January 6, 2009
Delegate Michael D. Smigiel, Sr.
136 East Main St
Elkton, MD 21921
Dear Mr. Smigiel;
I am writing to you today regarding the Cecil County SPCA. I was forwarded your blog today and I’m so glad someone took the first step to bring this to your attention. I was a volunteer at the Cecil County SPCA from approximately 10/15/07 – 7/7/08. It has been six months since the last time I volunteered my time there. I wanted to help, but Jeanne forced me out. During those months I went back and forth in my mind as to whether I should write to the County Commissioners or to someone with the problems I saw there first hand. The Cecil County SPCA’s President of the Board of Directors, Nancy Schwerzler, personally asked me not to go to the County Commissioners on my last day there, July 7, 2008, which made it even more difficult to decide to do so. The animals in this community deserve much more than what they’re getting at the Cecil County SPCA. Enclosed are my documented findings and photos. I wish I had more. Please use these to help determine whether the County’s money is being spent in the best way and if the homeless animals of our great County deserve better. I also have recorded radio interviews, short videos, proof of all the fundraising I did (brochures, receipts, etc.) and more pictures if helpful.
Sincerely,
Joanna VanReenen
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Care of animals in the facility:
Jeanne stated in the December WJBR interview that the “staff works with each animal individually” to help re-home them. The facility was understaffed during the time I was there and no one was personally working with the animals. Even when there seemed to be plenty of staff members on hand, the animals were not personally cared for. In fact, the animals weren’t allowed to go outside with any of the staff. Carl (shelter employee at the time) told me Jeanne didn’t want them “playing” around with the animals, she wanted them cleaning and doing other work at all times. Therefore, none of the animals were being walked or personally cared for. Once in a while, a “trainer in training” would volunteer to work with an animal or two there. That’s the only work that was being done to exercise or just take the animals out of their kennel runs.
Dogs were fed once a day and water was there, but if a dog spilled it, no one was quick to replace it. The place was abandoned at about 4:30pm on most days until the staff returned the next morning. I’m not sure exactly when they came in in the morning, but I think it was around 7:30am. That means animals were left from 4:30pm – 7:30am completely unsupervised. That’s 15 hours with no exercise or food or any activity at all.
The kennels were kept fairly clean by the kennel staff throughout the day during open hours.
Dogs that entered the facility were spayed or neutered. There were many times I walked into the back area where the dogs were to find them sprawled out on the floor, ½ of their body lying on a metal grate, ½ on the concrete, still out cold. One time I was there when one woke up, scared out of it’s mind, screaming. I ran to get Jeanne and she looked at him and said “he’s okay.” She went on to say, “they could of at least put a blanket in there.” Some dogs died during or after surgery, but I do not have proof of that, nor can I prove it was due to neglectful vet service, but I think it’s worth investigating. I also heard about the guts hanging out of dogs that Dr. McDermott did not stitch properly. When told about problems the animals were having, he was never in any hurry to see what was the matter or help an animal.
Cats that were turned in already spayed or neutered and got along with other cats seemed to go into the adoption room at the CCSPCA, but I wasn’t allowed into certain areas of the place and there were always cats in crates stacked by the back door. The cat room was well maintained (except for the incident discussed below) and the cats had free roam of that room. Cats that came in as strays were not treated, just euthanized. They sat in the back of the building or sometimes outside in the cages the people brought them in to await their fate.
Precious, the dog at the SPCA
There once was a dog at the CCSPCA that I named Precious. Her CCSPCA Intake ID# was 6137. The dog was marked “stray” in their computer system. I saw the record. The dog was in its kennel for one month when I asked if I could give it a bath. Marty Jr. said to go ahead while he checked the record on the dog. I proceeded to give the poor, sad looking, sweet dog a bath. The dog had a seizure when I put the soap on it. I ran and got someone and then came back and held the dog while it came out of the seizure. Erin sedated it and I dried her off and came up front. Jeanne was sitting there with Marty Jr. and she explained to me that the dog had epileptic seizures and would be put to sleep immediately. I asked why the dog was there and it turns out a mistake was made, the dog was brought in on 3/4/08 by its owner to be put to sleep due to her epileptic seizures. She wasn’t a stray at all. No one noticed her for one whole month, just sitting there. She was put to sleep by Dr. McDermott on 4/4/08. I wonder how her former owner would feel to know his/her dog sat in a kennel for one month before its death? Here is the last picture of poor Precious:
Susan, the “kennel manager” was hired about 2 weeks after this happened. John Kitchen handled the intake of this dog and he is no longer employed there. I don’t know if this incident had anything to do with his leaving and her being hired.
