Something Bad Is Going Down At Devore: Vikki Shore Interviewed

Interview by Claudette Vaughan

Vikki Shore is the Director of www.NoKillNow.com

Abolitionist: What is going on at Devore?

Vikki Shore: On October 10, 2005 two workers blew the top off what really goes on at Devore Animal Shelter in Southern California. That was the day Kathy Harper, called me and said the conditions there were really bad and she had to tell someone. She said she was working off community service hours and had been there 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, for several months. She found our website and had read a petition we used to boot this same administration from another city www.nokillnow.com/Petition6County.pdf and she knew laws were being violated but she didn't know what to do. The same day Eric Foor, also a temporary worker, told me he had just witnessed a 6'5" unformed animal control ‘officer' beat a 17 pound dog with his feet and a baton. Blood poured out of the dogs head, mouth and the cage had splatters on every wall, the ceiling and the floor. “The dog wasn't doing anything. He was in the corner screaming.” Foor was signed to play for the Chicago Cubs last year.

Once the two whistleblowers knew they had someone interested in what they had to say, the floodgate opened.

They both agreed the most depressing part about working there was the daily killing of the animals, when as many as half the cages were empty. “There was no reason to kill them because they had room for them,” Harper said. Cats, dogs, rabbits, pigs, goats, horses. They said each day they'd see about 30 dead and sometimes more.

Kathy: “The way they kill them is awful, too.” Both told how the dogs are taken out of their cages. “Their tails start wagging like crazy because they think they are going home until they take them close to' the room'.” You see they are talking about the ‘kill' room where they kept piles of dead carcasses. The dogs pick up the smell before even approaching the room. “That's when they go crazy”'. Then they are literally dragged inside screaming and they struggle to leave. They put up a losing battle for their lives where they are literally wrestled to their death.

They were also bothered about the thefts. On almost a weekly basis there were break-ins after hours and animals were stolen. Many were dependent weaning puppies and kittens torn from their mother's breasts with little chance of survival without her. There were also many small dogs, cats, rabbits and purebreds. I already knew about this and wrote letters and faxed and complained that the remote facility needed security - all to no avail. The workers confirmed that this occurred more frequently than I thought. A few months ago a new fence and camera were put up in response to the complaints after the dog beating brought some attention to Devore practices. Then it came to light that a $300,000 security fund had been there all along - for at least a year! The Board's delays - that may have earned them interest in the bank- cost hundreds of lives and terror for the animals we can only imagine.

One of the workers told of conversations overheard, i.e., a woman who cleaned cages wanted to know what it was like to kill, she was allowed to and apparently said she enjoyed the experience. The worker who told me this felt sick at hearing this killer's excitement.

They also told of very social attractive dogs and cats being kept quarantine areas where the public was not allowed to go to see if they would adopt them. This sealed their fate. Harper and Foor couldn't understand why many friendly, healthy animals were put in this section. Sometimes they were ‘valuable' purebreds. When they asked, no one seemed to know. The cat quarantine room was even worse because that same room was also used to kill cats. So the ‘tenants' in the room were forced to watch every death performed.

They also revealed that many animals, cats and dogs were deemed ‘aggressive' were some of the nicest. Perhaps the animal was terrified when a dog catcher captured them and brought them in. But with that label they were killed the quickest.

On a number of occasions animals suffered because no vet care was provided. Many animals were killed only because of minor conditions like wounds and eye and skin infections. Kathy was horrified when she saw an owner bring in a very sick dog and asked for the dog to be euthanized immediately because he was in obvious pain. The dog was instead held for the entire 4-day holding period without any medication and was in agony the entire time. When she complained she was told to mind her own business

The sanitary conditions were another issue for the workers. The water for the dogs was often a bright lime-green color because dishes were never washed. And a dead rat sat on a dog's cage for months. Several pigs were killed in front of caged dogs and their bodies were left there in front of the dogs for almost a week.

Abolitionist: Why did you go public?

