The Inspector from the OSPCA, said last night on TV, that it has been caused by bad management and lack of staff.....same old, same old.

[QUOTE=chico2;854665]The more I read,the more I am appalled,this is a HUGE horrible scandal:sad:
The legal fees for those arrested,will be payed by moneys donated to the THS,how can that happen:yell:
The money people donate are for the care of the animals and wages I suppose,but legal fees to defend these people:confused:

Equla,as far as I know,Tim Trow and the others involved were all paid wages.[/QUOTE]

OMG! Seriously??
If I had donated money to THS, and found out my money was going to a legal defense instead of the animals I would be demanding my money back!
This story just keeps getting worse and worse....

Chris,I had no idea Trow was not employed with a wage:confused:I just don't understand,he would be a"president",running the THS with no pay:confused:

What was his purpose then?
The animals were suffering,so it could not have been for the love of animals:confused:.

[QUOTE=chico2;854790]Chris,I had no idea Trow was not employed with a wage:confused:I just don't understand,he would be a"president",running the THS with no pay:confused:

What was his purpose then?
The animals were suffering,so it could not have been for the love of animals:confused:.[/QUOTE]

chico, to make a decision to put down a kitty is soooo very difficult, as you know. I think Tim thought he was doing the kitty a favour by not "ordering the death" of a living being :sad:. I don't think he did it to be cruel, or at least I am hoping that was what was going through his mind. I would hate to think they did this just for "numbers". :cry:

I can't explain the lack of supplies though :sad: That just makes me sick. :sad:

L4H,if he really cared would he not have made sure these sick animals were treated,the cat with the ulcerated eyes,must have been in terrible pain,as well as many others.
If it was just one animal,he felt he could not kill,I might understand,but the whole place was a disaster and they were not treated,many died alone in a feces filled cages and in pain.
I don't believe an animal-lover could stand by and do nothing,I know I could not,even if it meant the animal had to be humanly euthanized.

He showed some caring with Bandit,who probably now will see the end of his life:sad:

A few remarks:

1. I adopted a big fat 10-y-o longhaired br tabby from there a year ago. Soon afterwards, I started referring to my action as not adopting but having rescued this cat from the THS. She'd been there 3 mths. She stank badly. Not just kennel stink. Her hind end was a feces and urine stink mess. On taking her to my vet right away, they were worried she might get a urinary infection from being so fat, unable to clean herself and very, very dirty. I phoned back to THS and asked why I hadn't seen a litter pan in her 3'X3' cage. They claimed it was probably being changed. I saw no evidence of staff running around attending to cat cages. Rather, there appeared to be one staffer tending to all the hundreds of cat cages while about 5 were doing adoption paperwork. Meanwhile, she'd had huge hunks of hair razored from her. Their claim: matt. Well, I've had her for a year, seldom groom her and she never, ever gets matts. So, I suspect neglect instead.

2. Understaffing, as referred to above. It's become apparent that money that could have been spent on care staff went, instead, to pay for Tim Trow's frivilous lawsuits against anyone who hurt his feelings. As the Globe reported last Spring, he launched a lawsuit against a person who said on an online forum like this, "Tim Trow must go".

3. THS's no kill policy. I posted a "what do you think of a No Kill policy?" thread here some months ago. Almost all replies were in favour. Well, the current circumstances are what result from an extreme No Kill policy. Overcrowding to an unmanageable extent.

4. History: Years ago, the City of Toronto stopped funding, and the OSPCA cut ties with, THS because of its radicalism that both the City and the OSPCA at the time said were unreasonable. I think this year's events have borne out their position as quite valid.

5. The stacking of the Board. It's now documented that open discussion about animal care was forbidden at the THS and Trow manipulated his oversight of the THS into a Geo. Bush-like "you're either with us or with the terrorists" scenario. No management and overseeing board that believes in what it is doing needs not to use intimidation of staff and voting members and manipulation of proxy votes to hold sway. Intimidation and manipulation are tactics used by those who know they are wrong but will not admit it and cede power to the majority. Holding onto power, for whatever selfish purposes, is their one aim. Lawsuits, firings, threats and intimidation are the tools or tyrants not humanitarians.

6. The mummified cat and everything else coming out in the press in the last three days -- including that Bandit chewed on a cat and that Trow left the cat to bleed in its cage unattended to -- are the tip of the iceberg.

