Complaint Review: Humane Society of Southeast Missouri - Cape Girardeau Missouri

The writer of this "rip off" sounds like he/she should have been fired sooner than he/she resigned. What an idiot. Do not adopt from the local shelter? I think he/she is inhumane! Adopting from the Cape Girardeau Humane Society has brought so much joy to my husband and I. We love our dog so much and wouldn't trade her for the most expensive purist bread canine in the world :)!!! For this "rip off" ex employee, move on, don't make others miserable with your whining. This job obviously wasn't the job for you. It's not anyone else's fault that you weren't mature enough to recognize this earlier. You should recognize this as a learning experience. Telling consumers not to adopt there, that's just vindictive. You need to read the Proverbs. Please support your local animals shelters. I love my dog!

The writer of this "rip off" sounds like he/she should have been fired sooner than he/she resigned. What an idiot. Do not adopt from the local shelter? I think he/she is inhumane! Adopting from the Cape Girardeau Humane Society has brought so much joy to my husband and I. We love our dog so much and wouldn't trade her for the most expensive purist bread canine in the world :)!!! For this "rip off" ex employee, move on, don't make others miserable with your whining. This job obviously wasn't the job for you. It's not anyone else's fault that you weren't mature enough to recognize this earlier. You should recognize this as a learning experience. Telling consumers not to adopt there, that's just vindictive. You need to read the Proverbs. Please support your local animals shelters. I love my dog!

I worked at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri for over a year before leaving for personal reasons. I worked with Ashley, Cindy, and the first employee who posted a report. Cindy is the only one with the correct information. Emplyees ARE trained to run the front desk- I used to have a hand in this training myself. The problem is that man do not LISTEN to the people who train them.Many have thier own ideas as to how things should go, and they and refuse to listen to the people who show them how to run things. Also, you do not have to be able to age a dog to work at the front desk there. There are employees who DO know how to do it, and it is written on the dog's paperwork- all you have to do is know how to read a number in order to see how old a dog or cat at the shelter is. Unfortunately, many employees do not work out at the shelter because they are not willing to do things the way that they need to be done. Doing all of the paperwork is a long process that frankly, some people are just to lazy to do. They try to take shortcuts, but that cannot be done as the shelter is governed by the state and must follow the rules set forth by the state. The claims of the first employee are also wrong. NEVER in her time there was she asked to buy office supplies for the shelter. If she did so, she should not have expected to be reimbursed. All office supplies are either donated by the public or bought by the shelter itself. Also, the first employee wrote that the president of the board is a female who has been acting president for over 10 years. The president of the Humane Society for over 2 years is and has been a male. The PREVIOUS president was a female. Unfortunately, this first employee did not get to know the shelter workings and had her own ideas of how things should go. There is no board member who discriminates against females. As a female myself, I worked with all of the board members and never once felt uncomfortable. To the consumers who support the shelter, please do not discontinue the support. Since my resignation, I have been involved on a limited basis with the shelter, and I can tell you that things are improving. There have been several personell changes, both on the staff and on the board. The kennels are being repaired and are now a much safer environment for the animals. The cat room has recently been updated and now makes the shelter look much better. The animals are recieving better care than they were in the past as well. I can say firsthand that the shelter DOES have its problems, but what organization does not? Everyone associted with the shelter for any length of time has only the interest of the animals at heart, and they all do their best to see to it that they are cared for, and adopted out.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a great love for all animals. I have eight pets currently and would adopt all the animals in shelters if I could. I would like to tell Ashley that I understand where she is coming from and that she is upset. I just do not know how many more times I need to stress the fact that if these animals are being treated so inhumane, then they need to be adopted as quickly as possible. I said previously that I knew the staff was not the greatest, but currently that is not the issue. These animals need to find homes and we need to get this problem fixed. I agree with "S.n." from Kansas. We just need to get the right people in there and fix this problem. Ashley, since you know so much about the Humane Society then maybe you need to be one of those people helping. I really enjoyed reading Cindy's response. I know Cindy through the Humane Society and some what through my parents. I know that when she worked there she did an excellent job at trying to make things better. Everyone just needs to work together to solve the problems that are occuring. We need to address these issues with the people in charge, the people that will have to change things. So, as Cindy stated, we need to tell everyone to adopt an animal from the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri because these animals need love just as much as everyone else does!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a great love for all animals. I have eight pets currently and would adopt all the animals in shelters if I could. I would like to tell Ashley that I understand where she is coming from and that she is upset. I just do not know how many more times I need to stress the fact that if these animals are being treated so inhumane, then they need to be adopted as quickly as possible. I said previously that I knew the staff was not the greatest, but currently that is not the issue. These animals need to find homes and we need to get this problem fixed. I agree with "S.n." from Kansas. We just need to get the right people in there and fix this problem. Ashley, since you know so much about the Humane Society then maybe you need to be one of those people helping. I really enjoyed reading Cindy's response. I know Cindy through the Humane Society and some what through my parents. I know that when she worked there she did an excellent job at trying to make things better. Everyone just needs to work together to solve the problems that are occuring. We need to address these issues with the people in charge, the people that will have to change things. So, as Cindy stated, we need to tell everyone to adopt an animal from the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri because these animals need love just as much as everyone else does!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a great love for all animals. I have eight pets currently and would adopt all the animals in shelters if I could. I would like to tell Ashley that I understand where she is coming from and that she is upset. I just do not know how many more times I need to stress the fact that if these animals are being treated so inhumane, then they need to be adopted as quickly as possible. I said previously that I knew the staff was not the greatest, but currently that is not the issue. These animals need to find homes and we need to get this problem fixed. I agree with "S.n." from Kansas. We just need to get the right people in there and fix this problem. Ashley, since you know so much about the Humane Society then maybe you need to be one of those people helping. I really enjoyed reading Cindy's response. I know Cindy through the Humane Society and some what through my parents. I know that when she worked there she did an excellent job at trying to make things better. Everyone just needs to work together to solve the problems that are occuring. We need to address these issues with the people in charge, the people that will have to change things. So, as Cindy stated, we need to tell everyone to adopt an animal from the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri because these animals need love just as much as everyone else does!