Vikki Shore: I believe the staff and administration were given more than sufficient time to make corrections at Devore and the other two shelters they managed. For a period of years a number of locals waged complaints about the practices of the County shelter administration both at Devore and Rancho Cucamonga.

I thought for certain the Board would have hired a new staff after the Rancho Cucamonga City Counsel censured the County for abusive practices and violations of shelter law when they fired the County and took over their own administration of the Rancho shelter.

And again I thought the Board would act after the beating of the little dog by the dogcatcher who had worked there for years. The day after the beating a dozen county cars descended on Devore allegedly to ‘investigate' but nothing took place! The same ‘officer' still works there, the same staff defends that officer and the Sheriff refused to do anything either. The workers said they overheard a number of conversations that sounded like a cover-up by the County officials and the staff.

I wanted to ‘go public' but I found out it isn't as easy as you'd think. The day after the beating I called numerous newspapers. Some expressed interest but no one published a story. No one asked for the pictures of the beaten dog or conditions at Devore or wanted to interview Harper or Foor. A Los Angeles Times reporter told me, “People want happy, positive stories that make them feel good. They don't want to hear about animals suffering in some remote location.”

The last straw occurred on May 4 th . I was at Devore rescuing over a dozen animals. I was feeling good that I was making room for other animals so they'd have a little longer to stay and have a chance of being adopted. Then this man walked by with that terrible blue barrel of death filled it to the top with dead dogs, cute dogs, that could have been adopted with more time. And there were so many empty cages . That hit me hard. We rescuers go to the place we hate the most, that is the hardest for us to see, surrounded by all that misery. We break our hearts, our backs and our wallets to take out animals to leave space so others can live, only to find out the killing continues ANYWAY! I think that was the pivotal moment. Despite all the odds, I knew I had to do SOMETHING.

Abolitionist: Who is Brian M.Cronin?

Vikki Shore: Cronin is the new director of San Bernardino Animal Control. He made news his first week as director in March, 2006, when he returned a Collie to the same home where just days before she was doused with gasoline and set on fire. The 27-year-old perpetrator was on bail and living at the home when Cronin returned the Collie. The outcry was so great, Cronin was forced to take the dog back into custody pending resolution of the criminal case.

Just 2 months later Cronin said that because our current petition www.ipetitions.com/petition/Devore101/ complained about killing at Devore while there were empty cages, he intended to ‘keep the cages full' (and still keep killing). He repeated this several times on May 4th, when I came to Devore to rescue 40 animals, and he limited me to 10 and said he was going to be much stricter about letting rescues take out animals. A compassionate director would have addressed the KILLING and would have agreed to keeping animals alive as long as possible. But Cronin had decided to spite reformists, fill the cages and keep up his kill quota.

Cronin has been in the community for years. He has had a string of jobs but perhaps his longest stint to date was as director of San Bernardino Humane Society an old-school private corporation that allowed anyone to come in and have their animal killed for free, no questions asked.

Abolitionist: Animals are killed at Devore based around the administrator's schedule. What does this mean?

Vikki Shore: That means that they kill every single day, even if there are empty cages and room to keep the animals.

Several months ago I was at Devore and counted 28 empty dog cages and 30 empty cat cages yet at least 30 animals were killed that same day. I asked supervisor Mark Scinta why he killed with empty cages. He said, “You know that's not how things work here!” A month ago I took out 15 animals to find them forever homes and to give the ones who remained a little more time by making more room there. That's the day the dogcatcher had the nerve to walk by me with that awful blue barrel overflowing with dead dogs.

The two workers who complained about the conditions at Devore said it was the single most depressing aspect of working at Devore - all those empty cages and the unfaltering practice of daily killing. Each morning the supervisor Mark Scinta would make his round, clipboard in hand, walking up and down the row of cages checking off who would die that day. They said he made his decision based on the computer and if he thought their time should be up. He met his kill quota every day without fail and the animals paid with their lives.

Abolitionist: What have you yourself seen out at Devore Vikki?

Vikki Shore: I've seen more than I wanted to see. It's an awful place to visit and I dread every time I go. You're greeted by the moaning and barking of dogs begging to be set free.

