http://www.kcaccexposed.com/blogs.aspx The KCACC Exposed blog features our opinion on the latest developments in the fight for reform of King County Animal Care and Control, in King County, WA. Wed, 22, Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT Saturday, June 26, 2010 cldavis@wsgr.com webmaster@kcaccexposed.org It is easy to get confused when confronted with all of the political pronouncements, press reports and fear-mongering of the past several weeks. Is King County Animal Care and Control (KCACC) going to close? If so, when? What will happen to the 10, 000-12,000 animals per year that enter KCACC shelters? Who will provide animal control services, and investigate charges of animal cruelty and neglect? The answers to some of these questions are not yet known, and we all will have to remain patient over the next several weeks as the details of KCACC’s closure are worked out. But there are a few things we know. Tuesday, December 08, 2009 Was Interim Executive Kurt Triplett’s announcement on Thursday good news or bad news for the animals of King County? Unfortunately, the answer is, “it depends.” We would love to take Mr. Triplett at his word, and think that he has now realized that King County Animal Care & Control should not, and cannot provide animal care and control services for the county. But we were given pause when we read between the words of Mr. Triplett’s speech Monday, September 28, 2009 After years of bitter battles, the writing is on the wall for King County Animal Care and Control. It is becoming more and more clear to everyone that despite claims of reform, KCACC if failing in every respect – it is not providing humane care to the animals in its custody, it is not improving community outreach and adoption efforts, it is not conducting competent animal cruelty and neglect investigations, and it is leaving the public in danger by refusing to respond to calls about dangerous, free-roaming dogs. The confluence of King County’s looming $56 million budget deficit and the threat of flooding from the Green River is also forcing change. With the combination of these factors, we can be sure that something dramatic is going to happen, and soon. But what? Wednesday, September 23, 2009 The day after our blog, “KCACC Failures Endanger Community,” the Seattle Times has released a front page article titled “Dog-attack victims wait days or weeks for a response.” The Seattle Times got part of the story right. KCACC’s lack of response to animal control calls is shameful and irresponsible, and puts the King County community at risk. This is nothing less than a betrayal of the public trust. But the Seattle Times gets it wrong with the implication that this delayed response has come as a consequence of improved conditions at KCACC’s animal shelters. To the contrary, this failure only illustrates KCACC’s inability to perform any part of its mission competently. As KCACC Exposed has thoroughly documented, KCACC still maintains its animals in deplorable conditions, does a woefully inadequate job of investigating animal cruelty complaints, and also fails to protect the public by refusing to respond to calls about aggressive, free-roaming dogs. Sunday, September 13, 2009 Yet again, the reckless policies and irresponsible behavior of King County Animal Care and Control have resulted in tragedy. Last week, KCACC’s failure to respond to multiple complaints about free-roaming aggressive dogs resulted in the death of two horses at an animal sanctuary, leaving two foals orphaned. Last year, the same failure resulted in the severe mauling of an elderly SeaTac woman. In that case, neighbors had complained multiple times to KCACC about free-roaming dogs terrorizing a SeaTac neighborhood – causing people to be afraid to leave their homes or allow their children to play in their backyards. Yet KCACC ignored these pleas for help, and did not respond until after a woman had nearly been killed. Saturday, September 12, 2009 The last day to vote in the primary for King County Executive is Tuesday, August 18. We urge all of our supporters who have not already voted to take a moment to review the candidates' responses to our questionnaire and then fill out their ballots and get them in the mail by Tuesday. This is a crucial choice, because the next executive will have the opportunity to make real and lasting reforms at King County Animal Care and Control, and to finally eliminate the inhumane conditions that were exposed at the county shelters nearly two years ago. Monday, August 17, 2009 Along with animal lovers across the county, we were shocked by Interim Executive Kurt Triplett's absurd proposal last week to eliminate all funding for animal care and control services in King County. (Read more about this proposal in our News section.) Rather than aspiring to the model animal services program that the King County Council has advocated for the past two years, where all healthy and treatable animals would get a second chance at a new life, Mr. Triplett's proposal threatened to take King County back to the dark ages. Fortunately, it's never gonna happen. Sunday, August 16, 2009 A candlelight vigil held in front of the West Lake Shopping Center in Seattle drew dozens of supporters calling for the release of two dogs who live thousands of miles apart but who happen to share a common, tragic reality. The gathering was initially planned to call for the release of Bruce, a dog being held in Northern Ireland for the last two years. However, many in the crowd came to support Snaps, the dog used as a weapon by his owner in the brutal attack of two women in SeaTac, and who is now being held in Kent by King County Animal Care and Control. Thursday, July 30, 2009 We joined animal lovers across King County in watching with dismay as Kurt Triplett was chosen Monday as the interim executive of King County. This vote marked a stunning failure of leadership in King County, a blow to integrity in government, and an unforgiveable betrayal of the animals in county shelters. But it also strengthened our message and increased our membership, and is helping to bring together a coalition of people determined to bring honesty back to King County politics. Wednesday, May 20, 2009 The 16-member Blue Ribbon Committee appointed by the King County Council expressed overwhelming