War of Words

One of the hardest things to do is to keep one's mouth shut and the fingers off the keyboard. Too often, when someone makes a disparaging remark, the first instinct is to respond in kind.

Over the years, I have been called some really vial names by the former directors and board members as I pursued this case. But I've ignored their ridiculous antics, and simply started a case file of all the slanderous comments directed at me.

Now the detractors are at it again, but this time their wrath is focused on the new director.

Case in point. On the Internet is an article pertaining to the sanctuary case (I believe I referenced this article in past blog posts). In any case, the comments section is supposed to be used by the public to record comments regarding on the article. This particular article has 47 comments, much which I believe were posts made by current and past directors and employees.

Today, I discovered three new posts:

On 1/12/2010 5:33:07 PM, Anonymous said:

Does anyone care about how some staff members are treated? When you are in charge of or run an organization that deals with animals, you have to have people who take care of those animals. Which means you also have to deal with PEOPLE. The mission is to provide sanctuary for wild and exotic animals, but in doing so you have to be able to work well with others. There are appropriate ways of dealing with people and there are inappropriate ways. Especially when you are in an executive position. There are laws that protect employees and their rights. I would keep that in mind.

On 1/14/2010 12:29:29 AM, Anonymous said:

I do not believe anyone is interested in this anymore. give up on the attempt to injure already, it is getting very old. you should get another tattoo to hide from daddy.move on. grow up and get a life. in your attempt to hurt people your making yourself look stupid with all of the emails and comments and phone calls.

On 1/14/2010 6:31:10 PM, Anonymous said:

Your belief appears to be inaccurrate. I'm someone and I'm definately interested. I'm not sure though what you mean about "tattoo" and "daddy". Maybe that was meant for your sister.Sounds personal. Sorry to hear about all the emails and phone calls. As for the comments, I will comment whenever I please about whatever I please. Hurt? Seems extremely hypocritical to first slam someone about what seems to be personal issues, call them stupid and try to then say "they" are attempting to hurt people.

I didn't plan to post this today, but once I found it on the web, I just knew I had to say something because I think the majority of the comments are stupid and not worth even reading any more.

This War of Words needs to stop and it takes an adult to do so.

Later:

And so the War of Words heat up again - I just wish people would just grow up because this really looks bad to the public. I can only pray the writer yanks down these juvenile postings.

On 1/15/2010 11:05:10 PM, Anonymous said:

Oh, you must have me confused. I do not have a sister, and I think that you are misled. But have fun, this is no longer something that I care to read or waste effort on, as a matter of fact *I will not be visiting this story again. I am sure that you can have fun all by yourself. I come here for the positive comments on a place that I care about, and I don't really care about the negative ones. Just thought I would see how one would respond. :) success. I am sure It is very OBVIOUS who you are to many.

Have a great weekend though. Thank you for paying attention to my comments.

WISH THE BEST TO ALL!!!!!!

On 1/17/2010 11:29:10 AM, Anonymous said:

Deversion is not your best suite. Very weak. Of course you don't want to read the negative ones. I'm sure you wouldn't read them even with THE PROOF. That just proves me right about what I said earlier. Inability to lead. You need to remember the negative to really be able to appreciate the positive. But lets cover our eyes and not look in the direction that needs the MOST attention. We'll just forget that things happened. The public will just stop caring, right? WRONG! You seem very immature. To think that you are in control of others. LOL. By the way...... you also read my comments. Not really in as much control as you'd like.

Oh yeah...word of advice....those who you think are close, think about why else they might want to be close to you for. LOL.

The public makes sure you get a paycheck. I think they care more than you really would like them to. You just play way to many games. You are underestimating the ability of the public. This isn't just about the animals.

On 1/17/2010 11:32:19 AM, Anonymous said:

Hey if you didn't care about the negative comments why would you write so many? Sounds like someone has a problem with the truth.

On 1/17/2010 11:42:25 AM, Anonymous said:

Can someone tell me what happened to Rachel, Terry, Heather? Where did they go? One day they were there and the next time I came back all of them were no longer with the company.

On 1/19/2010 9:52:15 AM, Anonymous said:

yeah, sooooo transparent.

A Cold Start to the New Year

I have a lot of news to report today!

First, the WAO made it through its first freeze of the year, and sadly there were casualties. 1 Baboon, cause of death unknown died, and 5 macaques died (not from the freeze, but from fighting). The new director was very upset, but there was no way to know in advance the monkeys would start fighting when the temperature dipped below freezing.

The two animal caretakers at the second property did not report to the new director that there were two primate enclosures not set-up for heat. Since there was no run-off area, the workers were also unable to place straw in shelter boxes for the primates. Thankfully, none of the animals from these two cages died--truly a miracle. The workers were able to provide hay in several of the big cat and wolf-dog dens because the enclosures had no run-off areas!  So while the animals at the touring facility had warm dens, the animals at the second site did not receive the same treatment, just cold hard ground. I know the new director was upset with this news. The lowest temperature (with wind chill factor included) dipped to the low teens. It was amazing more animals did not die.

