Spin and counterspin

You be the judge. What's the real story?

From Tim Trow on the Toronto Humane Society website:

Our success in helping lost and abandoned animals ought to shame the critics who have been beating up on The Toronto Humane Society of late. The reason we had hundreds of wonderful animals up for adoption this past weekend was because we give animals superlative care, because of our hospital, because of innovative programs, and because of our desire to save the lives of unfortunate animals.

That's why our euthanasia rate is so low, why we are so proud of what we do, and why we are steadfast with our Whatever it Takes commitment to the animals.

From the Help the Toronto Humane Society website:

Here is a letter from a former staff member that we received. Any information that could be used to identify this person as been removed [to help avert a SLAPP suit]:

While I worked at the Toronto Humane Society I witnessed many unusual and cruel behaviours by upper management toward employees, volunteers, and animals. It was a combination of these behaviours, which led me to resign my position at the THS. I simply could not stand the mismanagement, cruelty, and atmosphere of fear and intimidation any longer.

• I have witnessed many dogs living in their own filth for entire days, cornered by their feces, urine and vomit. Many dogs seem to be only walked once a day (sometimes not even once), particularly “white level” dogs who can only be walked by very experienced staff members and also “new arrivals” (including very young puppies) who are often not assessed for several days.

• I have consistently witnessed dozens of potential adopters in the dog adoption hallway waiting for hours to find out about a particular dog. This lack of staffing prevents many adoptions from being made and leaves clients feeling frustrated with the THS due to lack of respect and service.

• While working at the Toronto Humane Society people were fired on a very regular basis. There was a period of two weeks when approximately eleven people were fired, which left all employees feeling frightened and suspicious, and increased the stressful nature of the environment.

Read the rest here.

If you don't know what this is about, start here.