chance. If they are only one day old, you are going to sit there and let them die like that - freezing and starving to death? Personally, I don't think none of them need their jobs there ... I still stand by my comments."
  After Stewart's ordeal, the deaths of her puppies only served to solidify her additional claim about the puppies having parvo.
   
  It's a claim that Williford vehemently denies. Williford says that Stewart's puppies, or any puppy that has been adopted out of the shelter recently, has not had parvo. "Those two puppies in question, that she (Stewart) thought died of parvo ... did not die of parvo," Williford said. "Be well assured that they did not die of parvo. Those puppies died because they never got any of their mother's milk ..."
   
  So what were the circumstances surrounding the condition of the puppies in question when Stewart walked into the shelter that Thursday? "We had tried to euthanize those puppies (a half hour earlier) and it just didn't work," admitted Williford. "We were waiting for other options and that is why they were sitting there (separated from the other puppies). I could have probably taken them to Dr. Oglesby and done it and it would have cost $10 or $15 a puppy or he may have done it for nothing. But we (the county) would have had to pay for it. We get several puppies in here like that. If Stewart would have gotten here the same day they were born, I would have been more than happy for her to take them puppies out of here, but I wasn't happy for her to take them that day, because I knew they were going to die ..."
   
  Stewart responds: "If they knew that, they should have just told me. I wouldn't have wasted my time. I had to go out and buy milk and I tried to bottle-feed them puppies. I thought that was kind of weird that the puppy was bleeding out of its nose ... that was just cruel. They should have the same thing done to them."
   
  However, although it may sound cruel to Stewart, the responsibility does not lie solely on Williford's shoulders. In fact, she and the employees at the shelter are limited to what they can do.
   
  "I have gotten on the radio station and tried to get the people in here to adopt these dogs," Williford said. "Sometimes people don't call. But the effort is there." In addition, Williford is solely responsible for getting donations for the dog houses that currently sit in each pen at the shelter.
   
  When asked if Stewart's allegations are hurtful to her, Williford says, "Not to me. I know what I do down here and how much work I put in. I was born and raised here in Sampson County and there are hundreds of people around here that know me and when they read what she was saying about me, they just laughed at it. They know that is not me ... I am not worried about what was said about me because I know better. But I am worried about these 30-something puppies that I have got back here that are not going to have a home because there are people that read that story and think that there is parvo at this shelter and there is not.
   
  "When I came here to work, I was asked if I would have a problem euthanizing 50-100 dogs, and I told them that I wouldn't like it, because I love dogs. I was raised up with dogs all my life. I probably have taken 18-20 from here home with me. But if that is what I have to do, that is what I have to do. I need this job. I am not going to do anything stupid to jeopardize it like spraying the dogs in the face with water or hitting them with bleach. That day that she (Stewart) came in was really a bad time."
  
   Stewart says that she doesn't put blame solely on Williford either.
  "I don't blame her personally (Williford)," Stewart said. "She is a good lady. I blame both the county and the way the dogs are taken care of. I know there is a sign on the door that says they are not responsible, but they should let someone know that they have been through something like that there. They didn't tell me."
  The debate is an emotional one for animal lovers in Sampson County. Although, most agree, that it doesn't fall solely on the employees at the shelter.
   
  "I have adopted two dogs from the shelter," said Salemburg resident Pat Honeycutt. "And I have had no problems whatsoever. You know, that is a hard job that they do there [at the shelter]. I think that if that lady (Stewart) really wanted to do something, she should go down there and volunteer some time."
  
   "I was floored when I read the article," admits Go Automotive's Steve Stefanovich. "I couldn't believe that those things were said about Diana. She is a wonderful and a very caring person."
  
   "I have been there a couple of times," said the Rev. Tim Ameen, "and I have seen this lady [Williford] at work. I hate to see her characterized as a villain (by Stewart), because I think she really cares about those dogs. Yes, I wish the conditions were better there, but I think they do great with what they have to work with."
   
  Local veterinarian Dr. William C. Oglesby Jr., who has been practicing in Sampson County since 1977, also voiced his support for the shelter.
  "I tell my clients that any time you get a dog - even from a reputable breeder or even a place like PetSmart, you have got 14-21 days that you have to hope that there are no problems there or no problems are going to develop - because they still can develop. That is why when you get a puppy, you isolate them. You make sure your feet and shoes are clean ... I tell owners to treat that puppy like you would treat a baby ... My whole point is that this lady (Stewart) does not realize what the past is [at the shelter] and what they have now. It is so far improved from what it was, to what it is today - she just has no conception at just how much better those dogs are now than they were three years ago. The three of them (Chief Animal Control Officer Tim Bass, Animal Control Officer Frankie Butler and Williford) have come together and decided that they are going to try and do the best job that they can possibly do there for those animals. The people in the past did the best job under the limitations, but they didn't have that extra oomph that these people have got and they are making a difference ... that is my whole point - they are making a difference. Even though it is a small difference, it is a difference. And if some people like this Stewart lady would get off their keister and get some money out there to help support the efforts ... that is what they need (is) help, not criticism."
   
  When contacted, Stewart was again unfazed and stuck by her original allegations about the shelter. 
   
  "I don't appreciate him [Oglesby] telling me to get off my keister," Stewart says flatly. "But really, how much money does it take to feed four little newborn puppies? I do get off my keister and support these animals ... I take in puppies from the street and find them a home and I have been very successful at it. If I don't have the money to go out and buy dog food, I will feed them with bread. At least to make an effort. The dogs don't care, they are getting a belly full of food."