Life After Dog Control

There hasn't been a tremendous amount of news on the animal news front in Delaware.  While Senator Blevins stated last month that she anticipated the new Animal Welfare Office would be "open sometime in October", it seems unlikely given the fact that the state didn't even know where the office was going to be located, and haven't updated the job posting status for the lead position in that office yet.

There also hasn't been any word regarding what will happen with dog control in Wilmington.  In August it was state that the city would put for their plan, but a month and a half has gone by and not a peep.

"Leonard Sophrin, Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams' policy director, is overseeing the project. Word on the street is the city will build a $250,000 no-kill shelter, either on A or Walnut Streets, and operate on a $150,000 annual budget. Delaware SPCA's contract with the city was $250,000. Sophrin would not confirm whether the shelter would be no-kill or its location, only saying he did not want to comment until next month, when more things, presumably, would be in place." - Newsworks 8/23/13

It seems the name of the game in Delaware's animal welfare world is "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh".  Keep everything quiet so nobody can point out the mess they are making.

Safe Haven

What little we do know is that Anne Gryczon, the previous director of Safe Haven who was ousted after numerous complaints regarding the condition of the dogs in their care, appears to still have a foot in the door at Safe Haven based on this email that was included in a thread that went around to various rescues.  It seems that some organizations still support her despite the many issues reported.

Other than Ms. Gryczon's continued influence at Safe Haven, some dogs are being transferred to hopefully better circumstances.  

What's most concerning about this article is the condition of the dogs that are being transferred.

"They are all “sociable” but need immediate medical treatment for things like skin conditions, ear infections and heartworm." - CBS Philly 

I wouldn't find those conditions unusual for a shelter currently handling dog control, because we all know that they come into shelters in those conditions.  What's concerning about these dogs, is that Safe Haven is no longer doing dog control, yet dogs with these conditions continue to linger with illnesses that need medical attention weeks later.  These dogs were lucky enough to be transferred, but who know's what condition the many dogs remaining face.

I wonder if Governor Markell and Senator Blevins are proud of the fact that other states have to bail out the mess that's been made in Delaware animal welfare? Safe Haven may have failed in good part due to mismanagement, but we all know they would have never gotten the dog control contract had it not been for the drama created under CAPA.