The frustration level at the San Diego Humane Society reached new levels this weekend after two executives at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona were suspended over the weekend. SDHS still does not know what happened to 250 of the 315 small pets it transferred to Southern Arizona in early August.
“I think it just makes us madder,” said SDHS Executive vice-president Brian Daugherty. "I think that the idea that this happened at all and that it’s required? This is crazy."
Where are San Diego's Missing Pets?
SDHS has been asking for information about roughly 250 rabbits, rats, hamsters, and guinea pigs that were transferred to HSSA on Aug. 7.
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“The truth of the matter is: We still don’t know,” Daugherty said. “I’m furious. We couldn’t be angrier. We couldn’t be sadder.”
HSSA CEO Steve Farley and COO Christian Gonzales have steadfastly said 250 of the small pets were sent to a smaller, private rescue that subsequently adopted them out over a seven-week span, but they have provided no proof, documentation or photographs to support those claims.
“In our heart, we would love to hold on to the idea that all of those animals are in happy homes and they’re healthy,” Daugherty said. “But they’re going to need to demonstrate that. That’s what we want them to find.”
In a statement, the HSSA board of directors said Farley and Gonzales were suspended pending an investigation by a third party.
“Yes, we suspended them pending the investigation to find out if any of our policies were violated,” HSSA spokeswoman A.J. Flick said.
“I want the investigator to quite simply find out what happened to those animals,” emphasized Daugherty.
“We don’t know specifically where they went, just that they were adopted out,” Flick said.
The HSSA statement said the small animals were sent to a private-run group in Maricopa County. An article by AZPM, Southern Arizona's PBS and NPR affiliate in Tucson, reported, however, that the group includes Colton Jones, who runs a business that sells live and frozen snake food.
“That is, in fact, the worst-case scenario, and the optics of this look terrible,” Daugherty said. “I think the additional information that’s come out doesn’t look good, and I have very real concerns about the outcome for those animals.”
“We have no evidence whatsoever that any of the animals were harmed or given as food,” Flick stated.
Yet after nearly two months, there is still no evidence proving the animals are safe. No one has come forward to say they adopted one of the 250 rabbits, rats, hamsters or guinea pigs from the private group. The private group, which Farley called a “private rescue,” hasn’t provided any evidence the animals are safe.
“It’s as simple as that, and we’re calling on them to do that,” Daugherty said with a sigh.
Flick said the investigation should only take a few days. Daugherty wants results. He said SDHS is waiting for those results before it takes the matter to court and “if something negative happened to those animals, to hold everyone to account to the fullest extent that we possibly can.”
