Antioch, CA Animals Deserve Better
Donation protected
Antioch Animals are sweet and silent victims of a City run Shelter that tries to hide the inhumane treatment given to the animals. Certainly some animals get care from the volunteers who try to do their best in a bad system, but many suffer when they shouldn’t.
We are a group that is trying to find out the facts (Public Records Requests) and make the Shelter obey the law. Money contributed to this Fund will be used for the care, including veterinary care, of Antioch animals and to pay for the costs to compel the Shelter to follow the law. One such cost is the charge for Shelter Records which costs $.20 per page. There is a lot of information to sort through in order to take the steps necessary to have the Shelter be required to run properly and to ensure animals do not suffer. Other costs may include Court filing fees and other costs necessary to help the animals by requiring the Shelter to follow the law.
This fund is being managed by an attorney who is working for free as a volunteer in our crusade. She is the one who will lead our legal case if we need to move forward in the courts. She has already spent many, many hours on our campaign and will continue to work for free but if we need to go to court there will be legal costs such as filing fees etc.
The Fund will be used for the animals – either for the legal fight on their behalf or for their care.
Our group wants to see that the Antioch Animal Shelter does the following (in compliance with the law):
1. Scan all animals that come in.
2. Give medical care to injured and sick animas in its care.
3. Treat animals humanely (ex. A kennel that is clean and big enough.).
4. Cooperate with rescuers and rescue groups.
Scanning:
The law says that animals are to be scanned when taken in by the Shelter. That is to see if their owner has had them micro-chipped so that they can be reunited and returned home. Antioch doesn’t always do that and your family pet might sit for weeks (perhaps until it is put down) at the shelter with minimal care. If your pet is lucky, a rescue group might rescue your animal and take it to a vet who would scan your animal and find out it belonged to you. That is what happened to the Siamese cat shown on the cover and shown below. The picture on the cover page is him after a 16 day stay at the Antioch Shelter. The picture shown below is him before he went into the Antioch Shelter this June looking like the beautiful cat he is. If he hadn’t been taken by a rescue group he might have been euthanized despite his being chipped.
Medical attention:
You want to hope that your animal is taken from the Shelter by a rescue group because animals sit for days and weeks without anyone even taking the time to see if the animal is injured or needs medical attention. The law requires the animal be given prompt and necessary veterinary care but that doesn’t always happen in Antioch. Animals with broken legs can sit in their cages for weeks before being treated, and that’s if they were treated at all.
Humane treatment:
The law says that animals are to be treated “humanely”. Not always in Antioch. Dogs or cats may sit in their own pee and poop in a cage too small for them to turn around in. It is shocking that this old style “pound” is allowed to exist here in our County!
Cooperate with Rescuers
The law says that a public shelter should cooperate with rescue groups. Not always in Antioch. If a rescue group criticizes or is perceived to have criticized the Shelter or even made suggestions for change, then they are banned or limited in how and when they can rescue. What sense does that make? Individuals and rescue groups who want to rescue animals from this shelter are prevented from doing so or arbitrary hurtles are put up to thwart them rescuing if they suggest changes are needed. Then the poor animals are shut off from those rescue people so that they cannot see what goes on behind the doors that are now closed to them.
Limiting or banning rescue groups who criticize the Shelter not only hurts the poor animals but violates the very basic freedom of speech that we are all supposed to enjoy. The Shelter goes so far as to monitor Facebook comments and if you make a comment (or are even falsely accused of making a comment) that is unflattering on Facebook then you are likely to be banned from the Shelter. This is just wrong. And in the end the animals are the ones who pay because there is one less group or person to rescue them.
Conclusion:
Respected animal shelters are run by shelter directors who know the law and follow the law. Not in Antioch. The police department runs the Shelter and doesn’t know the shelter laws, doesn’t follow those law and doesn’t know animal shelter management. The Police Chief may be great at being a police officer, but that training is not the training needed to manage an animal shelter.
We are a group that is trying to find out the facts (Public Records Requests) and make the Shelter obey the law. Money contributed to this Fund will be used for the care, including veterinary care, of Antioch animals and to pay for the costs to compel the Shelter to follow the law. One such cost is the charge for Shelter Records which costs $.20 per page. There is a lot of information to sort through in order to take the steps necessary to have the Shelter be required to run properly and to ensure animals do not suffer. Other costs may include Court filing fees and other costs necessary to help the animals by requiring the Shelter to follow the law.
This fund is being managed by an attorney who is working for free as a volunteer in our crusade. She is the one who will lead our legal case if we need to move forward in the courts. She has already spent many, many hours on our campaign and will continue to work for free but if we need to go to court there will be legal costs such as filing fees etc.
The Fund will be used for the animals – either for the legal fight on their behalf or for their care.
Our group wants to see that the Antioch Animal Shelter does the following (in compliance with the law):
1. Scan all animals that come in.
2. Give medical care to injured and sick animas in its care.
3. Treat animals humanely (ex. A kennel that is clean and big enough.).
4. Cooperate with rescuers and rescue groups.
Scanning:
The law says that animals are to be scanned when taken in by the Shelter. That is to see if their owner has had them micro-chipped so that they can be reunited and returned home. Antioch doesn’t always do that and your family pet might sit for weeks (perhaps until it is put down) at the shelter with minimal care. If your pet is lucky, a rescue group might rescue your animal and take it to a vet who would scan your animal and find out it belonged to you. That is what happened to the Siamese cat shown on the cover and shown below. The picture on the cover page is him after a 16 day stay at the Antioch Shelter. The picture shown below is him before he went into the Antioch Shelter this June looking like the beautiful cat he is. If he hadn’t been taken by a rescue group he might have been euthanized despite his being chipped.
Medical attention:
You want to hope that your animal is taken from the Shelter by a rescue group because animals sit for days and weeks without anyone even taking the time to see if the animal is injured or needs medical attention. The law requires the animal be given prompt and necessary veterinary care but that doesn’t always happen in Antioch. Animals with broken legs can sit in their cages for weeks before being treated, and that’s if they were treated at all.
Humane treatment:
The law says that animals are to be treated “humanely”. Not always in Antioch. Dogs or cats may sit in their own pee and poop in a cage too small for them to turn around in. It is shocking that this old style “pound” is allowed to exist here in our County!
Cooperate with Rescuers
The law says that a public shelter should cooperate with rescue groups. Not always in Antioch. If a rescue group criticizes or is perceived to have criticized the Shelter or even made suggestions for change, then they are banned or limited in how and when they can rescue. What sense does that make? Individuals and rescue groups who want to rescue animals from this shelter are prevented from doing so or arbitrary hurtles are put up to thwart them rescuing if they suggest changes are needed. Then the poor animals are shut off from those rescue people so that they cannot see what goes on behind the doors that are now closed to them.
Limiting or banning rescue groups who criticize the Shelter not only hurts the poor animals but violates the very basic freedom of speech that we are all supposed to enjoy. The Shelter goes so far as to monitor Facebook comments and if you make a comment (or are even falsely accused of making a comment) that is unflattering on Facebook then you are likely to be banned from the Shelter. This is just wrong. And in the end the animals are the ones who pay because there is one less group or person to rescue them.
Conclusion:
Respected animal shelters are run by shelter directors who know the law and follow the law. Not in Antioch. The police department runs the Shelter and doesn’t know the shelter laws, doesn’t follow those law and doesn’t know animal shelter management. The Police Chief may be great at being a police officer, but that training is not the training needed to manage an animal shelter.
Organizer
Nancy V Powell
Organizer
Antioch, CA
