At a Total Loss

I am at a loss for words regarding the latest actions taken by the Board of Directors.

Before I go into the latest details, I need to get caught up on what transpired one week ago at the OAG.

As you may recall, the OAG requested a meeting to discuss the sanctuary’s current economic conditions. Prior to this meeting, the board president resigned shortly after speaking with the board member living in Florida. That left only two board members serving on the sanctuary’s board: the Florida board member and the woman who has designs of taking over the sanctuary. Shortly after this was announced to me, I submitted a very qualified candidate to join the board. This individual is aware of the sanctuary’s current financial condition and the problems with the current board and staff. Despite this disclosure, he still believes the sanctuary can survive and prosper—but it would take the entire board and staff working together to ensure the animals have a safe and secure place to live at the sanctuary.

When the OAG learned the former president of the board resigned, they requested this person travel with the sanctuary’s CEO to discuss why he resigned and who would take his place as there were currently two board members on the board. As you may recall from previous postings, the board, by law, must consist of three board members at all times.

According to the new sanctuary director, the meeting was a complete waste of time and could have been held via telephone rather than a face to face with the OAG/Charitable Trust Division and the former board member and sanctuary director. Interesting enough, the Florida and the vet tech board members were allowed to call in for the meeting. In my opinion, both members should have traveled to Austin for the meeting.

Since I was not present at the meeting, I cannot comment on what was said. I can comment on what was supposedly said that was of interest to me. For example, the OAG apparently made a comment that the former directors write to them often, lamenting on the current status of the animals!

Apparently, the former directors are trying to re-write history by charging the animals are receiving substandard feed, no vitamins, and the workers are quitting because of the new director. For the record, the chicken and other meats provided by way of HEB and Wal-mart is good meat. Last Friday and the weekend before last I went personally into the meat locker and saw good raw chicken and other meats available for the animals. I did discover one major problem in the meat locker and outside the meat locker, but I will discuss the findings later on in this posting. I also checked on the vitamin powder and both locations have powder as I also traveled to the second site and checked on the meat there as well. The “rantings” on the internet regarding the meat quality and the administration of the vitamins is completely false and were placed out there by ex-employees hell bent on destroying the organization.

Anyhoo, I digress, back to the main point of this posting: The OAG was forced to acknowledge, despite initial protests, the current director on the board of directors so the sanctuary could continue to operate. The OAG left the responsibility to reform and designate individual board seats.

The OAG brought up the financial difficulties and lo and behold, to cover their asses, the board members feint surprise over the low bank account balance and amounts over due to vendors.

Surly the former president of the board communicated regularly with the other members regarding the sanctuary’s financial situation before he resigned? Wouldn’t that have been his job, especially since he kept the books as Treasurer?

Plus, the current director asked the board member in Florida permission to go to the public and announce the possible closure of the sanctuary if finances did not pick up very soon. I was told the board member said no, he did not want to publicly announce the sanctuary’s financial troubles and he did not want the current director to contact the gentleman in Colorado, who went through a similar experience in 2006, at his sanctuary.

In my opinion, the board made a fool out of themselves for not knowing the financial situation before the start of the meeting. Instead, the board apparently pushed the lack of communication blame onto the current director.

On top of it all, the resignation of the sanctuary’s president/treasurer could not have come at a worse time because in about two weeks, the 2009 990 is due at the IRS!

Some good news for a change—the Red Cross would like to partner with the sanctuary in starting up again the pet first aid classes. On Friday (April 16th), the sanctuary’s office manager and I visited the Red Cross and discuss the program with the training director. I believe we could have an amazing program at the sanctuary and we are working closely with the Red Cross to get this program up and running.

After the meeting, I stopped by to pickup materials and was planning on leaving when I received a call from the director to check on the quality of the meat. I went into the meat locker and examined the meat. It looked very good to me – all fresh.

As I was about to leave, though, I noticed several wet boxes off to the left side of the meat locker complete covered with flies. I opened the lid and discovered defrosted warm chicken (weather was close to 80 degrees outside and over 80 degrees inside the warehouse. I also found chicken pieces that apparently fell on the floor as they contained a lot of dirt and debris. I washed the chicken pieces off and returned them back to the box. The flies were everywhere so I asked the chicken be covered by a tarp. I also found store wrapped meat in a tube on top of the chicken boxes and the meat inside the packaging was almost in liquid form. It was disgusting. Clearly, leaving meat outside the meat locker (refrigerator) was in violation of the AWA. The meat was covered and then moved back into the refrigerator. I also found two open meat “tubes” on the counter next to the sink, opened and covered with flies. Both meat tubes were ½ filled with meat and were just left on the counter for hours. The female worker who only works part-time at the sanctuary admitted to leaving the meat out after giving the animals their medication in the morning. When I discovered the wasted meat, it was late afternoon!

