Devore Animal Shelter in San Bernardino, California Accused of Letting Dogs Freeze!
Allegations of Severe Cruelty Surface Again
The rescue groups told stories of the dogs being hosed down in their pens, and left wet and shivering as the temperatures in San Bernardino dropped to alarming numbers. When some people hear "California" they automatically think of warm temperatures, and find these concerns about freezing dogs unbelievable.
According to a local resident, these wet dogs were facing temperatures that were in the 20's during the Thanksgiving week. Weather for You.com also reports the temperature in San Bernardino as falling into the 20's for a night time temperature.
Several dogs were removed from Devore Animal Shelter by a rescue group and taken to a veterinarian hospital for evaluation. These dogs were diagnosed as having frost bite. The rescue group and the veterinarian wish to remain anonymous, due to legal reasons and pulling right issues. They assure us that all information will be disclosed soon.
While, the rescuers and the animal hospital wish their names to remain anonymous, People for Paws is trying to help by sharing as much information as possible on their Facebook page. They have photos of some of the rescued dogs on their face book page. Some of them are very graphic!
You can also read the email that Devore Animal Shelter's Supervising Officer, Doug Smith, sent out to various rescue groups, denying any allegations of dog's being hosed down or freezing in the frigid temperatures. A local resident, in fact told me in a phone conversation, that 1 of the dogs that has been rescued has died.
Devore Animal Shelter Has Been In the News Before
A Google search reports a long standing list of complaints and accusations against Devore Animal Shelter. In 2005 a worker, that was serving community service at the Devore Animal Shelter, contacted a reporter and made a complaint about the deplorable conditions. Another temporary worker also reported witnessing the beating of a dog.
According to a report in 2009, Devore Animal Shelter had a stray named Brownie, who they found had a micro-chip. Brownie's owners were contacted, but the shelter wouldn't release him without a $150.00 fee being paid. The owner's could not afford the fee, and according to the report, Brownie was euthanized.
The list of reported horrors from this shelter goes on and on, even though they continue to deny it. They reportedly have stated that, these rumors are started by people who insist on no-kill shelters. A petition has been circulating the internet, claiming that Devore Animal Shelter kills dogs even when they have ample room to house them. According to the petition, animals are stolen from Devore Animal Shelter on a regular basis.
The petition asks that a new administration be put in place at Devore Animal Shelter. The petition states that animals are housed in the killing room and watch as others are put to death. Petitioners want this practice stopped and ask for sanitary and medical care to be a priority.
What Can You Do to Help the Animals at Devore Animal Shelter in San Bernardino CA?
Read all of the information that is circulating the internet about this shelter. All of these reports cannot simply be a disgruntled worker, or no kill advocates making trouble. I have spoken with people who have witnessed these horrors. I have spoken with people who have seen the dogs that were removed from the shelter.
If you are anywhere close to Devore Animal Shelter, go there to see for yourself what is happening. Supervising Officer Doug Smith has put out an open invitation for people to come to the shelter. Take him up on it.
Share the information with whoever you can, call the shelter, call your local paper. Call the Humane Society of the United States, call the ASPCA! Help those who are trying to help these animals in anyway you can. This is my way of helping, by telling you this story as it was told to me.
Douglas Smith
Supervising Animal Control Officer-II, Shelter Services
County of San Bernardino
Animal Care and Control
909-887-8055 Public
909-887-7519 Fax
dsmith@dph.sbcounty.gov
The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
Phone: 202-452-1100 Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST
Note: This writer emailed Supervising Officer Doug Smith and requested a quote for this article. There was no reply.
Sources:
People For Paws (Warning: Photos are graphic)
Published by Donna Thacker - Featured Contributor in Lifestyle
Donna is an award- winning fiction author, recently published with Twin Trinity Media. While she enjoys writing fiction, Donna also has a knack for writing informative articles that show her knowledge and p... View profile
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29 Comments
Post a CommentI went to this shelter today to see if what was being said about it was true, and it is..but worse. There are NO heated floors, NO blankets, NO food and wet dogs. There were two dogs noticeably bleeding FRESH blood from their necks and one dog with a horrible gash on his head that was also fresh. They were not brought in this way. There were puppies with mange that were freezing and one couldn't even open his eyes the mange was so bad. There are barely any food bowls, the rare dogs that had food, i saw that it was thrown under the cage just a handful if that. I have never seen anything like this in my life. I have pictures to prove it for all the non believers. Feel free to email me at jenb2352@gmail.com
I live in a mountain community close by the Devore Shelter. I have made several visits to the Shelter. One cold winter day in November during my visit, it started to snow. There where no blankets or shelter for the dogs and no place for them to hide & try to get warm.
