The past two weeks have left the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society bruised and battered after a one-two combination in the form of two administrators leaving the troubled shelter.
The blow came while the Menands-based organization is still licking its wounds from a 10-day closure in September when it was forced to euthanize hundreds of animals to halt the spread of distemper and parvo.
However, staff and volunteers are hopeful that the shelter will get back on course as a team of interim administrators comes in and holds the organization steady as directors look to replacements.
Last weekend, the shelter spread the word that after seven months as executive director, Amy Friedman of Slingerlands relinquished her post. Days later, the shelter was put in the hands of medical director Dr. Laurie Coger until a replacement for Friedman could be found. On Monday, Nov. 20, Coger submitted her resignation to the society’s board of directors citing personal reasons.
Society employees could not say what led to Friedman’s departure, whether it was voluntary or she was asked to leave, only that by the end of a recent board of directors meeting, Friedman was no longer with the shelter, said Catherine Blanch, director of development for the shelter.
We are saddened by the loss of some talented staff, but we are looking forward to a positive future, said Blanch. `The board is now working with shelter management to keep us going.`
Friedman was ambiguous with her reason for no longer being at the shelter, and only stated that there was `a bit of politics going on,` and nothing more, she said.
`The reason I am gone has nothing to do with the September decision,` said Friedman.
The shelter has recruited Warren Cox as interim executive director until the position can be filled permanently. Cox is the former executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Dallas, Texas.
The shelter also hired veterinarian Dr. Roger Blankfien to take the place of Coger until that position can be filled as well.
Over the past several months, the shelter has been refocusing its mission and management strategies in the face of decreased funding and a need for increased services. After Friedman came on board, the shelter hired consultant Barbara Carr, director of the Erie County SPCA. Carr did not recommend cutting Friedman, said Blanch. She only called for greater public communication and more efficient management.
`We have a vision for the shelter and want to get the right people in place to realize that vision,` said MHRHS board president and acting executive director, Kathleen Thiel in a written statement she made at a recent board meeting. Attempts to reach Thiel were unsuccessful.
The shelter came under fire in September, after shelter staff made the decision to euthanize nearly 300 dogs and cats. The decision didn’t sit well with shelter volunteers, some of whom left.
The decision to go with euthanasia was regretful, said Cox, from Colorado. Cox, 71, said he has `flunked retirement` since leaving his SPCA post in Texas. He has been traveling throughout the country helping shelters like Mohawk Hudson get back on their feet. He has yet to visit the facility and is scheduled to arrive Dec. 7.
`It’s (euthanasia) unusual, but they have a vet on staff, and I’d imagine it was a vet’s call,` he said. `It’s truly regretful, but you can’t comment on something unless you were in the middle of it.`
The call to euthanize the animals was made by a team of veterinarians, said Friedman, who has no veterinarian background. She called in a number of them when news of the outbreak broke, she said. The then medical director consulted with the outside veterinarians and made the call to go with mass euthanasia and move on from there with a follow up protocol. That protocol included the closure to contain any disease incubation and the cleaning of the facility, she said.
Coger came on as medical director after the distemper and parvo outbreak, she said.
Many shelters have the space and resources to quarantine either the sick or healthy animals until the infection ceases, said Cox. Whether the Menands shelter had the resources to do that he couldn’t say.
However, Blanch said the shelter’s actions saved two-thirds of the animal population, and at a time of the year when the animal population usually surges.
From Ohio to Florida, Mohawk Hudson River Humane Society is in the same pen as many nonprofit societies, said Cox. Many begin to spiral downward and it quickly gets out of control, he said.
He could not say how long he would be in Menands, only that he gave up on timetables on turning shelters around long ago.
Cox said he will be pushing for the hiring of a new leader who is well qualified for the job. He also plans to follow the recommendations made by Carr and other administrators at the shelter to seek more public involvement.“