The office manager was with me when I saw the violations as well as one of the facility operations workers. While the office manager and I were walking around the property, the wasted meat rolls were quietly removed from the counter and the counter was cleaned up.

The previous weekend, I asked the animal care staff to try and keep the property clean as they are open for tours on Wednesday - Sunday. My point was that the juvenile CSR and volunteers should not be the only ones expected to clean the property—everyone needs to chip in to make sure it looks presentable to the public. The comment I received was “don’t count on it.” Well, that comment was prophetic because the property was a mess again!

Here is a complete list of the violations observed while walking around the property:

1. Meat left out in the heat and there was a trash can filled with maggots and meat at the back of the meat locker (refrigerator);

2. Barrier boards removed and left on the ground directly in front of a tiger enclosure while tours were conducted;

3. Most of the barrier gates left wide open allowing the general public to go behind the barriers and approach the animal enclosures;

4. Two domestic dogs were found in an empty tiger cage, which was located across of several tigers and next to a tiger enclosure. The dogs were barking at every move the tigers made, running up and down the length of the enclosure;

5. Four pieces of sharp metal (tie wires) sticking into the lemur enclosure, putting the animals at risk of having their eyes and/or other body parts poked by the metal;

6. Several empty bleach (3) bottles were tossed around the cougar enclosure and there were two trash cans filled with maggots, feces, old meat, and mulch left in front of the cougars’ enclosure;

7. Dirty water bowls (back ½ of the shaded tour trail) were found;

8. Wolf-hybrids had a large amount of feces in the enclosure which emitted a foul odor and could be smelled from the touring trail– the area had not been cleaned since Wednesday morning;

9. Domestic liter cat boxes overflowing with cat feces;

10. Housing a domestic cat in the “clinic” which was a previous write-up for the former directors when Noel the cougar was “stored” in this building.

When I called the director at home to let her know that the animal caretakers had placed two domestic dogs on the trail and they had removed the barrier boards for some reason and just left them on the ground while giving tours, I was immediately told she was on her way.

Needless to say, once the workers learned she was on her way into the office, the dogs were moved off the trail and the boards were re-installed. Once the director arrived, she and I walked around and I showed her the violations. She was not happy. The two workers were asked about the issues and instead of saying something like, “you know, you are right, it won’t happen again,” the workers instead blamed everyone for their failings. Disgusted with all the excuses, the director walked off as I tried to get the workers to see where they failed the sanctuary.

I tried explaining to them that they put the public at risk by taking down the board and leaving the gates open. I tried to explain that leaving wires sticking into the enclosures was a safety risk for the animals. I tried to explain that leaving the meat out in the heat is a violation of the AWA and the WAO had been written up within the last 4 years on these very same topics. I asked the two workers if the even read the AWA books left by the USDA/APHIS veterinarian (one set of books for each property), and the workers said they never read the books. When I asked the workers at the other property if they ever saw the books (later that day), the workers immediately took out the books from the desk they were sitting at! The ladies confirmed the workers at the previous property did know about the books and were offered the opportunity to review the books when these same workers worked at the second site.

I explained to the touring facility workers that the AWA regulations were on the internet and there was no excuse why they could not review the material. Both workers looked angry when I made this comment. The claimed I was calling their work “shitty.” I told them if I wanted to use the words “shitty,” I would! I told them they were violating the AWA and that they needed to pay more attention to their jobs and stop blaming everyone else for their failings. Both workers complained about having way to much work and not enough time to complete the tasks. I told the workers that I and one other employee were able to clean the enclosures, feed the animals, and conduct tours without a problem on Saturdays and Sundays. I suggested they work faster and pay attention to what they were doing, so as to complete their tasks on time. One thing I have noticed is the number of times I’ve seen the workers “texting” and taking personal calls while working.

Both workers told me they were concerned about all the chicken fed to the animals since the beginning of the April. I asked if they were still putting the vitamin/minerals on the chicken and I was told yes they were, but certain animals, like Bubba, had trouble eating the chicken. The touring facility workers accused the non-touring workers at the other property of withholding red meat from the touring facility animals because they did not all get along and the animals at the touring facility were punished because of this conflict.