I walked up to the front desk to talk to a staff member. I told her it was snowing outside & very windy and the dogs all looked like they where freezing. A woman with long hair said told me the cement floors where heated. My comment “oh really“.
Several dogs where injured. One dog had a broken leg, another one an eye injury and many in just real bad shape. Additionally, they always have empty cages & still they kill. It is a very sad & depressing place. I cry every time I enter the second set of doors. The cries & barking of the dogs just makes me cringe. Additionally, most of the staff I have met are very cold & not interested in helping customers. They cannot possibly love canines.
Excellent article. Sometimes it is a good thing to drop in and see; I am discouraged by the lack of correspondence by people in charge at times :) Happy New Year!
To Kay, all dogs and cats are housing for public viewing at Devore, even the ones on "death row" even those in quarantine.And to Amy, think about the fact that those dogs were brought in that way. You bailed them out maybe a few days later, not near enough time for them to be brought back to health. These animals don't come into the shelter in good health so if they are sick when you get them, they were sick when they got there. Devore does have a vet that checks them out but you have to give enough time for medications to work, etc.
And you might want to ask another question regarding the reporting of the beating, etc.at Devore. These reports were not from volunteers or employees, they came from those on work detail, drug abusers. And it is very strange that these drug abusers just happened to have had a telephone number to call when it happened. How many people on work detail would just happened to have a phone number?? That was thoroughly investigated and proven false. It was a set up and a dog suffered as a result of it. Deliberately hurt a dog just to get a chance to degrade Devore. You need to go after that person, not the shelter.
It's called a "vendetta" folks. Has nothing to do with the truth. In the recent article in the SB Sun, these accusers didn't give the name of any vet that diagnosed frostbite. I find it strange that there are many other shelters in San Bernardino that don't have heat at all and they are located in the high desert where the temps are much lower than at Devore. Why aren't these people at those shelters where frostbite is a definite possibility? Because it is a vendatta, plain and simple. These people offer no proof of their accusations and in fact, the pictures they show have been discounted by a vet as false for frostbite. Stop spreading lies about good shelters and go after the bad ones.
Returning a few comments while I'm actually logged in! I hope Y!CN fixes this log in problem soon! Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. ~Author Unknown
check the nighttime temperature data for Devore, from the National Weather Service. the minimum temp recorded in Devore was 37 degrees during Thanksgiving week, and the kennels, while open air, do have space heaters. check the facts people, it doesn't make sense.
Many shelters across the US have done horrible things to animals, our own shelter which is no kill actually was putting to sleep literally thousands of dogs and cats and other animals until they were caught. The director and others were changed out and now the shelter is run the way it should be run. Sometimes we just have to look at the whole picture. to those commenting that they ran out here to Devore and it is a great place today can say what they wish but once the reports came out of course the director changed the routine, cleaned it up and put the heat on, he knew someone would be out to try and document further. Come on folks think it through before you comment about how great the place is you don't see behind the closed doors.
Great article here thanks for the honest report.
Charlotte, these are not rumers. We would not post pics and doctors reports if we didn't have proof. Yes it gets cold at night but compact that with the kennels being hosed down with cold water and you end up with frostbitten dogs! If you haven't seen the pics, pls check them out! They are horrible! And we have all the dogs paperwork with pics from their intake dates. NONE of the dogs came into the shelter with frostbite. Also, the shetler superviser spoke with reporters and made the comment that sweaters and blankets are not allowed because blankets could clog the drains and if a dog is wearing a sweater, his owner may not recognize the dog if they show up looking for their dog! IM sorry!! But if your dog is wearing a sweater, do you really think you would have a hard time recognizing it?? Luducris!!!!!!!!!!!