As a former resident of Cape Girardeau and someone who has made donations of items and money to the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, I have to say that what I am reading here disturbs me greatly. That an organization would treat its employees -- the very people whose job it is to help these poor animals -- with such utter contempt is absolutely appalling. I too know the person who wrote the initial complaint and I also know that she is outstanding at what she does and cares a great deal about the welfare of animals. Given more time, resources, and support from the shelter staff and board I am certain that she could have made a real difference there. What happened to her still leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I think about it. From my standpoint as a donor to the shelter (and to many other charitable causes), what I have read here will make me think twice about whether or not I support this shelter in the future. I agree that the animals need to be cared for and given a chance to be adopted and loved, but how can that tremendously important task be accomplished if shelter employees are as abused and traumatized as the animals themselves? People will support an organization that operates above board, treats its employees and clients (in this case, the animals and their potential new owners) with respect and dignity, and does not allow itself to become embroiled in petty politics and backstabbing. People will NOT support an organization if they don't have a good feeling about the work that organization does, and treating employees with as much disrespect as the Humane Society appears to have done does not give off the best impression. If you love and respect these animals as much as you say you do, you will extend that same love and respect to your employees.

I had posted a rebuttal on this site before. I encourged the public to continue to patronize the shelter despite the conflicts that have been noted among board members, management, employees, because to discourge adoption of animals from that shelter is to hand down a death sentence to those animals who are innocent and who have the disfortune to be there. I had tried going back only as an employee this time of the shelter. Remember in the past I had also served on the board and so I have seen it from both sides. I did note a deterioration there, and a large part of that was in the condition of the building itself. I kept fighting to get as many animals out the door as I could. When I decided to leave I did exactly as I had encouraged others to do. I wrote out my grievances and shared them with the board. But...At a staff meeting before I left, I handed out a copy of the Starfish story that was printed in a HS of SEMO newsletter years ago. The story is about a person frantically placing starfish back into the ocean one by one, only to have more wash up on the shore, and being questioned why they were working so hard to do so, because after all it was an endless battle and since they couldn't save them all why would it matter??? The person responds while placing yet another star fish back into the ocean that.." it matters to this one!." I have seen first hand the animals being removed from their cages and taken back to be euthanized, their bodies incinerated and bones pounded into dust removing all traces of their sad existence, only to have a person walk in the door a day too late to inquire about giving them a home for life. Their time to find a person is so limited. The last thing they need is to have anyone discouraging others from giving them a chance at life. The public may not ever become aware when these needed changes are finally made, such as better management, better trained staff, better direction and more resources and if we discourage them from continuing to adopt then we are taking away chances for the animals to live. The animals need us! They need everyone in the community to quit being irresponsible and allowing animals to create unwanted offspring, to quit patronizing puppy mills and backyard breeders while every breed of animal you can possibly think of continues to die in shelters all across our nation, because someone thought that they could not find a good animal at a shelter. In my opinion a shelter animal is the best kind to get, they will appreciate you forever. They will be given a chance at life as opposed to a sentence of death and to pass out of this world unloved. So I will never encourage anyone,despite my own greivances, to boycott those animals, and to deny them a chance at life. Please, Tell everyone you know to adopt an animal from the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, if they have room in their home and heart for one more because believe me, it matters to them !

Posting here to explain the problems this humane society has is a start, but you need to work on fixing the problems. If you cannot or will not work on a local level to correct the problems, contact an animal rights group and ask them for assistance. Contact a local news station or newspaper, advise them of what you have seen and ask them to do a story on the humane society. A report looking for a good story will be willing to work undercover to expose major problems. Telling people to "not adopt from there" isn't doing the animals any favors.