Ironically, this reminded me of the conversation I had with the ladies at the other property in March. The complaint was the non-touring facility animals did not receive any red meat for over a month and was wondering when they would receive red meat. The ladies made no accusations, they were just inquiring on the status of red meat. I remember seeing red meat given out at the touring facility and I was surprised the non-touring facility did not receive any red meat.

So when Wal-mart provided 500 lbs of brisket this month, the battle for the meat was on! The meat was ultimately given to the non-touring facility since they did not receive red meat for sometime. About 40lbs was taken to the touring facility for the tigers like Bubba, who needed some red meat. I personally saw the red meat loaded onto the vehicle, bound for the touring property.

What bothered me a lot was the Wal-mart donation (the trash can in the cooler) contained a lot of red meat and it was allowed to go to waste as there were maggots growing in the container. This meat could have been given out with the chicken to the tigers having trouble digesting chicken only!

The touring facility workers said a lot of terrible things about the non-touring facility workers, and yet when I confronted the non-touring facility workers, they offered proof in support of their rebuttal. The other employees offered no proof – just accusations.

The good news is the red meat will now be distributed based on a percentage of big cats at each location. This is a fair way to ensure the meat is distributed evenly so the animals do not have to go for a month without receiving red meat.

The same day I visited the second site, I was given a tour of where one of the former workers lived on the property, along with one of the current employees.

I was shocked to see what used to be their rabbit enclosure. These employees used to house rabbits in what looked like a 3’ feet long and 2’ feet wide enclosure on wheels. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say there was about 6” of rabbit feces at the bottom of the entire enclosure! It was horrifying to see! The workers moved out and left the rabbits and turtles behind with no food or water, living in an incredible amount of waste. No one was told the rabbits and turtles were left behind, and it was by chance (or perhaps curiosity) the workers discovered the animals.

When I entered the empty mobile home, fleas jumped up on my legs, preventing me from entering further. Not that I would have wanted to because the smell of animal urine and feces was incredibly strong. Instead I peeked into one of the bedrooms and saw rocks, dirt, and hay in the corner of the room.

When I asked what happened to the monkeys they kept along with domestic cats, I was told they were removed the day they moved out and no one knows for sure where the animals went.

My thoughts are, if you cannot keep your own house clean and care for your own animals properly, then how in the world can this same person expect to care for the animals at the sanctuary. Very disturbing.

I don’t know what to think of the two workers working at the touring facility right now. I cannot help by feel there is some unspoken motive as to why these workers refuse to perform the functions of their job correctly, but feel they have the right to criticize everyone else. Including me, I suppose. I was informed that the worker who left his rabbits and turtles behind made the statement that I found green rotting meat in the meat locker and that I threw up after finding the meat! I confronted him with this comment, as it was a complete lie, and his first reaction was to angrily demand “who told you that.” When I first refused to disclose the person who made the statement, he immediately started in on me accusing me of keeping “secrets.” So I disclosed the name, and he still became angry, at first refusing to address the statement, and then I guess he changed him mind when I would not let the issue go, by saying he would never say something like that. He repeated this over and over again. I have to question his sincerity based on what I saw and learned at the other property. I shall blog this part of the story in the next entry.

Anyhoo, I discussed my findings with the director, letting her know that the two workers at the touring facility have absolutely no respect for her or authority. I asked if I could address these issues with the Florida board member seeing how he does not understand the challenges the director had to face, in light of the workers refusing to do their jobs correctly, even after receiving verbal corrections. She thought it might be a good idea if I spoke with him—letting him know about the good and the bad events transpiring at the sanctuary.

So the next day, Saturday (April 24th), I contacted the board member after spending the entire day at the facility with the CSR workers and volunteers. For you see, Saturday was the animals Fiesta party where they received new toys and treats!  

The event was successful – there was a large group of folks on this tour. Needless to say, the workers did not want to speak with me, but then I was not there for them, I was there to make sure the animals were taken care of and the event went off without a hitch.

After the Fiesta event, one of the volunteers noticed a vervets with a dollar-sized wound on its’ inner leg. When this wound was shown to the two animal caretakers, they told me that the vet would be coming out Tuesday and she would be notified about the monkey’s wound at that time. I told them this was unacceptable and that the vet needed to be notified much sooner so a determination could be made regarding treatment. I was told by both workers that the primate would receive, before they left, medicine (pain killer and antibiotic). When I asked when the primate would receive the medicine, I was told they wanted to finish feeding the animals first, and then they would treat the monkey. The workers got back into the gator and drove off. I made a mental note to make sure the primate received his medicine before everyone left.