From what I understand, there are far too many animals...cats in particular...for the amount of staff to monitor closely, the majority of their time is taken up carrying out daily tasks....Management obviously have not monitored the situation as they should :frustrated:

Feces in the cages of animals in shelters is not an anomaly...those of you that have worked/volunteered in shelters, must have/do witness this, I know I have. It does not mean that the cages are not cleaned on a daily basis, but there are only so many hours in a day and one can only do so much

As far as stopping donations to the THS, I think that that is counter productive...the legal fees are going to be paid regardless of whether donations are high or low. If they are low, in the end there are less funds for the animals :sad:

Here is some info on Tim Trow Chico [url]http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/731554[/url]

[QUOTE=bds1960to;854801]A few remarks:.

4. History: Years ago, the City of Toronto stopped funding, and the OSPCA cut ties with, THS because of its radicalism that both the City and the OSPCA at the time said were unreasonable. I think this year's events have borne out their position as quite valid.

.[/QUOTE]

Years ago bds the THS had the contract from the City for Animal Services, they took over that operation themselves on the assumption that it would be cheaper to run the service themselves....whether it is or not I don't know :shrug:

The OSPCA disaffiliated with the THS in June of this year and took away their investigative powers under the OSPCA Act....to my knowledge, not before then.

[QUOTE=chico2;854796]L4H,if he really cared would he not have made sure these sick animals were treated,the cat with the ulcerated eyes,must have been in terrible pain,as well as many others.
If it was just one animal,he felt he could not kill,I might understand,but the whole place was a disaster and they were not treated,many died alone in a feces filled cages and in pain.
I don't believe an animal-lover could stand by and do nothing,I know I could not,even if it meant the animal had to be humanly euthanized.

He showed some caring with Bandit,who probably now will see the end of his life:sad:[/QUOTE]

:cry: You are right, I just can't believe that he claimed he loved these animals and doesn't believe he did anything wrong.

No, the OSPCA cut ties with the THS years ago. As did the City, on the headline-making grounds that the THS had been taken-over by extremist animal rights activists. What you are referring to is an extra step the OSPCA took under provincial legislation last Spring when the G&M's stories were published. It's been almost 20 years since the THS was part of the provincial network of collaborating humane societies.

[QUOTE=bds1960to;854812]No, the OSPCA cut ties with the THS years ago. As did the City, on the headline-making grounds that the THS had been taken-over by extremist animal rights activists.[/QUOTE]

Until June of this year the THS's Agents trained at the OSPCA's facility and executed their investigations under OSPCA guidelines. They obviously did not cut ties 100%.

In this media release issued by the OSPCA on June 2nd, 2009, they state that they have suspended the THS's affiliate status.

[url]http://www.ontariospca.ca/press_releases/2009/09_june02.html[/url]

there's a diff between organizational and legal splits. the organizational split was in the late 80s or early 90s. But let's not get hung up on symantics.

I throw in the towel......

Sorry for the hi-jack folks :o

[QUOTE=Chris21711;854804]
As far as stopping donations to the THS, I think that that is counter productive...[/QUOTE]

I agree 100%. Now is not the time to turn backs on the animals at the THS. It's time to get practical, [I]not[/I] political! If one is not comfortable with donating money, then donate food, cleaning products, medicine, etc., and most of all, donate your [I]time[/I]. For a city as large as Toronto, it's a shame there aren't more volunteers to help with the under-staffing :sad:.

Thank's Chris,however,even that article does not convince me mr Trow is an animal-lover,maybe a fanatic,but not a man who has the animals well being in mind.
There must be a reason THS did not have enough staff,I for one would not be able to work under those conditions,unable to do anything to better the life of the animals,even if it meant they had to be put to sleep.
Oakville HS,is a smaller place,but covers the Halton district,I have never seen this kind of happening there,sure a little poop in a cage happens,but according to the pics shown to us,this was far beyond acceptable.

Trow himself says,he spends most of his time writing Thank You cards in his office,not too concerned about the suffering of animals.
Also,if this vet who had been at the HS for 35yrs took the advice of Trow,hence let animals die in pain,he was not much of a veterinarian.

Ending donations will not help all these needy animals,on the contrary:sad:

I used to volunteer with the THS, but ended up stopping for various reasons a few years ago. I was at the THS a week before this went down, and was surprised that you had to do an entire adoption pre-screening before you were even allowed to go look at the animals. I've never heard of this before! I just wanted to go check out some pets for people who lived further away... When I got inside there, me and my sister were unhappy with the conditions we saw, it was a mess, and we only saw one person cleaning on the entire lower section... way too much work for one person to do alone! No idea what the back-rooms must have looked like... :yuck:

All I can say is - I'm glad Trow is out, and it is time for the THS to become what it should have been all along. I'm hoping that the media coverage instead of discouraging, may encourage people to go and adopt from them. I think they said it wil re-open on Tuesday to the public, but I'm not entirely sure.