I saw the dog the workers said was beaten and kicked perhaps an hour after the incident, blood on his face, neck, shoulders and back. The blood on top of his head was so thick it was caked. He was just laying there motionless. I had to study him to see if he was still alive. He was. He was petrified and in shock. The other dogs around him were frantic and fearful; they were jumping up and down and wailing and barking non-stop. The contrast between the frozen dog and the frenzied ones unable to be still was eerie.

Every trip I made to Devore I saw animals in need of medical care. I saw eyes oozing with pus, open wounds, kennel cough, upper respiratory infections, paws held up in pain, rampant skin diseases and more. Every time I pointed out one of the animals I was told to ask someone else or someone said I shouldn't be concerned.

I saw 2 rats on top of a cage. I saw the lime-green drinking water for the dogs for over one year. I pointed it to staff but nothing was done.

I saw dogs in quarantine areas that were social and adoptable but completely hidden from public view. They were neither on the internet site or the pound's bulletin board, as required. The owners would never know if their dogs were there. I was allowed to rescue several of these when staff admitted they didn't know why they were quarantined. Those few I took from quarantine are all adopted and doing fine.

The cat quarantine room is where ‘sick' and ‘feral' cats are kept. Since the public isn't allowed in this room, the chance of these cats being adopted is nil. I've seen so-called ‘feral' cats begging with paws stretched through the bars for affection and attention. I've seen numerous cats quarantined for ‘colds'- upper respiratory infections. This is very curable but instead of giving any medication, they were killed.

There is a set of 10 cages in that room that can be considered nothing less than torture chambers. They are made out of double-thick steel walls. It is so dark inside and so few holes for ventilation that you have to open the door to see if a cat is inside. They live in total darkness with a STIFLING lack of air. I can't even imagine what it is like in the heat of summer with all their fur and so little air. The staff has known about these horrific cages FOR DECADES and did nothing. All those cats over all those years stuffed inside these inhumane steel boxes forced to hear others scream as they were killed, only to be rewarded in the end with their own death.

I would see a rabbit or a dog or babies there one day, then they were gone the next. When I asked what happened to them I was told, “Oh they were stolen”. The after-hours thefts were so common and accepted by the staff that no one even blinked when they casually recounted how someone had come in the night and tore babies from their mother's breast. The day of the dog beating when I was talking to the sheriff outside the pound after-hours, I saw a black medium-sized pick-up truck drive down the desolate road to Devore. When the Hispanic man inside saw the Sheriff's car, he high-tailed off the road onto rough terrain, almost forcing the vehicle to go vertical. It was obvious he wanted out of there fast. If he had a legitimate reason to be there, it would be more logical for him to just turn around and leave by the same road he came. When I pointed this out to the deputy, he just sat there disinterested and barely looked in the direction of the pickup truck. Several days later ANOTHER burglary and theft report was reported by staff to the sheriff.

Worst of all perhaps was seeing the daily disappearance of animals that I knew were killed with all those empty cages.

Abolitionist: What's been done since the whistleblowers contacted you?

Vikki Shore: When I received the initial phone call from worker Kathy Harper, she told me she had read the petition www.nokillnow.com/Petition6County.pdf on our website and the shelter law section www.nokillnow.com/SB_1785of1998.htm . She said she knew there were violations but didn't know who to turn to and she asked for my help.

I immediately drove down and saw the bloodied dog and blood-strewn cage. I called the sheriff. They didn't want to respond to the call. They told me to complain to animal control instead. But the man who beat the dog (according to workers) WAS an animal control ‘officer'. I had to request to speak with the watch commander and insist this was a criminal matter, not an animal control administrative issue, before they agreed to take a complaint. I waited 3 hours for them to come because this was considered a ‘low priority' matter. I made follow up calls several days later and found out the deputy handling the complain never interviewed the workers. I kept calling until he did so. In the end, he never gave the case to a detective or the district attorney's office. I asked his supervisor to look at the case. Nothing was done.

I called newspapers but they didn't write about the event.

