Part II: Multnomah County Animal Shelter recovering from mismanagement

Posted March 14, 2023

By Kim Phan

Opinions Editor

A report on the services and various animals at Multnomah Animal Shelter was completed a few months ago. The management and staff that I met here were fantastic. The pets were given all the attention and love required to grow healthy. Or so we were shown during the visit. However, discovered months later in an investigation by OPB, that this was only sometimes the case. There is a lack of interest in the industry and pressures that will be difficult to overcome as the facility attempts to turn around and reform its ways.

A series of incidents at the animal shelter have raised concerns for locals who want to adopt animals from the shelter and drawn attention to the deep distrust that exists between staff and management at the Multnomah County Animal Shelter.

There have been numerous reports of workplace distrust and stress among animal care staff, such as those responsible for cleaning kennels and feeding animals. Although not mentioned in previous articles or revealed about the animal shelter itself, the shelter has struggled with high staff turnover, kennel overcrowding, and inconsistent animal care, all of which have been thoroughly investigated and have obviously existed since at least 2016.

While covering the previous article and visiting the shelter, it was noted that there were specificity and guidelines for high-risk animals. Managers have now admitted to limiting volunteers' ability to interact with dogs in intake areas or allowing them to interact with "court dogs" in the high-security area. During legal proceedings, dogs who have specifically bitten people or animals are housed there. This makes us consider the fact that, regardless of the situation, those animals do not receive the proper nourishment and stimulation that they deserve. Enrichment is not provided for those dogs in the high-security area, as staff will not allow them to go outside, and the only human contact they will have is when they are sedated for veterinary procedures. This makes me think about how long those dogs have been cooped up behind that cage, only having a few square feet to roam around in.

Animals that have previously been aggressive and agitated may suffer long-term health consequences if they continue to live in these conditions. They may become even more of those characteristics, making things worse for everyone involved, especially the animals.

Many sources in the OPB article claim that many animal behaviorists who worked at the shelter in previous years have left, which may have contributed to the shelter's decline in care.

“The shelter has to keep in mind the safety of the staff and volunteers and it just might not be safe to interact with some dogs, “ MCAS volunteer and foster mentor Robynne Rivas said. “It would be helpful to have animal behaviorists and professional trainers on staff.”

Nonetheless, it's difficult to take everything into account after my recent visit to the shelter, where staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to ensure animals receive the care they require. Even this was evident during my November visit. Interacting with all of the staff and friendly volunteers, as well as our guide Colleen, makes it difficult for me and anyone else to believe that they would completely disregard any of the animals. Perhaps it is more plausible to believe that the animals would have received better care and attention from a specialist trained to work with high-risk animals as stated many times through the OPB investigation. 

According to the Association of Shelter Volunteers' national animal guidelines, dogs confined to enclosures should still receive enrichment, such as food and puzzle toys. None of which high-security risk dogs were receiving at the Multnomah County Animal Shelter. Even the temporary animal behaviorist assigned to the animal shelter vanished. Concerns about the situation have gone unaddressed, despite recommendations on how the shelter's facilities could be improved, etc. So we can only speculate as to what other issues involving the numerous animals housed there have gone unnoticed.

Many reports have detailed how the shelter has treated animal care as a secondary priority despite the fact that it is its primary responsibility. Employees who have left have described conflicts with managers and supervisors yet maintain positive relationships with the community and coworkers. It simply depicts the primary issues that exist in the facility. 

Despite all of the negatives that have emerged, we can only hope that things will run more smoothly at the shelter from now on. Staff and volunteers can only hope that any oversight of mismanagement at the shelter will be held accountable. Multnomah County Management ignored the numerous reports from employees that sparked the truth to come to light, leaving us to speculate as to what could be. But we know now that If any problems arise in the future, staff complaints, emails, and reports will undoubtedly be taken more seriously.

“They have gone through a period of mismanagement and I have high hopes that they will be back on track,”.Rivas said.  “I believe staff and volunteers will keep management accountable,” Rivas said. 

That is the most important takeaway from the OPB report; while we can acknowledge the truth behind the scenes, there is still hope that the shelter will continue to thrive and provide animals in the county with the love, care, and attention they deserve under the new management.