I was employed by the woman who runs this shelter for maybe three months. She was an absolute nightmare, nasty and spiteful, talking badly about fellow employees, volunteers, and clients. She is a very, very unhappy person for whom I felt sorry...until she fired me via a phone call. She told me, "You care too much about the animals." Part of me was relieved but I was distraught as well. She told we employees and volunteers many times that she hated having kittens at the shelter; they're too much work, blah, blah, blah. There was a mama kitty brought in with a litter of six kittens. This woman would separate the unweaned kittens from the mom every day and at night she left the kittens in the garage (this was in late fall), away from mom, with no heat source. I would come in at 8a.m. and reunite them with their mommy. She would separate them, I'd reunite them, separate, reunite...you get the idea. I thought maybe she was making a mistake somehow, but when I asked her about it she confirmed that they needed to be kept separate. Eventually several of the kittens died and it was heart-breaking. I had to come in in the morning and remove their corpses several days in a row. This actually happened with two litters of kittens. She gets impatient with clients who "take too long" to select dogs (people can come in and adopt an animal within minutes), and she micro-managed us to the point that she criticized me for taking too many steps (as in with my feet) to get from point A to point B while I was working. I reminded her that she'd been there for years and I for mere weeks, so I was still establishing my rhythm. I don't think that's unreasonable. My husband and I have multiple cats, all indoor, and have had them for years and years. This woman micro-managed me to the point that she was "teaching" me how to clean litter boxes. Unbelievable. I spend roughly 32 hours a year cleaning litter boxes in my own home, so I'm pretty sure I knew how to properly do so at Pets Come First. Working there was constant stress and heartache, negativity and criticism. I wouldn't trust her for a nanosecond the minute you turn your back. All of this made the volunteers uncomfortable and they confided in me about it. If it weren't for the sweet creatures there and the other woman with whom I worked, I'd have left a lot sooner. When she was interviewed years later about a law enforcement opportunity for me (background check), she lied and twisted things to the detective so that when I got briefed about it later, I was dumbfounded. It's truly a shame that creatures in need, helpless and homeless, have such a miserable person in charge of their welfare. --Kathleen White read more