I contacted the Board of Supervisors, specifically Paul Biane who handles the Devore district. He didn't respond to my calls or faxes.

When the petition was started, copies were sent to the Board of Supervisors. They didn't respond. Even after thousands of signatures and hundreds of calls, letters, emails and faxes from the public, many have told me their communications have gone unanswered, too. I recently presented a formal written request for a hearing with the Board of Supervisors on the Devore matter. I'm still waiting for a reply.

The petition has two goals.

The first: to awaken the public to the abusive practices so they may become a watchful eye and voice for the animals. This is a remote ‘country' pound at the end of a dead-end road. The irony is that for years it's been a dead-end for tens of thousands of animals; animals whose cries were wasted on the wilderness and the deaf ears of the hardened staff; animals who never were allowed to leave this hell alive. The petition represents the first unified voice ever spoken on behalf of the forsaken animals at Devore.

The second: to bring about major and lasting reforms. It's too early to evaluate if our efforts will improve shelter conditions in a meaningful way but the following was noted since the petition was sent to the Board:

–There has been a pretense of veterinary care. When I took out five kittens I was told one of the 5 had been to the vet and I was given one dose for all 5 kittens. I had never received medication for a sick animal at Devore before. Inadequate as this was, it was at least a change.

-The staff said they will replace the horrible dungeon cages that were used for decades at Devore.

–I have been allowed to resume taking animals out of Devore. Unfortunately many of the homes I had lined up when Cronin stopped me are now unavailable. I have worked triple time trying to relocate other homes.

–There was at least one meeting of supervisors of Devore with county officials. Whether this was just damage control or an effort to make changes, time will tell. Unfortunately, there has been NO change of staff.

I can tell you that the killing with empty cages continues.

And nothing more is being done to adopt out the animals than before, despite a double staff because the people fired from Rancho are now working at Devore. Two weeks ago I told supervisor, Scinta, that I would spend time with staff and show them how to advertise the animals on a free online website and how to network with rescues to get more animals adopted. He told me, “We don't have time for that. That's not our job. We already have duties that take all our time.”

Abolitionist: What do you want to say to the Devore Board of Supervisors reading this?

Vikki Shore: I'd like individuals of the Board to speak out and address each of the 12 requests on our petition so the community knows where they stand. Their continued silence sends a message that they don't care about the animals they're entrusted with or about the public who has taken time to contact them with concerns.

I'd like to personally ask the Board to never kill any animals when there is room for them unless they are terminally ill and in agony and after all possible veterinary care has been provided. I'd like them to make all medical records of impounded animals open to the public for review. If animals are killed, this should never be done in a room with a pile of dead animals or even one.

There should be a minimum of 24 hour notice for any animal proposed to be killed so that adopters and rescuers and ‘owners' hesitating to pick up their animals from the pound, have a final chance to act. Deadlines motivate humans and animals should be given every opportunity to live.

Instead of denying they kill, the staff should post the pound's killing policies prominently in the lobby. They should also post the killing and adoption data for the last 5 years so the community can know the effectiveness of their pound. This could further serve as a deterrence to ‘owners' who dump their animals at the pound and tell themselves their animal will be adopted. And animal lovers and care givers might get more involved knowing the facts so they can work to make a difference.

The Board should know the community wants their animals treated with dignity and kindness. They want them protected from thefts, from dangerous individuals who beat them and those that kill for thrills.

I'd like the Board to familiarize itself with California's shelter laws and follow them, such as law that require shelters to prefer adoptions to killing, to provide sanitary conditions, exercise, adequate nutrition and fresh water. Here is a portion of pertinent California law:

SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) Public and private shelters and humane organizations share a common purpose in saving animals' lives, preventing animal suffering, and eliminating animal abandonment.
(2) Public and private shelters and humane groups should work together to end euthanasia of adoptable and treatable animals by 2010.

(c ) (4) Make shelters accountable to pet owners and the public for records and the care of animals in their possession.
(c)(5) Make clear that shelter responsibilities are the same as those legally assumed by a person who voluntarily picks up an animal.
(f) The Legislature finds and declares that shelters should be required by law to take in lost animals and properly care for them with prompt veterinary care, adequate nutrition, shelter, exercise, and water.

