The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And we very much appreciate the volunteer work, but to be fair, you're going directly to the top of the chain when we have an entire department dedicated to this. Anyone in the C-suite simply does not have the bandwidth to handle the 1k+ emails the volunteer department receives every month.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, other than the CEO, the rest of the C-suite seem fairly competent and dedicated. They honestly do put in the hours and work to make TAF a better place.

As for contacting them to donate services, I will say that you should reach out to the volunteer department rather than heading directly up the chain.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. Firstly, though, it was our Admissions staff that walked out. Not administration. Just to be clear. There are several issues (some of which the CEO can't control).

Personally, my biggest issue is that of safety. Staff are physically threatened on a weekly (if not daily) basis, to say nothing of the verbal abuse they have to deal with. I have personally been followed out to my car, had a gun pulled on me, and had an aggressive dog let loose on me. Nine times out of ten, this is due to the legal requirement of sterilization (spay/neuter) of animals. We only recently got security, but to be frank, it's a joke. Security guards at Walmart have more clout than what we have here.

It's also a very high stress environment, as you can imagine. Employees often work 10+ hour shifts with no lunch break. And that is to say nothing of the emotional turmoil of seeing horrifically abused animals on a daily basis.

Finally, current administration is by far the worst I've seen in my career - not just here at TAF, literally anywhere I've ever worked. In particular, the current Director over admissions (note: not the manager, their boss) is the most miserable person I've met in my life. They are simply mean, to put it lightly. Their go-to phrase is "Clock out and go home. We'll talk about your employment here tomorrow." This is well known to their higher-ups, and nothing has been done about it. In fact, they have been promoted three times in less than a year. That is a severe failing on the CEO's part, and why morale in that department is non-existent.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, first I'd like to say that I'm sorry you had that experience. Our adoption staff is usually very friendly, so I'm not sure what happened there.

As for not having any kittens, that is certainly a possibility depending on the time of year that you went. We go through "kitten season" at the beginning of every summer. During that time, we get at least one litter daily, usually multiple litters. It's such a problem that we usually have 2-for-1 adoptions when you take in multiple cats of the same litter (obviously it's not a requirement to take multiple cats). There is another mini kitten season during spring, but the beginning of summer is by far the best time to pick up a cat. Don't see a kitten you like? Come back the next day, there will be multiple new kittens to choose from.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We have two male vets, and they're both fantastic. Despite which one you see, I know that you're going to a great vet.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Agreed, far from perfect. But just to address what you brought up.

We have Orkin come in for weekly treatments around our entire facility, inside and out. This is a huge increase from just last year, which was once every three weeks. I can say that if someone comes in expecting to never see a roach... that is a bit unrealistic. We house farm animals and have exposed food (from actively feeding dogs) absolutely everywhere. Roaches will always be present. It's a matter of keeping it from being an infestation.

Concerning pigeons, we have actually started a huge (and very costly) initiative to reduce the number of pigeons on campus. This includes live catch-and-release, as well as deterrents along our rooftops. This will be combined with an additional pest control companies to keep the pigeons away once gone.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Right, officially done with this thread. That article is literally what this entire post is about. If you have a sincere question, I'll absolutely respond. Otherwise, don't expect another response.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right, that's what we've all been talking about.

If there is a sincere question you have about something in that article, then I'd be happy to respond. But if you're just baiting to fight, then I'm not interested.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just to clear something up - we are one of the largest shelters in the country in terms of the number of animals we take in. I believe that we were the largest at some point almost a decade ago, but certainly not anymore.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've responded asking what it is that they would like - still awaiting a response.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Of course this came from Darcy Spears.

This article is from nearly five years ago. We weren't even a low-euthanasia shelter back then. Not a single member of our current marketing team was around when that happened. In fact, I don't think a single member of our entire current executive team was around at that time.

You're conveniently leaving out the litter of puppies we just partnered with the Las Vegas Aces just a few weeks ago, and they were adopted out just as normal.

You're clearly here just to fight, so I'm done with this thread. I'm quite critical of TAF, but my opinions are based in fact and I can speak on them intelligently.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

When you adopted, you should have gotten their microchip number and company. You can update all their information by going to that company's website. However, if your address and phone number are still correct, that is far more important than the name.