Fortunately for the monkey, one of the ladies from the other property volunteered to work the office as the receptionist was out due to illness. At around 5:00pm the other workers left and that left just me and the non-tour facility worker to make sure the property was clean and safe to close. After we finished the cleaning the water bowls, the lady wanted to check on the primate requiring medication. Turns out, as the workers were leaving, they told the female worker that they “tried” to provide the vervet with his medication, but they gave up and would try again the next day. I don’t’ know how hard they “tried” because the primate was originally found with the wound on his leg sitting in front of the enclosure and when we checked on the primate, he was still sitting in the exact same place!

The animal caretaker retrieved the vervet’s medication and the primate took the medicine from her without any problem. He ate the bread soaked with antibiotics and the pain pill without any issues. So for that day, the monkey received his meds, no thanks to the other two animal caretakers. It is my opinion; they never even tried to provide him his medication.

I told all of this to the Florida board member on Saturday. We were on the phone for about 2 hours and I thought, based on his follow-up questions; he understood the urgency of the issues pertaining to the two workers and the challenges the new director has to face on a daily basis. We talked about the two candidates interested in joining the board and he seemed interested in reviewing their resumes. I thought we had a really good conversation. I explained the importance of everyone performing “by the book” at the sanctuary, so as to avoid future problems either with the OAG, USDA, or the public.

Turns out, on the same day, while the Fiesta Enrichment party was taking place, the two remaining directors had a secret board meeting without the new director (and 3rd board member) present. The two board members decided to make the vet tech “president” and they added the wife of the Florida board member to the board!!! This action was illegal!

Now I don’t know what is going to happen with the new director, as the new “prez” does not like her and she certainly does not like me either. I asked the new director how I could help her with this latest challenge and she said she would work on this issue today. Sadly, this appears to be one problem I cannot help her fix as this is an internal battle. A battle that will ultimately lead to the demise of the animals if it does not cease immediately. My hopes are sinking fast as I see all this destructive and illegal behavior going on at the sanctuary. It starts at the top, so it’s no wonder why the workers feel they can do anything they want without retribution. If the board does not stop all this fighting and start operating in a legal manner and focus on raising money for the animals, which incidentally, should be the only thing everyone should be focused on right now, I will be forced to leave once again and resume my investigations into the facility. The board needs to go and a new hard working supportive board needs to be instilled as soon as possible.

I guess I’m not at a loss for words after all – but I am still in shock over what the workers and board members are doing to the sanctuary. Why is it so hard to get everyone to perform their jobs correctly, not to mention, legally?  Why are board and workers' egos more important than the well-being and survival of the WAO animals?  Why?

Face of Evil

Truly evil has a face and it belongs to those individuals hell bent on destroying the animals. I am amazed at how petty and childish these people are and sadly another ex-employee has joined their ranks, posting this on the comment section of the magazine’s online story:

On 4/17/2010 11:18:16 PM, Myrna said:
To whoever wrote about me leaving (4/6/10 comment) what you heard is true. I did put in my two weeks notice and after biting tongue for so long I couldn't hold it in any longer. I let it ALL out,didn't hold anything back and let me tell you did it feel GOOD. The next day I was asked to gather my things and leave the premises.After sticking up for someone you believed in and then realizing you were completely wrong about them is extremely upsetting. I must clear up a few things though... The caretakers have worked extremely hard for those animals. They came first no matter what anyone else thinks.If it ever came down to the animals getting fed or the employees getting paid I can assure you that not a single person there would put themselves before those animals. There are a few of us who have quit because of current management but we stayed as long as we did for the animals. I miss them everyday but fortunately for me I now work with another non-profit that is being run the right way. There are plenty of changes that need to be made at the Wild Animal Orphanage and the most important one is management. It breaks my heart that a place with such amazing animals and with such great potential is struggling.
And by the way Nicole you can stop accusing me of writing on here under anonymous. Obviously I have no issue putting my name on my comments. Find someone else to blame. :)

Months ago, I recommended to the new director to fire her because she violated the drug-free workplace policy—apparently more than once. Here is a person, who is a confirmed drug user, allegedly impregnated by a man she claimed worked at the sanctuary, but the man in question allegedly denied being the father of her child, posting stuff like this on the internet. This is the same person who refused to leave the sanctuary on the day she picked up her final paycheck, demanding the director come outside and “face her.” Sadly, this little diva felt the need to blast “management” at a time when it was barely making it from one day to another.