This is to Amy who responded to my last rebutal. I feel badly for the animals. I got attached to several of them while I was there and I had to watch most of them be put down. So don't tell me that I am taking this out on the animals. I have one dog still from the humane society and if I had the room I would have several more animals from a humane society. The Humane Society in Cape just needs to have a complete overhaul on it's management. I don't feel that they have the correct people running the shelter. I think that there were several things that could have been changed in order to make things more efficient. If things weren't so unorganized then I am sure that the things that go wrong wouldn't go wrong. I was there and there were several times when the wrong animal would be put to sleep because somebody didn't double check the paper work to make sure that they had the right animal. That wasn't humane for those animals that got put down but still had some time to be adopted??? What about the fact that instead of moving a sick animal away from the healthy ones to make sure that the healthy animals stay healthy they leave the sick one where it is?? So until you work in there and you see how that place is run don't tell me that you think that I am taking it out on the animals. I AM NOT!! That place isn't run like a HUMANE society should be run. Infact there were several times that we asked other shelters to take some of our animals but they wouldn't take them due to the fact that they knew our animals usually were sick. We had some many people come back upset because they had gotten their kids a pet and then the puppy, dog, cat or kitten died because it was sick. Needless to be said it wasn't a suprise when they would come in. The kennels aren't kept very clean. The cat cages were usually nasty. It was rough to see what those animals went through. I felt sorry for every last one of them.

I'm not quite for sure why everyone is saying that just because the employees are not the greatest at the Humane Society in Cape Girardeau, that we should stop adopting animals. I know who the original letter was from and I understand her frustrations, but you should not take it out on the pets. I know that when you worked there you loved the animals and I am sure you still do. Someone wrote that the animals were treated badly at the Humane Society and because of this we should not adopt animals from there. If the animals are treated so badly then we better be getting them out of there and the only way to do that is through adoption. So, everyone who has a negative opinion about the Humane Society needs to stop thinking about themselves and start thinking about the animals. I am sorry that you had a bad experience while working there, but it does not mean that you should start neglecting the fact that those animals need homes too. You should know, you worked there. So, if anyone is looking to adopt an animal you should check out the animals at the Humane Society. There are many of them and there are all waiting for a "forever home."

I was once an employee for the Humane Society in Cape Girardeau and I must say that there was a lot of turn over, no communication between employees and supervisors, no organization and lack of responsibilty. I had only been there for approximately 1.5 hours and I was already being told to run the front desk on my own. I had hardly any training but was expected to do all the duties that the lady who had just left, who had been there for a few years, done. Then I was also expected to automatically know what there adoption procedures were, how to euthenize and how to clean the cages. THEN they got a new shelter manager who could care less as to what was going on with the office as long as he got to sit in his chair and stare at the wall or ceiling. Then an unfortunate mistake happened. I was there when a puppy went out that wasn't supposed to. I was blamed because I supposedly knew what age and what type of dog it was. I am sorry but I am not a vet and I can't look at a dogs teeth and tell you how old they are. I can tell you some of the breeds but not too many. THAT place needs a complete over haul. They need a complete rebuilding as far as staff goes. There are to many people there that would rather stab you in the back than help you out. It is sad to say this but I will never adopt from them again because I know how the animals are treated and I know how things are done there.

I am also an ex humane society employee, but not exactly disgruntled. While I was an employee at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri the staff was for the most part exceptionally giving to the Society, emotionally, physically, and financially. The problems that I most commonly saw were with the Board of Directors, heavily divided on major issues. There was very little sense of unity within the Board, there were too many extremes. Most of them had very little experience with animals, except for their own pets. And when you are in that kind of environment that type of experience counts for surprisingly little. What the Humane Society needs is NOT for people to boycott them but to be more actively involved. Know who the board members are and what their solutions for the problems, and the future are. The pet overpopulation crisis is far from over and all that we can do until everyone is a responsibe pet owner is to deal with the situation at hand. We need for board members to work together to find reasonable solutions.

I am an ex-board member of the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri. I served from 1007-1999, so I was not on the board when this particular employee resigned. I do however have knowledge regarding the political and financial struggles of this shelter. I have also seen some power struggles among individual board members that has stunted the growth of this organization, however, the finiancial agenda of the organization has always cared well for its employees and management in particular. I have never ever known of any employee expected to pay for office supplies out of their finances. It simply did not happen when I was on the board. What concerns me most about this report is that this person wants the community to not adopt from the shelter because of their own grievance, which only means that someone looking for a pet should ignore all of the wonderful animals that are going to die unless they are adopted and this is a selfish request. If you have grievances you should address them to the board members responsible ,or the other employees. The animals are not to blame. It makes me question your love for animals.I think that perhaps you really didn't belong in any position at the shelter to begin with.