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FeedJun 20, 201111:37 AM
Blogger about Memphis Animal Shelter Receives Warning Letter
The originator and writer of the pet-related YesBiscuit blog has received a warning letter from City Attorney Herman Morris Jr. Her offense? Starting a fund to provide medical care for some of the animals rescued from Memphis Animal Services, also known as the Shelter.
Shirley Thistlethwaite is a South Carolina resident who in recent months has focused on Shelter conditions, which she learned about when the Shelter was raided in 2009. On her blog she has circulated numerous webcam images of shelter employees mishandling or mistreating animals, and she has pushed hard for the Shelter to improve its 77 percent kill rate. She also repeatedly questions Shelter officials about why potential adopters can see only selected animals in the up-front adoption area of the Shelter, while the majority of the animals are kept in an area off-limits to the public and are usually euthanized within days, if not hours.
The warning letter to Thistethwaite, which she received June 17. stems from a situation that came to her attention on June 2nd. She saw the dog (pictured here) on the webcam, and shortly afterwards she emailed Shelter director Matthew Pepper that she would like to help the dog. In less than an hour, Pepper responded that the dog had been euthanized to prevent suffering. "This dog was evaluated by a veterinarian," wrote Pepper, "and our Veterinary Medical Director identified the dog as being in advance stages of emaciation, weak and in a deteriorated physical condition that exceeded our ability to treat . . . " He added that Shelter staff would be happy to work with Thistlethwaite but "need some advanced notice" of what she was seeking.
Thistlethwaite informed him that because the dog was in the "stray" area where the public is not allowed, she had no way of knowing about the dog or its condition "in advance" — only on the webcam.
In this exchange of emails, Thistlethwaite also told Pepper that she can raise money for a specific dog's vet care and that "I already have money donated by folks who want to help pets from MAS." Thistlethwaite's fund is called "ChipIn." News of this fund prompted a communication to Thistlethwaite from City Attorney Herman Morris, who, according to Thistlethwaite's blog, stated, "It has come to the attention of this office that you are soliciting funds on behalf of Memphis Animal Services. As you may or may not be aware, this unauthorized solicitation of charitable funds on behalf of [MAS] appears to be a direct violation of South Carolina Law." And he cites a South Carolina code (since South Carolina is her state of residence) that such solicitations cannot be made "when the other person has not given written consent to the use of his name for these purposes." Morris, according to the blog post, goes on to say that unless Thistlethwaite can produce evidence of written consent by MAS to solicit contributions on its behalf, "you are requested to cease and desists all of these unauthorized activities at once. Failure to comply with this notice will force this office to consider all legal options in addressing this matter."
Thistlethwaite says she has closed the ChipIn account "to keep the focus on animals" but refuses to give up the fight. She also states that she never solicited on behalf of MAS but started collecting donations from blog readers for veterinary care and related expenses for pets rescued from MAS. She has sent a letter to the Tennessee Attorney General asking him to investigate whether the city attorney's actions violate the TN Anti-SLAPP statute or her First Amendment rights. In a recent post she asks readers, " . . . should we fade quietly into the night under threat of 'legal action' or . . continue to push for meaningful change in Memphis? . . . " To read more on Thistlethwaite's ongoing efforts to help Shelter animals, go to http://yesbiscuit.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/you-can-stand-me-up-at-the-gates-of-hell-but/#comment
Thank you for posting this story. These kinds of shenanigans are going on all over the country as old-school shelter directors are digging in and fighting change while citizens are seeing the dramatic improvements that are happening around the country in cities like Austin, Reno, and Charlottesville and are demanding similar results from their shelters.
Thank you for bringing light to this story!
Thank you so much for publishing this story. Our city has can dodge and weave and avoid the shelter issues for as long as they want to but we are going to continue this fight until real reform takes place.
Thank you so much for publishing this story. Our city has can dodge and weave and avoid the shelter issues for as long as they want to but we are going to continue this fight until real reform takes place.
thank you for bringing this to the attention of your readers! The bullying tactics of the city attorney are reprehensible, especially given that he has no legal grounds for such tactics, and this is merely an attempt to silence a voice of reason for the animals. I appreciate any and all media coverage given to the deplorable conditions at the Memphis animal "shelter" and the continued inhumane actions of the people in power. Thank you.
Thank you for this article! It's too bad that the city officials don't direct their efforts towards actually FIXING the shelter (getting rid of the staff that mishandles animals, opening up the "stray" area to potential adopters, working to get animals out alive, etc.). I guess it's easier just to threaten people?
Thank you from California. The world is watching Memphis, because if Memphis can change, then we, collectively, have hope for a more humane future.
I don't know the background of this situation, but that City Attorney is too stupid for words if he thinks his "cease and desist or else" BS carries any weight in light of the public relations nightmare a situation like this could become for his office.
Thanks so much for this story. I hope other Memphians are as appauled as I that the City Attorney would spend tax dollars in this manner when we are in debt up to our eyeballs and they are coming after us (the tax payers) to make up for miss allocation of funds like this one. Bottom line FIX THE ISSUES WITH ANIMAL SERVICES! If one tenth of the effort was spent on an actual fix that has been spent on finger pointing, attorneys and public relations firms for the mayor, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion.
Thank you for publishing this story. I am a West Coast resident and one of many people around the country appalled by the high kill rate and mistreatment of animals at Memphis Animal Services. Memphis residents who are unaware of what MAS is doing to animals with their tax money can read all about it at YesBiscuit! Stop in daily for the latest horror: http://yesbiscuit.wordpress.com
This shelter is shameful, especially given that the programs and services needed for success are known: http://www.nokilladvocacycenter.org/pdf/nokillprimer.pdf
Both the animals and the citizens of Memphis deserve so much better.