And so Evil marches on –

The former directors ran up some very hefty bills before they quit and then fired—IRS payroll taxes (past and current due), Printer, Vet, Land Taxes, etc). Unbelievably, the former directors contacted those individuals that ran huge “tabs” for the former directors and asked them how much was owed to them as well as the last payment made. Then the former directors wrote a letter to the OAG, detailing the amounts owed to the businesses and last time they received payment! Can you believe the audacity! They caused this problem and now the reveling in the disaster, knowing that the law cannot touch them! The letter was sent to the sanctuary’s attorney, no doubt to give them a “heads-up” regarding the upcoming meeting with the OAG. The OAG wants to meet with the new director this Thursday.

The OAG has been hitting the website as well – concentrating on the staff and board of director’s web pages.

Today, the new director is visiting the banks to see if she can secure a loan so as to keep the sanctuary open.

I am praying really hard that the sanctuary receives the necessary funds, else I do not know what will happen to the animals. God Bless the animals and staff as they struggle through this most difficult time.

Bald Face Lies

From the comment section of the San Antonio Current:

On 4/16/2010 10:00:21 AM, Anonymous said:
The AG must be too busy and the board members are either clueless or just as corrupt as she is. How much money does the new CEO make? Why are they hurting so bad for donations? Why are more and more animals being sent away? Are the board members getting paid? WHY IS EVERYONE QUITING? Can't really blame the economy for that. Where is most of the donation money going towards? The animals or the employee salaries?

On 4/16/2010 10:13:05 AM, Anonymous said:
Board members: If someone came to you with information regarding wrong doings in the organization and you did nothing to right the wrong, that's your bad.

******************************************************************

Well, it looks like the either the former director and her “crew” or ex-employees are at it again. I’ll bet the newspaper which broke the story last year never expected over 180 comments posted to their web site story. As mentioned before, the bitter ex-employees/directors continue to post on the newspaper’s site, as if it was their personal blog page.

What is amazing is the audacity of the comments made by this “crew.” How much does the new CEO make? How about 1/4 of what the former directors made! Why are they hurting so bad for donations? Because the former directors contacted the sanctuary's past big money donors and trashed the new director—asking them not to donate to the animals any more! Why are more and more animals being sent away? Other than the birds and the tortoise (which they have never commented on so I guess the poor tortoise was never even on their “radar”), what animals were “sent away.” If they cared one iota for the birds (and the tortoise), the disgruntled crew would realize they went to sanctuaries that could better care for these animals. Gee, I believe the WAO, under the old management, took in animals and then re-homed several of them elsewhere – talk about hypocrisy! Are the board members getting paid? The former director got paid a hefty salary! So why the sudden interest in the board member's salary--especially since less money is being drawn down. Can’t really blame the economy for that. Really? Then why did the former directors report to the board in 2009 that donations were down due to the economy? Where is most of the donation money going towards? What do they care—it’s not going towards their pockets any more, praise God.

Oh and I love the comment that if someone came to you with information …. This certain generated a couple of laughs! I “came to the board” (and another board member who also resigned “came to the board”), in which the former director was a member, and she purposely kept the board from listening to me by telling them bald-face lie! Her BAD!

You got to love how this bunch of losers continue to try and revise their past transgressions by making comments regarding the very same issues brought forth against them to the OAG!

Miracles Do Come True

If you have been following this blog from the very beginning, you may recall my association with this sanctuary began in the mid 1990’s when I was still in the military. You may also recall the story on how I first started arranging for military students to assist the sanctuary by performing community service work at its touring property.

Anyhoo, for months I’ve been praying for a way for the military students to return once more. The work performed by the students and their supervisors was amazing and it was during this time, the sanctuary really took off. Some of the students work can still be seen today at the sanctuary. Truly it would be a miracle if the students returned because I simply do not know anyone left at my old squadron, and so I have no one to call for help.

Last Saturday, while checking on the progress of the group of volunteers from a Christian University, I saw a vehicle parked along the fence line. When I approached the vehicle, I noticed a family intently looking at one of the tigers. I asked if they would be interested in coming in for a tour. The couple indicated they took the tour last weekend and they wanted to show their parents a tiger living at the sanctuary. The elderly couple was excited about the sanctuary, asking a lot of questions regarding the animals and our operation. It was during this conversation, I mentioned we had several volunteers working at the sanctuary. The younger gentleman indicated he worked for a large company, with about 100-120 volunteers willing to perform work at the sanctuary, if we were interested, and if we could accommodate such a large group.