It turns out that Dr. Stephen Sheridan is also an OSPCA Agent....both the profession of DVM and OSPCA Agent, require that an Oath be taken, it would appear that he does not take an "OATH" seriously :frustrated:

Poster boy Tre Smith also swore an Oath....guess he doesn't take it too seriously either :frustrated:

I wonder what's going to happen to Bandit? He was to be socialized & rehabed in '04 yet stayed isolated in a cage in Trow's office :shrug: for like 5 years now :sad:

More in both the Star and Globe today. Star story about senior vet Sheridan and a friend lamenting that Sheridan was too meek and mild a man to stand up to Trow.

Globe said the Ont. Gov. now looking into allegations of theft, misappropriation of funds and property and kickbacks to board members.

You know there's very definitely something terribly wrong when all the principles continue a blanket "I've done nothing wrong". It's not credible.

Meanwhile, all the media are reporting that, while the THS has been spending large amounts of donated dollars on lawyers, the animals have been eating wet and dry food with "best before" dates of 2005. And suppliers have been having to chase the THS it pay its bills.

[QUOTE=Golden Girls;855352]I wonder what's going to happen to Bandit? He was to be socialized & rehabed in '04 yet stayed isolated in a cage in Trow's office :shrug: for like 5 years now :sad:[/QUOTE]

Feature story on Bandit in Sunday's Star.

A judge ordered Bandit to be euthanized in 2004, but Trow and the Humane Society appealed the decision, arguing Bandit could be socialized and rehabilitated.

The order was suspended and the city filed an appeal, but the current status of that action is unclear.


[url]http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontohumanesociety/article/732212--bandit-serial-attacker-death-row-inmate-beloved-office-pet[/url]

THS Donations
 

I am pleased to report that donations can be made for the THS animals [I]through[/I] the OSPCA.
Under charity law, a donor's specifications for their contribution MUST be followed. If you are a monthly donor, change your banking arrangements and have the funds sent to the OSPCA, specifying that they are to go ONLY to animal care at the THS. That way, they will not be available for Trow and his crew to use for their legal fees.

Call the OSPCA at 1-888-668-7722, Ext 322. The person at this extension will handle your gift to the THS.

Hopefully, enough people will learn of this soon so that donor dollars don't end up in a criminal lawyer's pocket - spread the word! :thumbs up

So, if I go to Toronto and take a peice out of Tim, will you guys bail me out of jail? Just let me know what piece you want ripped out..lol (For legal information, I am of course just joking) But seriously, this guy is crazy and I cannot believe that he expects the donations to pay for his lawyer fees. Sick..

[QUOTE=habibi;855589]I am pleased to report that donations can be made for the THS animals [I]through[/I] the OSPCA.
[/QUOTE]

I read the media releases this morning and also the OSPCA's website and nothing of this nature appears anywhere.....do you have a copy in black and white of this statement?

The cat who died in the ceiling now has a name. Meet Caspar. OSPCA found his photo and records. Records claim he'd been euthanized in 2008.

[url]http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/toronto-shelters-use-of-donor-funds-questioned/article1383425/[/url]

According to the news this morning, a judge has said they can't use donations to pay for their legal fees.

[QUOTE=muggsmom;855741]According to the news this morning, a judge has said they can't use donations to pay for their legal fees.[/QUOTE]

It was a letter from the Public Guardian and Trustee reminding them that their bylaws cannot contravene the Charities Act, which states that volunteers (eg board members here) cannot be given benefits. Coverage of legal fees could be considered a benefit.

[QUOTE=bds1960to;855356]Feature story on Bandit in Sunday's Star.

A judge ordered Bandit to be euthanized in 2004, but Trow and the Humane Society appealed the decision, arguing Bandit could be socialized and rehabilitated.

The order was suspended and the city filed an appeal, but the current status of that action is unclear.


[url]http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontohumanesociety/article/732212--bandit-serial-attacker-death-row-inmate-beloved-office-pet[/url][/QUOTE]Thanks for the link bds1960

Just read about the vet who worked there for +35 years, 10 years as the "Chief Vet" and now has been charged with animal cruelty. I sympathize and understand he had good credentials but he obviously didn't take his oath to not allow animals to suffer serious enough by allowing Trow - a volunteer to dictate, shame so I'm surprised that he's surprised :shrug:

MNR now involved. Raided the THS wildlife refuge department (in the same building) and is conducting investigation. Wildlife been removed to Toronto Wildlife Centre in Downsview.

[url]http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/732995--wildlife-taken-from-humane-society?bn=1[/url]

bds,thank you for that site,I did not even know the THS took in wildlife,,
OMD,the more I read,the worse it gets:sad: