The Liberty Humane Society animal shelter in Jersey City, which takes in strays from that city and Hoboken, was hit with a lawsuit two weeks ago from a group of volunteers who are questioning the shelter’s policies related to euthanizing and adopting out animals. Around the same time, one of those volunteers was arrested for allegedly making threats against the shelter board on a Facebook page dedicated to criticizing the shelter.
The controversy began swirling around the once-calm facility this past summer, when various groups were at odds over the shelter’s euthanasia policy and other matters. Some animal activists complained that the new managers and board members at the shelter, many of whom were added over the summer, were being overly aggressive in putting the animals to sleep. In at least one case, critics said the shelter killed a pit bull terrier even though people wanted to adopt it.
“Each dog is evaluated based on its level of safety with food and other dogs.” – Niki Dawson
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Across the country, animal shelter issues have come to the forefront because more people are abandoning their pets in tough economic times. In Hudson County, the number of shelters declined last year when a different shelter in Jersey City – the SPCA shelter – was closed down for health violations, and its animals were transferred to Liberty Humane. Thus, the existing shelters are becoming more crowded, and cities have few places to bring their strays.
The Liberty Humane Society shelter, set up by volunteers six years ago, cares for 3,700 animals in need each year. As of Nov. 26, 183 cats and 40 dogs were housed at the shelter.
Recently, more personnel changes took place at the shelter. It now has a new shelter manager and volunteer coordinator, as well as a new board president.
But that hasn’t stopped controversy from raging.
Two weeks ago, a critic of the shelter, officially confirmed by police as Brad Levy, with addresses in Wayne and Sparta, was arrested by Jersey City police for allegedly having threatened the board on a Facebook page critical of the shelter. The page has since been taken down.
And the same week, shelter volunteers filed a lawsuit against the shelter, detailing numerous complaints about the policies and personnel.
These developments came after the Liberty Humane board filed a suit two months ago accusing its critics of threats and slander.
Latest lawsuit
The plaintiffs in the latest lawsuit – identified as two animal rescue groups and several volunteers, including the aforementioned Levy – filed the suit on Nov. 23 in state Superior Court.
The suit makes numerous claims about the shelter. It discusses problems with the euthanasia policy, accuses the shelter of falsifying statistics, and details other problems with policies and personnel. It says the board has intimidated critics and employees, and misappropriated funds.
“It’s honestly just to get somebody to run the place the right way,” said one of the attorneys handling the case, Don Larsen of Montville, last week. “They’ve said these people are trying to control it, but they’re not. The court could appoint a receiver, someone to run the place. It’s not about power. [They’d like] to have the judge appoint [someone like] a receiver who basically comes in, takes control of the money, makes sure the money goes to the right place.”
The LHS Board of Directors released a statement last week saying that the suit was “another inexcusable attempt by Brad Levy of Sparta and the animal extremists working with him to intimidate us into giving up and letting them take over the animal shelter. They have made it clear through their lawyer that their objective is to get the city contract [to deal with stray animals] and they will do anything to achieve that objective.”
The board said they have not intimidated critics. “Staff were fired for failing to follow new protocols established since July, for example, failing to medicate animals properly, failing to vaccinate animals, failing to use proper sanitizing methods,” said the board’s statement. Regarding the claims of misappropriation, they said, “The basis for this allegation is that LHS gave severance to former staff at a time when it was not in a financial position to do so. The truth is, LHS’s former benefactor required that severance be made to these employees and gave LHS the money to cover the cost.”
What is the policy?
LHS officials said last week that they are continuing the euthanasia policies of before. All dogs are evaluated by LHS staff members in a seven-day period to determine their temperament. If a dog is judged to be violent and unadoptable, it is put to sleep.
Niki Dawson, the former LHS shelter manager who returned in the summer to help during the changes in management, said the evaluations are still done by a member of the management staff and an evaluation team, which consists of a volunteer trainer and a kennel attendant. Dawson said the evaluations look at how the dog responds to a specific action.
“Each dog is evaluated based on its level of safety with food and other dogs, and tolerance level when its tail is gently tugged, teeth are examined, or feet being handled – much in the way you would have to handle a dog to clip its nails,” Dawson said.