Euthanization:
During a recorded radio interview with Jill Quale in December 2007, which I have a copy of, Jeanne Deeming stated the shelter was a “no-kill” shelter. She told me the same thing prior to the interview. I went on to say that same thing on WXCY radio weeks later only to later be ridiculed for saying something that “wasn’t true” by people who knew what was going on. It wasn’t until I volunteered there for a while that I personally saw they weren’t a no-kill shelter. More animals than I could count were euthanized at the Cecil County SPCA between October 2007 and July 7, 2008. Most were pit bulls or otherwise labeled “aggressive” dogs. Some were dogs that had been adopted and bitten someone or shown some type of aggression. Many of these euthanizations could have been avoided simply by working with the dogs prior to adopting them or by screening potential adopters. Some of these dogs were ear-marked “aggressive” just because they growled at Jerry who brought them in.
Every pit bull or dog that resembled the breed that was not reclaimed within the 3 day holding period was kept in quarantine and euthanized. Some German Shepherds and other large dogs that didn’t act just so were also euthanized at Jeanne’s sole discretion. She seemed to hate pit bulls and other bully breeds, stating they were the last thing this county needed out there.
Every single cat in the cat room (30+ cats) was euthanized in or around January 2008 because of an outbreak of some type of feline disease, diagnosed by in-house vet, Dr. McDermott. Supposedly, the cat, Tommy (see picture below) was a carrier and had affected other cats that had recently been adopted as well. Lack of air circulation in the building and proper quarantine time for cats and dogs needs to be investigated to prevent a future mass murder of this type.
This dog entered the facility sometime around December or January and just died within days of being there, named “Snow,” they said stress perhaps caused it. Perhaps the dog was euthanized and I was lied to, I’m not sure:
This dog was named Travis. A sweet lab mix. He came down with what Susan diagnosed as “kennel cough.” They placed him in quarantine for about a week and then one day he was just gone. I was told it turned into pneumonia and he was put down.
Adoptions:
Potential adopters were not screened. Someone would come in, fill out a short application and many times, they were “approved” in the same instant. I asked Marty Jr. once how they could screen so fast and he said there just wasn’t time to screen. “Everyone is too busy and we’re understaffed” he said. I am not even sure as to whether the “do not adopt” service on the Internet (dnapets.org), available to many shelters and rescues, was being used. Jeanne told me once that they did use it. As a matter of fact, recently, Jeanne herself was placed on that list. Here is that information for your review:
From: Krystal McClain <krystal.mcclain@hotmail.com>
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 7:15:29 PM
Subject: DNT/DNR-Jeanne A. Kraemer-Deeming -Chesapeake City, MdEPOINTER@aol.comKrystal.Mclain@hotmail.com [hotmail]
*Crossposting permitted*
DNT/DNR
Jeanne A. Kraemer-Deeming
Eastern Shore English Setter Rescue
They typically are interested in setters and English pointers
Chesapeake City, Md.
E-Mail:
Jeanne pulls/ volunteers for 4 other rescues that I know of. I am not naming those due to the fact that I do not feel its in anyone’s best interest to have their names involved at this time.
Reason for DNT/DNR:
Lack of medical care
Shelter environment
Weight loss while in care
Approximate Timeline:
June 19th- Levi leaves TX w/ health certificate and in good condition
June 30th- Levi is picked up in Baton Rouge by a trucker experienced with rescue animals and he looks to be in good condition
July 3rd Levi is delivered to Eastern Shore English Setter Rescue in Chesapeake City, MD
July 21st- Levi is picked up at shelter by a volunteer temp foster and taken for his Health certificate/ CVI
July 24th – Levi gets back on with same Trucker to go to his forever home.
Weight loss & Personality: Levi was delivered to Chesapeake City, MD. He was of normal weight and to our knowledge, had no ear infections or any other aliments at that time. He showed no signs or symptoms of illness whatsoever.
About 2-3 weeks later, the trucker picked Levi up to bring him to his forever home and her first remark was how ’skinny’ he had gotten. She was shocked to see this. He was only there for a short time and this happened.
The collar & leash he had with him when dropped him off [which was a good quality one] was gone & replaced with cheap plastic ones that are not made for any dog except little ones. The tags he had were gone too.
He was a shy boy to start with but seemed to be even shyer & more submissive than previously. He was hungry & ate like there was no tomorrow.
Statement from the driver: “I am happy to say that he’s been with me since July 24th and has put on some weight & he is not so submissive as before. I have been working with him on manners & control & he is doing wonderfully. He learns fast & is eager to learn & explore his new world.
I think Levi was saved by [his adopter] just in time because he would not have lived much longer at the weight he was at.” (Keep in mind the previous statement is from someone experienced with rescue dogs, but not a DVM)
Lack of medical care:
Statement from temp foster who pulled him from Eastern Shore to hold him 2-4 days until transport: “I took Levi to my vet and the things we found were his low weight, some tooth tarter, probably from poor diet, and infected ears that weren’t too severe.”