support Wednesday night for former Seattle Mayor Charles Royer to be the interim executive for King County. Ten of the 16 members supported Mr. Royer, while only five voted in favor of Kurt Triplett, former chief of staff for Ron Sims. Now we can only wait and see: Will the King County Council choose Kurt Triplett, thus sanctioning the dishonesty and manipulation of the Sims administration, and dooming thousands of animals to even more suffering at the hands of KCACC? Or, will the council vote in favor of a much needed change, and give hope to the county and the animals with the selection of Charles Royer? Friday, May 15, 2009 As the King County Council deliberates upon which candidate to select as a replacement for departed King County Executive Ron Sims, it faces a clear choice. Select former Sims' chief of staff Kurt Triplett, and continue the failed policies – and blatant deception – of the past. Or, make a fresh start for the animals and the county. We plead with the council to reject the "continuity" of failure, insist upon integrity, and give hope to the thousands of animals who will pass through KCACC over the next six months. Monday, May 11, 2009 Thanks to the Seattle PI and the Seattle Weekly for reporting on the letter we sent last Friday, asking the King County Council to appoint anyone but current chief of staff Kurt Triplett as interim county executive. In our letter, we pointed out that Mr. Triplett had been instrumental in urging King County Executive Ron Sims to withhold from the council and the public the devasting report on KCACC from the veterinarians at the University of California-Davis Shelter Medicine P Tuesday, May 05, 2009 A year after the release of the evaluation from the team of veterinarians from the University of California Davis shelter medicine program, KCACC Exposed finds that despite KCACC’s broad proclamations that things have changed, even the most basic of the U.C. Davis recommendations have not been implemented. As they did a year ago, animals at the KCACC shelter Kent still languish for weeks in inhumane conditions with inadequate care and socialization -- and last week, a full 80% of the animals at the Kent shelter had never even had a chance a Monday, April 20, 2009 Rita Morgan, former National Legislation Coordinator with Pasado's Safe Haven, remembers the excruciating death of a three-month old puppy three years ago, which touched the hearts of people around the world. The bungled investigation that followed the tragedy illustrates why animal cruelty investigations must be put in the hands of accountable and qualified law enforcement personnel, such as the King County Sheriff's Office, rather than animal control officers with King County Animal Care and Control who do not have the equipment, training, resources, or staff to investigate appropriately. Monday, April 06, 2009 No one can accuse King County Animal Care and Control of having its priorities straight. The agency has gone for years without a real director, is grossly understaffed in the area of animal care, and has failed to implement the staffing recommendations from any of three consecutive reports. So what does KCACC do? Invent an expensive bureaucratic position that has never existed before, has not been approved by the King County council, has not been recommended in a single report or strategic plan, and will do absolutely nothing to improve the conditions for animals at KCACC. Wednesday, March 25, 2009 KCACC seems to think that no one is watching, and has decided that as a result it can completely ignore its clear legal obligations. This time, we aren't even talking about KCACC's persistent inability to provide adequate animal care, its compulsive desire to alienate volunteers and community rescue groups, or its feeble efforts at enforcing animal control and cruelty laws. These failures have, unfortunately, become commonplace. As it turns out, KCACC isn't even able to comply with a legal requirement to put together a simple report about its activities. Thursday, March 05, 2009 For more than a decade, King County Executive Ron Sims has been the roadblock to reforms at KCACC. As he departs, we hope that it will mean a new day for King County's animals. And so we call upon the animal lovers of King County to join us in petitioning the members of the King County Council to remember the animals at KCACC when they make their selection of a new King County Executive. Friday, February 06, 2009 Update:  KCACC refuses to change its staffing policy, but thanks to the generosity of one staff member, volunteers were allowed to help care for the animals on both Thanksgiving and the day after.  Let's hope that some of this compassion wears off on KCACC and executive branch leadership.  Original Post: KCACC has announced that on so-called "Black Friday," both shelters will be closed to the public, and it will staff only one officer to care for approximately 60 animals at the KCACC shelter at Crossroads, and Tuesday, December 02, 2008 In the attached video clip, you can hear King County's acting director of Records and Licensing Carolyn Ableman promise to install Web cameras in the KCACC shelters by the end of October. The council allocated money for these Web cameras in April, and directed that they be installed immediately in order to allow the council and the public to view the level of animal care provided in the back rooms of the KCACC shelters. But as of November 19, there is still no sign of these cameras online. Why is KCACC violating direct instructions from council and refusing to install these cameras? What are they hiding? Wednesday, November 19, 2008 The shelter population at KCACC has doubled since the veternarians from U.C. Davis called the shelters "dangerously overcrowded," and yet there has been no corresponding expansion of facilities, or increase in animal care staff. The U.C. Davis team warned that the animals would only suffer if KCACC took this shortcut to making its statistics look better, without actually making improvements to its program. But will KCACC ever listen? Monday, November 03, 2008 King County Executive Ron Sims and his administration claim that KCACC Exposed is circulating "rumors" and "misinformation" about King County Animal Care and Control. Representatives of his administration have been attacking our