She said the statistics are still being analyzed and will be made available in a report to be published in January.
Dawson said LHS’s live release rate (dogs transferred elsewhere, dogs adopted, and dogs returned to owners) since Sept. 1 was higher due to the evaluations than when the shelter had an official no-kill policy. She said LHS has adopted 72 dogs into loving homes and has transferred 43 to rescue partners since Sept. 1, and in addition, 51 dogs were reunited with their owners.
As far as dealing with critics, Dawson said, “We are happy to report that many volunteers who were originally cautious of the new policies have realized the board and management are dedicated to saving every adoptable animal that comes through our doors.”
Not everyone is convinced
Frank Cottone has been a constant critic of the Liberty Humane Society since the personnel changes in July and August. Cottone was an LHS supporter until – according to him — he was denied the opportunity several times to shelter dogs that he would have worked with to make less aggressive and thus adoptable.
He is still angry about the shelter’s euthanasia policy.
“The shelter, like many shelters today, is definitely over-euthanizing dogs and defrauding the public, as well as causing pain and anger when those wanting to adopt pets are lied to and refused,” Cottone said.
Cottone said he does not “trust any changes” done at the shelter in terms of staff and the board.
“The change at LHS is not a change if it doesn’t have a citizens’ oversight group,” Cottone said. “I don’t trust the cronyism of Jersey City and their personnel.”
Changes, changes, changes
Alfred Martino, the new board president, is a Jersey City resident, an owner of two dogs, and the co-founder and president of Listen & Live Audio, an independent audio book publishing company.
Aside from Martino, new board members include: Shauin Wang as vice-president/secretary of the board, Janice Kruk (co-treasurer), John Hanussak, Michele Perrotta, and Althea Bernheim. Kruk is a paralegal at a Manhattan law firm and Wang is an accountant at CBS.
Martino said he believes he is qualified not only because he owns two rescue dogs and had been a volunteer at LHS this past summer, but also because he owns a business and has no personal ties to previous management.
New shelter personnel are Dana Bishop as shelter manager, Bill Romaine as shelter assistant manager, and Daria Benstead as volunteer coordinator.
Bishop worked as an animal control officer and shelter assistant manager for the past two years at Hunterdon Humane/Hunterdon County SPCA in Milford. Romaine was kennel attendant, adoption counselor, and most recently, kennel manager at the Camden County Animal Shelter. Benstead worked previously as a real estate agent but was a long-time volunteer and organizer at an animal shelter in the Cherry Hill area.
Martino commented on the new staff hirings. “As with an organization, LHS is looking for the most energetic and competent people for its staff. We are extremely pleased with the hiring of Dana, Bill, and Daria, and believe the facility is already bearing the fruits of their collective expertise and hard work.”
New policies
Martino said other new procedures have been implemented to ensure the health of all animals held in the shelter. He said:
• All cats, upon intake, are now given FVRCP and Bordatella (kennel cough) vaccines, and are tested for FELV (Feline Leukemia) and FIV (Feline HIV), in addition to being de-wormed.
• All dogs, upon intake, are now given DA2PP (distemper and parvo) and canine influenza vaccines, in addition to being de-wormed.
• All animal information is being put into a database in real time (upon intake), so that all medical information is entered and animals are ‘outcomed’ in real time.
“Unfortunately, the overpopulation of abandoned and feral cats is still a major issue in Jersey City and Hoboken,” Martino said.
A recent visit to the shelter by the Jersey City Reporter confirmed that all the cat cages were occupied. At the same time, several dog cages in the kennel were empty, which shelter manager Bill Romaine said was the result of dogs once held in those cages having been adopted out.
Looking to the future
The Liberty Humane Society continues its efforts to provide low-cost animal health care at the shelter with the reopening today, Sunday, Dec. 5, of the shelter’s Wellness Clinic from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. A second Wellness Clinic date has also been scheduled for Dec. 12, from 8 a.m. to noon.
Also plans are underway, according to LHS President Martino, for expansion of LHS’s facility with the reconfiguring of the dog annex being done in the interim to accommodate for animals.
The shelter’s assistant manager, Bill Romaine, said the facility is also undergoing some renovations, including a new paint job of the interior walls and landscaping by the entrance to the shelter.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.