I personally, do not feel it is responsible to allow a dog out of rescue care with ANY ear infection or at such a low weight. These are things that rescues should be correcting before an animal is adopted out and sent on cross-country transport. The tooth tartar/ poor diet most likely were from before he was abandoned by his owners.
Shelter environment: Eastern Shore English Setter Rescue utilizes facilities at Eastern Shore Animal Rescue League/ Cecil County SPCA to house their dogs. I was given the impression that this was a rescue affiliated, but not the same entity/ location as the SPCA. This was my error in not asking more questions. I trusted the judgment of the sender because we had worked together before. These setters are put into a shelter environment and expected to be content and adoptable after an indefinite length of time in that type of containment.
In closing, I have taken about 2 months thinking this over, asking questions of other rescues and their experiences with them and weighing the pros and cons of posting this. I feel it is in the best interest of dogs not to send them into a shelter environment with Eastern Shore English Setter Rescue and Jeanne A. Kraemer-Deeming.
Posted by:
Krystal McClain
Publicity:
The Internet and the Cecil Whig (a donated page twice a month) is the only means the SPCA uses to get dogs and cats adopted. They do not take advantage of any classified advertising like many other organizations do or any radio or print ads. The only time they were on the radio in recent history is when I went on two stations to hype up the ZooToo.com shelter makeover contest. Their website is only somewhat current at all times. Back on October 7, 2008, one of the last times I looked at the CCSPCA website, their “featured dog of the month” (that was on there for 2 months), Finnegan, had a wrapped up broken leg – which happened somehow at the shelter by the way, back in April or May – still said “A true English Setter – loves attention, friendly, good with other dogs, needs leash training, not housebroken. He has a broken leg, but it’s wrapped up and healing. He’s currently working on his obedience training & housebreaking.” No one is working with the dog and the dog’s leg isn’t wrapped up and healing anymore. He’s just sitting there at the SPCA for months on end with the wrong information and no one to care. If their only means of soliciting adoptions is going to be the Internet, shouldn’t the information on there at least be correct and up to date?
I used to update the available adoption boards at both the North East & Elkton Wal-Marts, but since I left, no one does it. I have checked it, it’s never been updated. These are a free resource that the CCSPCA is not taking advantage of to get adoptions.
Employee morality and ethics:
Jeanne Deeming is driving a brand new Sport Utility Vehicle this year. I have to assume she used the money she made from all of the adoptions they had due to the publicity of the ZooToo.com shelter makeover contest, the $6,000 they won and the car show funds I personally raised (approx. $1,800) as well as the County’s budget increase for 2008. What about the need for a ventilation system for the building or any of the other things that the animals there need to survive? I was told numerous times by Jeanne about the poor ventilation at the SPCA. Why was a new truck that she merely drives to and from work needed or approved? Her relationship with the President, Nancy Schwerzler, is a personal one. They would frequently speak about having dinner or cocktails together. Nancy took her food every night when her husband was ill and in the hospital. Should the Executive Director of a facility be so personally connected to a President of the Board of Directors? Nancy once told me the story of how Jeanne personally called and hired her for the job?
Jeanne boarded her animals at the CCSPC A. Was she paying for that? I don’t believe she was. While other animals didn’t have kennels, she always had one or two of her dogs in her office and her huge Great Dane staying for weeks on end in the largest kennel in the back. She also enjoys free grooming at the CCSPCA for all of her many dogs. Her Great Dane who she often keeps there also had major stomach surgery at the CCSPCA in the middle of the night sometime during the time I was volunteering. Did she pay for that? Is there a record of all of the veterinary care Jeanne’s dogs were getting?
Jerry Hawkins (Animal Control Captain) frequently commented about how much he hated working late or being called out at times he should have been off. He would cuss about people that called in complaints and refuse to go out on calls when he didn’t feel like it. I never saw him act with compassion to any animal and I wondered why he was in the position he was in. He would walk by the kennels, glaring in like he hated every last one of the dogs.
In August, a dog was shot and wounded in Cecil County, MD by Officer Hawkins. Here is a statement from Patricia Shoap, a cousin of the dog’s owner:
“My cousin’s dog got out of the yard. A pedestrian kicked the dog and then the dog bit him. The SPCA was called and shot at the dog several times, hitting him once and grazing him on the face with a second bullet. Both their dogs had gotten loose and they ran when they were shot at. The dog is a pit bull but has never attacked anyone. In fact if you go to my myspace and go to Rocky on my friends, she has pictures of the dog both before the shooting with the kids and pics of the injuries. The vet had no trouble treating the dog, he was not aggressive at all.”
Here are pictures of that dog, named” TeTe,” and some of it’s wounds:
This dog is Sadie and was with TeTe, running at large, but not shot.