This week, the director toured the second site and discovered that the baboon that died on a Friday, was still in the enclosure the following Tuesday, AND that there were still macaque blood and other fluids on the surgical table used by the vet when one of the mortally wounded primates was removed and euthanized by the facilities' new vet. The new vet toured the second site right after the first cold snap to check on the animals when she witnessed the macaque attack. The primate was injured so badly the vet did not believe it would survive the trip to the clinic for x-rays and surgery. The new director immediately cleaned the surgical table, for failure to do so would be in violation of the AWA (housekeeping issue).

The new director was hopping mad. She was upset to see the dead macaque still in the enclosure. It was ironic because just several days early we were discussing some of the crazy rules the former director taught the workers, like leaving dead non-human primate bodies in the enclosures for about a week before removing the body so the other non-human primates can "grieve" over the loss of their family member. Explains why there were non-human primate bones/skulls left in the enclosure. Something tells me the other primates may have eaten the primate remains after so much time passed. After all, they only received primarily dog food under the previous management, so this was probably the only meat they received throughout the year.

Also, the new vet was upset because Mona, a female chimpanzee, did not receive the required medicine to reduce the inflammation and swelling on her leg/foot. When asked by the vet and the new director, the senior animal caretakers said they did not know why they discontinued the medicine. So Mona's injury did not heal and she is still in pain. Needless to say, Mona is back on the medicine, no thanks to the senior animal caretaker.

The new director had a meeting with the two ladies and apparently they had a 'really good meeting.' The two workers apparently broke down, cried, and admitted what they learned under the old management was completely wrong and now they are having a difficult time adjusting to all the new rules and requirements. The new director explained that the focus should be on the animals and if they were not willing to do what was necessary to protect and care for the animals, then they would have to go. The two ladies also told the new director that a lot of pressure has been put on them because everyone comes to them with questions (gee I wonder why--are they not the Senior Animal Caretakers?). So instead of admitting they do not know all the answers and volunteer to reseach the problem, they have essentially been passing on bad information or just ignore the issue.

In my opinion, I think the new animal caretakers are coming in with great ideas, they search and learn on the Internet, and they are connecting with other professionals, and therefore the senior animal caretakers probably feel threatened by them--which explains why they said nothing about their concerns. I also think they knew their jobs were on the line and were confronted for the first time in a long time that they may lose their current employment. It is a scary time to lose a job right now because there are not a lot of jobs in their profession and breaking into a new profession at 40+ years of age can be very difficult.

I personally believe they are burned out and should have been let go long time ago and I say this despite the fact we used to be friends. From what I have been able to gather the senior animal caretakers do not take any initiative to research and implement changes to diet and care. When the water pipes froze at the second site, the two senior animal caretakers did not want to lug around water containers to fill up the animals' water bowls. Instead a male worker from the touring facility had to come out and water the animals. When it looked like the worker wasn't going to finish in time, the other animal caretakers from the touring property went out after hours to help him!

Despite all the past bad behaviors, the director elected to give them another chance, primarily because the chimpanzees have truly grown attached to the senior animal caretakers, and to remove them completely would upset the chimps. Instead, she elected to move the ladies to the touring facility, so they can correctly learn their positions. I've been told all the workers will be rotated so everyone will know how to work at both facilities.

As to the fighting macaque deaths--sadly, the former directors did not create run-off area or install walls to create separate areas for the primates. Instead, the former directors stuck a lot of primates inside the same enclosure and let them "duke it out." Macaques are very aggressive and if one starts a fight with another, that primate normally does not stop until the primate dies or becomes incapacitated. Also, other members of the group may join in on the beating. It is a horrible sight to see because there is nothing one can do to stop the fight.

So, the director is making plans to install run-off areas and install walls, so primates can hide from the group. Most of the trees died in the enclosure as the monkeys stripped the bark and leaves from the trees, so there is very little natural vegetation. Therefore, either man-made or purchased natural "vegetation" will need to be placed in the enclosure.

So from Thursday, January 7 - 10, the monkeys experienced their first freeze of the year. On the plus side, no big/little cat or wolves died from the freeze. Thankfully, the workers worked really hard installing heat for almost all the primates living at both sites, which probably explains why there were no deaths reported related to the cold weather. I also believe that lives were saved as the result of the primate and big cat diet change made in October, as it probably boosted their immune system.

Also, on the plus side, the new wolf enclosure at the touring facility is complete (and the wolves are already in their new home) and hopefully by next week the cougars will move out of the tiny enclosure (clearly not made for five cougars!). The new director wants to move the young cougar named Noel into the small enclosure next to the cougars. While I am not thrilled about the idea, it is probably better to move her next the cougars and take her away from the quarantine cage where she is surrounded by tigers. I've been told Noel is very distressed living around the tigers. Maybe, some day, she can be integrated with the surviving five cougars. If not, at least she will be close to her own kind.