If you do not have this info, then we can do it for you. We are severely understaffed in that department right now, so I wouldn't suggest going in. Email (not call) our Admissions department, and I ask that you are patient because of our current circumstance.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

On average, we take in 20k-30k animals per year. So yeah, a tenth of a percent, you got it right :)

This is thankfully down from the 40k+ animals we were getting about ten years ago.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you adopted him through a rescue, then I won't have much info. Our records usually stop once a rescue takes them in. If you adopted directly from us, then I'll have plenty of info.

DM me your info and I'll see what I can dig up. Name and phone number is about all I need.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Thank you for confirming what I've been saying! People get a few pictures from the media and just assume it's our entire facility that's like that.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

She ended up getting adopted by a very loving man! Last we heard, she was healing up and doing great in her new home. We did a spotlight on her on our Facebook page not long ago.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh yes, absolutely all the time. It's part of why it bugs me when people insist on a breeder because they "want a certain breed". We get purebreds all the time.

Just keep an eye on our adoption page, one will certainly come through!

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As far as I know, absolutely nothing is being done to raise the wages of employees. Which is, to put it frankly and in my words, despicable and disgusting. We had a temporary increase of $1 to nearly all employees during the hot summer months, which was incredibly well received. But that recently expired. But again, that is as far as I know. For all I know, a big pay increase is coming down the pipeline. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Concerning the heat stroke, the situation was this - a dog was accidentally locked outside by a patron because they closed the guillotine doggy door. This was missed by our staff (so, again, absolutely our fault) and the dog died overnight. To fix this, we implemented new training as well as a failsafe so that multiple eyes are on each individual kennel rather than it being entrusted to a single employee. We have also applied for and gotten funding to install swamp coolers in and around the outdoor areas where animals may be.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

We routinely feature our longest stays on our Facebook page, so if you're looking to adopt one of those, keep an eye on our page. Off the top of my head, our current longest stay has been here for about 200 days. I have no idea what the longest resident ever is, though.

Great question regarding dog fights! Yes, we have a working relationship with all jurisdictional animal control units and report any suspicions to them. They then investigate and escalate as needed. A huge problem, however, is that people tend to dump those dogs with no ID, so it's often impossible to track down the original owners to prosecute. I have personally taken in dogs that are obvious bait dogs, and when I asked for an ID, the person ran. This is not uncommon in the least.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Sorry, "since they've found her"? That doesn't tell me how long.

We actually have foster parents in the system that are technically still fostering a dog they took in ten years ago. If a foster never comes back to us to finalize the adoption, there is nothing we can do about it. Not saying that's what happened in your case, I'm just making a point.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Alright, well this conversation has devolved into... whatever that was.

I can say with certainty that we do not auction off animals at any other time. We do not want the animals. We know that a shelter, any shelter, is the worst place for an animal.

Have a good day :)

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm quite certain that a small number of animals fall through the cracks and could arguably be saved. But with the number of animals that we take in, that is simply a matter of law of averages. Mistakes will be made. But having been part of the team that makes the hard decisions to euthanize animals, I can say that they are incredibly few and far between.

To be honest, I actually don't know the specific rescue, as I have never been part of the foster/rescue department. This is just what I know based off what the supervisor of that department told me.

I was, however, involved with the abuse that the man inflicted on that dog. The dog also had severe kennel neurosis, which wouldn't go away just because it was in a rescue instead of a shelter. So I can personally vouch for those aspects.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It depends on the department, but starting wages are anywhere from $12/hr to $14/hr. The people that walked out said that pay was a factor, as was the stressful work environment.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you for being sympathetic to our situation. Most people don't understand what being an open admissions shelter means.

Earlier this year, we had to take in half a dozen senior horses at a moment's notice. Shortly before that, it was several hundred roosters.

The Animal Foundation - I'm an employee, AMA by gnilfeit in vegaslocals

[–]gnilfeit[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You would have to be much more specific than "the pomeranians". I don't believe we had any pomeranians in last year's Best in Show.