My ears perked up when he mentioned this large number of volunteers. It was then I noticed he had a military hair cut, and so I was thinking, can this be? A military organization wanting to come out and help the animals? Not believe my luck, I hesitantly asked; what company do you work for? I could not believe my ears when he said he worked for my old squadron and that he was the squadron commander, looking for places where his students could volunteer, so they could develop their leadership skills! And he wanted to know if we could use the assistance of the students on a monthly or quarterly basis!

Wow! Wow! Wow! My prayers were answered!!! So last night, I received a fantastic email from the wife of the squadron commander (also in the military) wanting details regarding the volunteer project. I am hoping to start the military partnership the middle of next month, and really focus on turning the non-touring property around! We are going to weed eat, put up the perimeter fence, paint, and complete whatever projects needing attention. Truly this is a miracle! Even the Wing Commander and his wife want to tour the facility! This is truly a big break needed to help turn around the sanctuary. I also want to tackle the bear enclosure because the bears deserve so much better.

Thank God miracles do come true! Now I am praying for big money for the sanctuary as the financial situation is dire.

International Fund Animal Welfare (IFAW) was contacted today to see if they could provide a grant to cover some of the debt incurred by the previous directors.

As it was told to me, IFAW at first said, go ahead and send us a letter indicating the amount of money you require. Then as the conversation continued, IFAW allegedly waffled on its previous commitment that "they would never abdondon the XXXX animals" by making comments about perhaps it was time to close the sanctuary. IFAW claimed they were at the end of their calendar year and funds would be hard to come by -- but this apparent is not stopping them from going to Iceland where a volcano is spewing ash and rescue animals caught in this natural disaster!

IFAW, in my opinion, was the enabler that allowed the former directors to swindle money from donors. IFAW never checked up on the "grants" they sent to the directors to ensure that the bears, lions, tigers, etc actually received large natural enclosures. They just blindly handed over money. When I sent them an email, warning them of this dangerous situation, they simply shrugged their shoulders and forked over additional dollars to the former directors. Now that the new director is showing them exactly what the money would be used for and is willing to provide proof of payment, IFAW turns its back on the animals. I was promised by an IFAW representative that IFAW would never turn its back on the animals. If IFAW refuses to help the sanctuary during its time in need, then I was lied to. The new director plans to submit a request of funds letter to IFAW anyway, in hopes of at least securing funds for animal feed.

The IFAW representative confirmed to the new director that the former directors are calling IFAW almost every day to complain about the sanctuary. The IFAW representative warned the new director that they (former directors) are never going to leave the sanctuary alone. In my opinion these criminals (former directors) should be rotting in jail after what they did to the animals and should not be allowed to continually hurt the sanctuary with this type of harassment. I pray that some day there will be justice for the animals. I guess we'll find out soon because the OAG wants to meet with the new sanctuary director next Thursday, April 22, 2010.

Living Day-to-Day

Day to day – that is how the sanctuary is surviving – day to day. The money situation is dire. According to the workers, 60% of calls coming in are from creditors, and so needless to say, there is some hesitancy in answering the phones.

I’ve started a fundraiser to collect funds to pay for the vitamin and mineral powder the animals need as they are now primarily on a diet of chicken. Other types of meat, from the Wal-mart Meat Program, and fish from a local grocer helped provide some variety in the animals’ diet. The question is, how long can the sanctuary survive?

Towards the end of the month, the sanctuary is having a Fiesta Enrichment Party and I’ll provide the bulk of the Fiesta treats. Thankfully, a local restaurant provided the peanuts and I’ll be providing the dried fruit, rice cakes, and bran cereal for the treat tubs and piñata balls. Just to make sure the public remembers the animals, I’m paying for 3 radio commercials and the director is paying for one of the radio commercials to be aired starting two days prior to the Fiesta event.

The web site numbers are way up and tour attendance is up significantly. Sadly, because newsletters cannot go out, the number of mail-in-donations is way down.

One of the diva animal caretakers is leaving next week—the one who updated information to the sanctuary’s website without permission.

Last Saturday, the worker’s had an impromptu meeting with me. I was asked “whatever I was planning in two weeks, to do it now.” Since I had no idea what the workers were talking about, I engaged into a conversation with the workers.

Understandably, they are worried about the survivability of the sanctuary. I emphasized they need to focus on their job and do the best they could to help present a clean environment for the animals and guests. I was appalled by the condition of the grounds that day – dead raccoon in the street near the entrance of the sanctuary; two dead mice near the entrance of the equipment and feed warehouse; trash throughout the tour trail, etc.

I’ve been told the property looks like a mess during the week until I and the volunteers show up to clean the property on Saturdays. This is unacceptable because if the workers do not show pride in the property, then why would anyone want to help the animals?