The owner of the dog would surely like to recoup some of the thousands of dollars in vet bills that her own negligence and the CCSPCA officer caused. What was the public liability when Officer Hawkins just let that dog run off into the woods with 3 or more bullet wounds because he didn’t feel like chasing it? If further evidence or proof of this incident is needed, the Elkton VCA treated and cared for this dog and knows all about what happened.
Susan (Kennel Manager) frequently sat around doing nothing or you would find her out the side door smoking a cigarette. She was so rude to customers and potential adopters that came in I couldn’t believe anyone adopted after speaking to her. She also implemented locked doors all around the facility and a “no volunteer” type policy when was hired in or around January of 2008. Jeanne always claimed Susan knew a lot about animals and was a “better trained vet tech than Dr. McDermott was a vet,” but she didn’t want to be bothered when I would ask her to look at an animal that looked sick. Susan has worked for Jeanne before and Jeanne hired her because she knew her from many years ago according to Jeanne.
Volunteers:
There was no training program or even a set of rules for new volunteers. I didn’t receive any training or guidance, I just jumped in and started asking what I could do. I was reprimanded a few times for doing things they didn’t like, but no one took the time to explain what I could and could not do. When Susan was hired, they gave her the title “volunteer coordinator” but I never saw her train anyone or implement any volunteer program. She was so nasty to me I actually sat next to her one day and asked her what I had done to her to cause her to be so nasty. She told me “nothing” and continued to be nasty, sometimes walking away from me mid-sentence. I personally saw her pull on the leash of a poodle she once had (that she kept in one of the kennels at the SPCA and has since gotten rid of) so hard that the dog yelped and had fear in its eyes. She told me “that’s what you have to do to make them behave.”
I would frequently find helpful volunteers wandering around aimlessly wondering how they could help. They would ask me “how do you know what you’re supposed to do here?” I would explain that they just needed to jump in and help clean up. I once found a 17 or so year old back in quarantine doing her homework there during her volunteer hours… The volunteers wouldn’t stay long and they weren’t wanted anyway. “Volunteers just cause trouble” Susan was known for saying.
There is no dog walking program. The dogs do not leave their kennels except to be visited by a potential adopter. Many other area shelters are always posting ads for volunteer dog walkers (example: Faithful Friends, DE). Potential adopters would always ask me “why is the dog so hyper?” If you were never allowed out of your small area, you’d be hyper too.
Fund raising activities:
Jeanne told me that a lack of staff prohibited them from participating in more fund raisers. Their major fund raiser is the Annual Dinner and Auction at the Chesapeake Inn. There are so many opportunities to raise funds and decrease a reliance on County funding that are being missed.
I offered to help and I was allowed to participate in two fund raisers for the CCSPCA. One was “The Art Rooms” fundraiser in HDG, MD where about $200 was raised and the second was one I initiated, the Car, Truck and Dog Show, on 7/7/08 which netted about $1,800 for them. Unfortunately, the car show was the last day of my being welcome to volunteer at the CCSPCA. Jeanne’s husband fell very ill in March or April of 2008. He was in the hospital for many months and died just prior to the show. Jeanne was understandably unable to help with the planning of the show while she helped care for her husband. However, when I contacted Board President, Nancy Schwerzler, to help me plan and prepare for the show, Jeanne would no longer speak to me. She told the entire staff NOT to help me in any way with the show and she provided no help at all even though she worked that day. She even took all of the items I had collected from local businesses for the show and placed them out in the hallway so I couldn’t walk into her office. She removed all “thank you’s” to the sponsors of the car show and never posted one piece of information about that show on the Internet. But, it did exist! There’s a picture below. After this incident, she immediately cancelled all of my password access to Petfinder.com and 1-800-save-a-pet.com that I was updating weekly for them. She cussed at the man I asked to direct traffic for the event who volunteered to help that day. She was also very rude to the other volunteers. Many folks came up to me after the event stating that they couldn’t believe what was going on with all of the help and funds I had provided them. They all wanted to know what was wrong with her. Why was it such a big deal that I asked Nancy to help out? What don’t they want Nancy to know?
-3 different employees told us 4-5 different stories in reference to time for adoption, when they see the vet, etc.. -Comment was made and quote: “Irresponsible pet owners that do not spay and neuter, can get breat cancer”!! WTF?? -All of the cage tag numbers did not match the dogs and descriptions. -We saw a dog yesterday, that we asked about, and here was the answer: “Oh, the owners are picking the dog up, it is in the back”. Then another employee said, “Oh, they already came to pick it up??? What is wrong with this picture? -Comment was made about “depending upon the breed” is how we adopt. AND, the cost varies..starting at $175.00. Also, was told that PUPPIES start at $250, since there is so much money involved to release them. -We asked about an adoption special and were actually YELLED AT, that we even asked. Told that this is not a discount house! This is ONE day my fellow animal lovers, can you imagine all of the other 364 of them???????
Reporting
