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.