I emphasized to the workers that if they do not keep the property clean, no one would want to visit the animals, let alone make donations! I emphasized they need to focus on their jobs and stop worrying about what “other” people are doing. The sanctuary needs less drama and more hard work.

I don’t know if my words fell on deaf ears as one of the workers (the diva that is leaving) was rolling her eyes while I was speaking with the workers. Thankfully, her negative attitude is leaving the sanctuary soon!

After spending the entire day cleaning up the property, I asked the workers if they could keep the property clean throughout the week. I was told “no promises.” Nice, real nice.

Meanwhile, I learned from one of the workers that the bears at the second site are living in their own filth because the animal caretakers are not cleaning out their enclosures on a daily basis. I saw recent photos depicting animal waste piling up in the tiny enclosure. Since there were various piles at different stages of drying I can only conclude this has been going on for at least two days.

Appalling.

The new director is aware of this problem and I pray she is able to do something about this latest problem. I plan to visit the property, with the director’s permission, unannounced, so I can see first hand what is happening to the bears. Apparently, the new director was told if she fires the two senior animal caretakers, then the board would fire her.

Fresh food tossed on top of bear waste.

Breaks my heart that the bears ate food covered in bear waste.

On a happier note, a local diamond store is donating a $2500 necklace so it can be raffled off by the sanctuary. I’ll be putting together something for the web site and the e-event email to the sanctuary’s e-newsletter supporters. So far, the e-newsletter is a success and I pray the e-event letter works as well.

So far, the animals are doing well. I noticed a small wound on one of the tiger’s leg, no doubt from playing too rough, but I pray it will heal quickly. I am pleased the animals are doing much better. One would never know how severe the financial situation is at the sanctuary by looking at the animals. I just pray that “big money” will come to fruition so the animals will have a financially secured place to live!

Meanwhile, the latest on the lawsuit filed by the new director against the former directors (think motorcycle) appears to be headed to court. Why the former directors want this case to see the light of day is beyond me. Today, I learned from the new director the ANIMALS made the former male director's motorcycle payments! The new director went through the files and discovered payments, that should have been made by the male director, were instead made by the animals. Apparently the old director was supposed to deducted the "loan" amount from his paycheck, but there was no sign of any deductions made, nor was there any record of the "loan" paid back by the former male director. This lawsuit, along with the other two (against the sanctuary and against the local on-line newspaper editor), is a smoke screen, in my opinion, to delay justice. Eventually, this will all come out in the wash -- it's just a matter of time.

The Cost of Drama

The lack of funds continues to plague the sanctuary. Last week I posted an appeal on sanctuary’s website requesting public assistance to help save the sanctuary from closing its doors forever. With only $3,000 in the bank today, and bills piling up, I am in a panic each day over the survivability of the sanctuary. I didn’t work so hard to save the animals to see the sanctuary fall due to finances. I believe the appeal has helped somewhat as a $2000 check was sent to the WAO. I will keep praying for large monetary donations so the sanctuary can overcome its debts.

The fifth e-newsletter is ready to go out – I spent hours putting this newsletter and I pray it will help bring in more donations. Baby steps. Baby steps.  http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=c95107a9f0dc5a47c9dca4cc7&id=ec474082d3

The USDA/APHIS inspector visited both properties today, and was pleased with the animal care. There were a few concerns regarding the enclosures at the second site, for example, no lockout cages for the tigers and lions, all which requires money to fix. I’m not sure how the report will read, but I do know it will be made available next month on-line.

Meanwhile one of the animal caretakers is expressing her displeasure at having to report to a new supervisor regarding the work schedules. I am absolutely stunned the workers are more concerned about who schedules their work days, rather than the care of the animals. The new director was not happy at the mess the workers made at the touring facility on the day of the inspection, and is disgusted at all the animal caretakers’ drama.

And if that was not enough, one of the former workers (I written about her in previous posts) filed an EEOC complaint, claiming age discrimination! The new director has in her possession an email where the worker admitted she really screwed up at work and I have no doubt it will be used as evidence against her. I have seen this email and after what the worker did at the sanctuary, I would have fired her on the spot. Many of these animal caretakers have absolutely no idea how the “real world” works, not understanding that most employers would never have put up with all the drama demonstrated by several of the animal caretakers. Animals are very sensitive creatures and they can feel the tension and drama in the workers. Angry caretakers may even take out their frustration on the animals, resulting in the animals fearing the workers. I witnessed an incident myself the day before the sanctuary’s open house event regarding this very same topic. One of the capuchin monkeys, Spazz, appeared to be afraid of the animal caretaker as she continued to yell at him to move over to the adjacent enclosure. When I was asked to help move the monkey over to the adjacent enclosure, I found the monkey hugging his blanket at the rear of the enclosure. The animal caretaker wanted me to go behind the enclosure, where Spazz was rocking himself with the blanket in his arms, and bang on the enclosure, so he would move to the gate, right where the animal caretaker stood.

