Cruelty At Oakland Animal Shelter: Ex-Employee Speaks

(click the URL at bottom for online video of TV news report)


Feb. 9 (ABC7) – On the outside it looks like one of the cleanest, most pristine animal shelters in the Bay Area, but now former and current employees are speaking out to ABC7 about what they consider wide-scale mismanagement, even cruelty, inside the Oakland Animal Shelter. The allegations have prompted an internal affairs investigation by the Oakland Police Department, which oversees the facility.

Adriana Fischetti: "Every morning when the baby would wake up, he would come and sit beside her and lick her face."

His name was Oliver, an eight-month old beagle-pointer mix. His owner says he was mistakenly euthanized by the Oakland Animal Shelter.

Adriana Fischetti: "They killed our family pet."

In September 2003, Oliver escaped from his backyard. Two days later, Fischetti found the dog at the Oakland shelter, but she needed another few days to come up with $60 dollars cash to pay for Oliver's release.

In the meantime, she was assured her family pet would be okay. But when she returned a shelter employee broke the news:

Adriana Fischetti, Oakland dog owner: "She said 'I'm very sorry to tell you this, but he's gone.' And I said 'what do you mean he's gone?' And she said well he was, the term she used was euthanized. He was euthanized this morning."

Lori Barnabe, a veterinary technician who worked at the Oakland shelter for five years, left for another job in animal care four months ago.

Lori Barnabe, former Oakland shelter employee: "It was only clear to me that I had to leave in order to make something happen. And I was going to do whatever it took to make sure the citizens knew what was happening in that shelter."

Barnabe was the shelter employee who assured Adriana Fischetti that Oliver would be okay, only to be as shocked as anyone when supervisor Reshan McClarty ordered the gentle puppy put to sleep.

Lori Barnabe: "No, that dog should not have been euthanized. It should've had a chance."

In Oliver's file, McClarty listed the reason for euthanasia as "empt" -- a shelter abbreviation for aggressive temperament.

But Barnabe says the notation wasn't made until after the puppy's death, as a way to justify an improper euthanasia.

Citing an internal affairs investigation by Oakland police, Reshan McClarty declined comment to ABC7 about Oliver or any accusations of mismanagement by Lori Barnabe and others, who claim too often shelter practices amounted to cruelty.

Like the time Barnabe discovered a dog that hadn't been euthanized properly.

Lori Barnabe: "I went into the cold room, the freezer where the animals were kept, the dead animals, and there was a live dog on top of dead dogs."

Barnabe says the same thing happened a second time, but no one was ever held accountable. And she tells of other horrors inside the shelter, like kittens who died in an overnight drop-off box left for too long in the hot sun, and of one dog kept in a kennel like this for more than a year without ever being taken out.

Chandra Holliday, Oakland animal control officer: "They're not household pets if they have 30 pit bulls in one backyard."

Chandra Holliday is an Oakland Animal Control Officer who works on the streets to bring dangerous fighting dogs to the shelter.

But she claims she was told by the shelter's former director Glenn Howell not to pursue some cases.

Chandra Holliday, Oakland animal control officer: "I just don't think there's any excuse for not following up on that if that is your job. That is what you're supposed to do. That's what you feel passionately about."

In response to allegations of mismanagement, Howell, now the director of animal services in Contra Costa County, told ABC7:

"A lot of the accusations are outrageous and without merit. It's a good organization and we aggressively followed up on dangerous dog cases."

But Oakland city councilman Ignacio de la Fuente sees enough merit to schedule a town hall meeting on the shelter for later this month.

Ignacio de la Fuente, Oakland city councilman: "There is an investigation going on as we speak, not only by the police department, but also by the city manager's office, so we will get to the bottom of it, as soon as possible."

Lori Barnabe has not worked at this shelter for several months, but she told us what she experienced behind these doors will haunt her for a very long time.

ABC7's Laura Anthony: "Do you worry every day that animals are in there suffering?" Lori Barnabe: "Yeah, I do."

The Oakland City Council will hold a town hall meeting on the shelter and efforts to hire a new director on February 17th at Oakland City Hall.