More news to report, but for now, I think I shall take a break!

Ardie's Story

I met Ardie, a German Sheppard and Shar Pei mix, on the side of a highway on January 6, 2004. Ardie (then RD for rescued dog) had been hit by a car and was left for dead on the side of the road.

When I first drove by, I thought Ardie was dead because he was stretched out -- but then he moved his head. I called animal control to report a severely injured dog on the side of the road, and with the temperatures hoovering around the freezing mark, I knew he would not live long outside with his injuries. That evening when I drove home, Ardie was still there.

When I called animal control again, I was told he was issued a 'pickup' number and since there was only one person on duty, to expect Ardie to remain outside again for another night.

The next morning, as I approached Ardie, I was afraid he would be dead. But once again as my car approached, he lifted his head. I could not leave him there again, so I pulled over, backed up the car until I was close enough to Ardie to see if I could get him into my car.

Ardie seemed relieved that someone stopped to help him. Ironically, someone had also stopped by at some point to leave him a bowl containing water, which he could not reach. Ardie was a very large and heavy dog, and concerned for his leg injury and skull injury, I was worried about moving him to my car. Just then a very nice lady wearing military BDU's pulled over and asked if I could use her help. Thanks to her assistance, we were able to get Ardie into the backseat of my car. It turns out, the lady also saw Ardie the day before and was planning on taking him home too that evening if no one came by to pick him up!

Well, Ardie met three of his vets that day, as they tried to save his front right leg. His skull had indention where he was hit by a car, but there did not appear to be any brain damage. I was told Ardie was about 8-10 years old that that his expected life expectancy would not be much more than a year or two. So the question was -- should the vet amputate his injured leg, attempt to heal the damaged leg, or put him down due to his advanced age.

No question about it--Ardie was to live! When I first brought Ardie in, I did not know what to call him, so his chart was labeled RD for rescue dog. The name stuck and Ardie began his second life with me and my pet family.

I normally do not talk much about my pet family as I believe my family life should be kept separate from the animal case. The only reason why I am writing about Ardie today is because yesterday Ardie joined Jesus in Heaven.

Let me tell you some more about Ardie. Ardie lived with my family for almost six years to the day. The vets tried very hard to save Ardie's leg, but sadly it had to be removed one month after Ardie's rescue from the highway. Ardie was the most amazing dog with three legs. He ran, he climbed, and loved to go on long walks in the country. He smiled a lot, but he didn't like his picture taken--who knew a dog with three legs could run so fast from a camera?

Ardie was not much for hugs, brushings, and petting. He just liked to be in the same room where I was--I especially remember him sleeping near my chair as I worked for hours on the computer, typing up letters to the OAG or USDA, investigating a lead on the Internet, or updating my blog. Ardie was always laying within arms length of me.

The hardest decision I had to make was whether or not to have Ardie put to sleep. For the last three months, Ardie stopped smiling. He could barely walk. He had trouble eating and drinking water. And three days ago, one of his bed sores split open and exposed his tail bone.

That is when I knew it was time for Ardie to go to Jesus in Heaven. It broke my heart to make that decision because Ardie still loved eating his treats. He still responded to my voice and I knew he was struggling to hang on for me. I didn't want to let him go, but I knew in my heart my reasons for letting him hold on like this was for me and not for him.

One of the vets that performed surgery on Ardie was in attendance yesterday and he was most kind to both of us. I think Ardie knew this was his last time on Earth for he did not struggle or attempt to move away from the vet or the vet techs. Everyone loved Ardie at the clinic and were sad to see Ardie go.

Ardie had a profound affect on the other members of the family. On Ardie's last evening, the cats took turns watching over him. He was the most gentle dog and he was loved by the cats. One particular cat, Twiggy, loved to rub up against Ardie in affection. She would follow Ardie throughout the house, rubbing around his front leg and chest. I don't know very many dogs that would tolerate this behavior, but I think secretly Ardie loved the attention from Twiggy.

As Ardie was leaving me to join Jesus in Heaven, I let him know that he was loved, he was the best dog ever, that I would see him again in Heaven, where he would have a perfect body, with four legs and he would be pain-free. I knew before the vet told me he was gone because I felt him go right through me--he was no longer in the room -- he was gone.

I will never forget Ardie--he was the perfect example of perseverance--he was determined to run and play with his doggy brothers. He never wanted to be left behind so he worked doubly hard to keep up with us when we went for walks. He loved nature. He loved horses and cows. He loved meeting new dogs on our walks. He loved life. He will be missed by many--especially by me until that day we meet up once again. I love you, Ardie! God Bless You, my good boy. You were and always will be the best dog ever!

Monday:

I have the best vets and staff ever. Today, they sent me flowers at work my work in memory of Ardie. I also received a card saying they too will miss Ardie. Both meant a lot to me. Ardie truly was loved by all.