(The entire statute can be found at www.nokillnow.com/SB_1785of1998.htm ).

I implore them to provide veterinary care to every animal with a medical need, as required by law.

I urge the board to fire the animal control ‘officer' James Hensley, who workers say beat the little dog that cowered in the corner and screamed. Hensley is STILL working there. He spends most of his work time out in the field alone with animals. He still carries the County's baton that a worker said went overhead and behind his back “Rodney King” style crashing down on the head of the dog numerous times.

I request that the Board refrain from hiding animals from the public in ‘quarantine' rooms in horrible torturous chambers where they are also forced to watch others killed every day. And neither should dogs be put in quarantine cells hidden from view without issuance of a court order that is displayed in the reception area. Furthermore, ‘quarantine' sections, should be open for the public to see except they may have a see-through wall of glass for everyone's protection. Staff should not have the power to determine if an animal is feral or aggressive without a formal committee that includes rescues that are both shelter-friendly and those that advocate change.

And probably most of all, I beg the board to immediately adopt a no-kill policy and hire a new staff that focuses on adoption and the comfort, respect and well-being of the animals. The Board should implement a host of policies that can improve the conditions for animals throughout the County, such as those stated in an online No-Kill Declaration:

--High-volume, low- and no-cost spay/neuter services;

--A foster care network for underaged, traumatized, sick, injured, or other animals needing refuge before any sheltered animal is killed, unless the prognosis for rehabilitation of that individual animal is poor or grave;

--Comprehensive adoption programs that operate during weekend and evening hours and include offsite adoption venues;

--Medical and behavioral rehabilitation programs;

--Pet retention programs to solve medical, environmental, or behavioral problems and keep animals with their caring and responsible caregivers;

--Trap-Neuter-Return or Release (TNR) programs;

--Rescue group access to shelter animals;

--Volunteer programs to socialize animals, promote adoptions, and help in the operations of the shelter;

-Documentation before any animal is killed that all efforts to save the animal have been considered, including medical and behavioral rehabilitation, foster care, rescue groups, neuter and release, and adoption.

-An end to the policy of accepting trapped feral cats to be destroyed as unadoptable, and implementation of TNR as the accepted method of feral cat control by educating the public about TNR and offering TNR program services;

-An end to the use of temperament testing that results in killing animals who are not truly vicious (e.g., shy/timid cats and frightened dogs) but who can be placed in homes, or are feral cats who can be returned or released;

-Abolishment of trapping, lending traps to the public to capture animals, and support of trapping by shelters, governments, and pest control companies for the purposes of removing animals to be killed;

-An end to owner-requested killing of animals unless the shelter has made an independent determination that the animal is irremediably suffering or cannot be rehabilitated;

-The repeal of unenforceable and counter-productive animal control ordinances such as pet limit laws, bans on feeding stray animals, and bans on specific breeds.

Abolitionist: What can we do to help you?

Vikki Shore: You are already helping us meet our first goal by making the public aware of the conditions at our country pound. Your readers give a voice to Devore animals when they sign the petition. The become an even more effective advocate for the animals when they copy the list of officials below and send a personal email asking for action. Here's the list they can copy and paste into the ‘to' section of their email program:

SupervisorBiane@sbcounty.gov; jfelten@dph.sbcounty.gov; davera@dph.sbcounty.gov; bcronin@dph.sbcounty.gov; SupervisorPostmus@sbcounty.gov; SupervisorHansberger@sbcounty.gov; SupervisorOvitt@sbcounty.gov; SupervisorGonzales@sbcounty.gov; governor@governor.ca.gov; dsmith@dph.sbcounty.gov; webteam@sanbernardinosheriff.org

Hopefully every caring individual interested in the fate of Devore animals will also look at their own cities and how animals are treated there. If each of us gets involved in our own community's animal care, together we can ultimately create a better world for animals everywhere.