Even when I banged on the enclosure, Spazz moved closer to me, clearing showing fear of having to go to the gate. I stopped banging on the enclosure’s walls when I realized Spazz was truly afraid. When I spoke to Spazz, he started chattering and clutching his blanket even harder. It took about 10 minutes before Spazz decided to move over to the other enclosure, passing the animal caretaker as he exited the cage. Once he moved over and joined the other monkeys, he seemed like his old self once again.

Last weekend I heard the animal caretakers yelling at Dobbins over and over again after tour hours. Tigers do not like loud noises and tend to get confused and stress out when yelled at for any duration. I didn’t get involved in this situation because I knew it would create more problems for the new director. I just pray the yelling divas move on soon for the sake of the sanctuary and its animals.

On the weekends, the grounds look great because of all the hard work performed by the volunteers. During the week, the workers are responsible for keeping the grounds clean. It drives me crazy the workers refuse to help keep the place clean at all times – in my opinion, the workers are lazy and do not have a clue on how to keep the grounds and the work areas clean. I shouldn’t paint all the workers with the same brush; it’s just a couple of divas who do not seem to keep the sanctuary tidy.

The former directors continue to be a nuisance to the new director. Every few months, the new director visits a local establishment to have a few drinks (no driving afterwards) and play a few games of pool, as a way for her to relax. The old directors learned of this establishment and have taken to haunting the place for hours on end, hoping to catch the new director there. Apparently the old directors are introducing themselves as parents of the new director at this place, asking the patrons to pay for their drinks. You have to feel sorry for losers like these two people, as clearly they have lost control of their lives and are living on hate and envy. It’s time these two people to move on with their lives and leave the sanctuary and its staff alone.

So the drama continues at the sanctuary—clearly it is taking a toll on the new director. I just pray she can hold on—eventually the drama will end and the financial situation will turn around. I pray everyday for the survivability of the animals; I just know things will turn around for the sanctuary. Baby steps.

It's Hard to be the Boss

Well, it was a most difficult day for the new director. The ex-employee did not leave quietly into the good night and what makes matter worse, the two other divas rallied around her.

Apparently, the ex-employee showed up today to pickup her final check and told the office manager she refused to leave the premise unless the new director spoke to her. So for about 30 minutes the three divas (2 employed, 1 ex) sat around at the animals expense, trying to call the director's bluff. Fortunately, the new director did not get into a confrontation with the ex-worker seeing the current employees were still present -- absolutely nothing good would have resulted from that confrontation.

Interesting to note, the male employees want nothing to do with the divas, quietly agreeing the divas are there strictly for themselves and not for the animals.

The ex-diva wrote a stinging email to the board, which prompted the one board member interested in taking over the operation, to send the new director "demanding" emails. This board member wanted to know the status of the last board meeting minutes. The new director reminded her that she was the secretary and she is the one responsible for the minutes. The board member then demanded a second set of board meeting minutes (she apparently lost the first set) and the director told her she would have to make another copy and would have them available for pickup later in the day. The board member was upset that she was told she could not keep the originals when she asked for them! The new director was instructed to "do what you're asked" by the board member. When the new director insisted she could have a copy, as the originals had to be on file in case of AG requests; the board member took it upon herself to show up at the sanctuary when the director was out and took the original board meeting minutes. This has me greatly concerned because now this board member can "doctor" past board meeting minutes; else why would she insist on keeping the originals?

The new director contacted the new vet and updated her on the board's concern that the new director is not providing adequate care of the animals. The new vet confirmed the animals are doing much better as they are finally receiving preventive care as well as routine health care.

Oh, and now the board is down to three board members as the vp resigned his position.

To make things even more interesting today, the old directors contacted the city's Engineering Development Department to report "illegal" placing of the animals water lines (which you may recall had to be replaced because the old directors cut the water lines running underground across their property. Since the lines were placed by a professional company, the inspector left without inspecting the lines, knowing that this call was made in retaliation against the new director.

It should be interesting to see how I will be treated tomorrow by the divas. I'm sure there will be more things to write about soon. It's a good thing I'm not their boss, for I would have fired them a long time ago. It truly is hard to be the boss sometimes.