supporters, and describing us with lots of very strong (and not very nice) adjectives. What they have not done is directly address any of our contentions, or discredit any of our information. We reiterate our invitation to Mr. Sims (or any King County representative he might designate) to join us in a public discussion of the "improvements" that he claims have been made at KCACC, and a debate over whether or not these changes justify the continuation of a system that has failed the animals and the taxpayers for well over a decade. Monday, October 20, 2008 The recent budget proposed by King County Executive Ron Sims not only ignores the interests of the animals, it also ignores the interests of the taxpayers, with an outright refusal to even explore the possibility of finding a cheaper way to provide better services. Instead, Mr. Sims inexplicably insists on wasting the taxpayers’ money to pay for an inhumane shelter and an unacceptable level of services. Such a choice is not only immoral, because 13,000 animals a year will continue to suffer under Mr. Sims’s plan – it is also irresponsible in a year in which King County faces a $93 million budget deficit and hundreds of county workers face the loss of their jobs. Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Faced with a unanimous letter from the King County Council asking him to account for the blatant abuse of the power of his office and taxpayer-funded resources, what is King County Executive Ron Sims's response? He "has not responded . . . and has no plans to do so." Not only does Mr. Sims believe he can ignore his constitutents, he seems to also believe that he can ignore the concerns expressed by his co-equal branch of government. It begs the question -- does Mr. Sims believe he is accountable to anybody anymore? Friday, October 10, 2008 Earlier this week, County Executive Ron Sims and his leadership team made the rounds of the press, bragging about how KCACC had improved over the past year, and how it was meeting all of the goals set by the King County Council. At the same time, dozens of animals were sitting on the loading dock of the KCACC shelter in Kent – in cages so small that they have been condemned as inhumane by national experts, and with no heat or shelter from temperatures that dropped to 40 degrees, or even the ability to move around to keep themselves warm. Friday, October 10, 2008 News report after news report quotes King County Executive Ron Sims and his cadre as saying that KCACC has reduced shelter killing to 20% in 2008 – down from roughly 40% in 2007. As we prepare a more thorough analysis, here are a few comments regarding KCACC's statistics from the county's strategic plan, and the stakeholder members asked to review the county’s plan. Judge for yourself whether or not these numbers should be used as the basis for important policy decisions. Thursday, October 09, 2008 For the first time during Monday’s King County Council meeting, the Council and the public were made privy to the County Executive’s Secret Grand Plan for addressing the pervasive problems at King County Animal Care and Control (KCACC). We have several questions for King County Executive Ron Sims, as he continues to tout his Grand Plan with the news media, in vain attempt to seem proactive rather than obstructionist. Wednesday, October 08, 2008 In an important first step toward ending the suffering of King County’s animals, three members of the King County Council announced today that they will support the transfer of animal sheltering and animal control services to a community non-profit partner, and the shift of animal cruelty investigations to qualified law enforcement such as the King County Sheriff’s Office. Unfortunately, today’s response from the Sims administration demonstrates that it is going to make it as difficult as possible for the Council to protect King County’s animals from further suffering. Sunday, October 05, 2008 King County has apparently got a permit to gather and put on a protest . . . against itself. KCACC employees are also using county time and county resources to pressure volunteers into joining them at this event. When is the last time that you heard about the Bush administration – or the U.S. Congress, for that matter – gathering in Lafayette Park across from the White House and marching around with signs? Probably never. The reason would be, obviously, that those in power don't need to protest. They are already in power. CHECK OUT OUR UPDATE TO THIS STORY, POSTED ON 10/5. Thursday, October 02, 2008 Writes the King County Council to King County Executive Ron Sims: "You used the influence of your office to endorse a personal blog that lacks the editorial standards and accountability of professional news media. We urge you to disavow this apparent endorsement of divisive attacks on private citizens and public employees, and make a personal apology to those who were named." Thursday, October 02, 2008 King County Councilmember Julia Patterson. Veterinarian Brad Crauer. KCACC shelter volunteer Arie van der Hoeven. King County Council staffer Marilyn Cope. Humane Society of Seattle/King County Chief Executive Officer Brenda Barnette. Dugan Foundation President Jim Dugan. Vashon Island Pet Protectors President Barbara Drinkwater. No Kill Advocacy Center Director Nathan Winograd. King County citizen Jim Guintoli. KCACC Exposed co-chairs Claire Davis and Kim Sgro. King County Councilmember Jane Hague. What do all these people have in common? They have all dared to publicly challenge how King County Executive Ron Sims runs his animal services program. And they have paid a terrible price for doing so. Wednesday, October 01, 2008 Here is our promise. We will not go away. We will not forget. We will not be bullied. We will not settle for empty gestures and promises that will be revoked as soon as the headlines have faded. We are many, and we will not be ignored. And we will not stop until King County has reached a permanent solution that closes down the house of horrors that is KCACC, establishes effective animal control and legitimate animal cruelty investigations, and ensures that the stray and abandoned animals of King County are provided with humane care and every chance at a new start in life. Because for us, this is all about the animals. Thursday, September 25, 2008