Cicero responds to false allegations against Animal Shelter

This is one of the photos of a kitten that the small group of activists flasely claim was “abused” at the Waggin’Tails Animal Shelter. In fact, this is how the cat was brought to the shelter. The picture below shows that very same cat recently cared for at the Cicero Shelter.

Officials of the Town of Cicero responded forcefully to numerous false accusations made by a small handful of critics who are misleading the public into believing that animals are abused at the Waggin’ Tails Cicero Animal Shelter.

The small handful of critics have used false allegations to play to the emotions of many members of the public who genuinely care for animals and oppose cruelty, abuse and neglect.

The most important is that these activists have filed complaints with the State of Illinois Department of Agriculture and Cook County, and each time they have done so, both agencies have made surprise, unannounced visits to the Waggin’ Tails Cicero Animal Shelter and in EACH INSTANCE concluded the accusations are false. The small handful of disgruntled activists are using photographs that include some that were taken by Town officials more than five years ago, and other pictures of animals that were brought to the shelter after being removed from abusive conditions and cared for at the shelter.

You can support the Waggin’ Tails Animal Shelter by LIKING the official Waggin’ Tails Facebook page. Don’t let bullies exploit animals for their own political agenda. Read the facts and the truth before believing their ugly, distasteful lies.

Click here to LIKE the OFFICIAL WAGGIN’ TAILS Facebook Page.

Most shocking is that one of the protestors who claimed she was a “volunteer” but in fact was ordered to do Community Service at the shelter by a court. Caught in a lie, the small handful of protestors continue to make up more assertions to distract people from their lies.

Here is the full statement responding to the lies, libel and false allegations:

ANIMAL SHELTER RESPONSES (View video)

Mr. President. Trustees. Members of the public.

A lot of things have been said over the past few weeks about Waggin’ Tails, the Cicero Animal Shelter.

There’s really been two parts to this, the activism and the public concern. The activism has been led by a small handful of people who seem more concerned with themselves than they are the animals.

For all the wrong reasons they took pictures of animals that were brought to Waggin’ Tails Animal Shelter for treatment, and twisted them around to portray them as photos of animal abuse. The animals were abused by their owners, left on the street to die. We picked them up and we gave them care and nurtured them back to good health. The exploitation of the suffering of these animals is, in my opinion, shameful.

But, there is also a larger community of people who are concerned about the care of animals, as we are here at the Town of Cicero. Many of the protestors care about the animals but they are being misled by the lies and falsities of the photographs broadcast irresponsibly by FOX News.

This is the same cat that is being falsely portrayed as the symbol of the animal haters, in the care of the Cicero Shelter. Hopefully, the cat will be adopted soon.

The public is concerned. Even if they have been misled and I believe their concerns for the animals are genuine. This is a concern that every one in the Town of Cicero has starting with President Dominick and every member of this Town Board.

We care about the animals. Some of the protestors have made some great ideas, and we are listening. We are considering all of them. We are listening because President Dominick wants to make the shelter a better, more caring place.

That’s why we have invited outside agencies to come in an inspect the shelter and provide their ideas for ways to improve the shelter. That includes PAWS and also FUREVER RESCUE.

We’re listening to the professionals who do this.

The truth is that Waggin’ Tails Animal Shelter provides the best care for animals in Chicagoland. That has been proven and documented, not by the small group of organizers, but by numerous reports conducted by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and Cook County.

In the past two months, since the end of October, the small group of organizers have made vicious false accusations, calling the shelter a “slaughterhouse.” Each and every time the accusations were made, both agencies, the Department of Agriculture and Cook County have sent investigators out to investigate the charges firsthand for themselves.

They didn’t tell us they were coming. They made surprise, unannounced visits, so there was no opportunity for anyone to prepare the shelter for the inspections.

And each time that the inspectors visited, they found the shelter to be in perfect condition. The found the shelter was providing appropriate care. Most importantly, they found each and every accusation to be false.

FOX News, which has help twist the photos and images, has claimed that the agencies are under staffed and don’t have enough inspectors. Really. During one of those inspections on October 27, 2014, seven inspectors came to the shelter. Seven. That’s understaffed?

HISTORY
Town President Larry Dominick built this shelter. And he has plans that have been widely publicized to build an even more modern shelter that includes a dog park. We’re working on the new state-of-the-art shelter to make that a reality. But President Dominick’s commitment to help the animals and pets in our community is well documented.

One of the many inspiring stories from Waggin’ Tails:
UPDATE: Her owner came in and picked her up today! So she is back at home and now has a microchip in case she gets out again! Always check gates before letting your babies into the yard.
Meet Cutie! This precious small breed possible Chihuahua-dachshund mix is ready to go home with you! She would love to wear matching sweaters with you this winter so come on by and adopt her into your heart!

When he came to office in 2005, animals were kept in a 2-car garage at 47th and Roosevelt Road near the water department. They had no heat during the winter nor any air conditioning in the summer. The animals were kept there between 3 and 4 days and if they were not claimed or adopted, they were put to sleep. They were euthanized not because they were sick, but because the prior administration had no room for them.

President Dominick stopped that practice. In 2005, he began the process of creating a shelter called Waggin’ Tails to house stray and lost animals. To provide medical care and to help them find their owners or to be adopted by new owners.

That has been his commitment to the needs of our animals.

Not one photograph presented to FOX News represented a single case of legitimate abuse or neglect.

In every instance of an animal with an injury, it was an animal that was brought to the Shelter for treatment, taken from an abusive home or abandonment on the streets and alleys of the town. Given a place to be cared for, fed and brought back to complete health.

The most outrageous are the pictures of the rats and the dead kittens. These were photos that have been around for years kept by several of the so-called “volunteers” who were not really volunteers at all but who were dismissed for violating fundamental shelter practices.

One specific case involves the picture of a cat with an infected right eye. You’ve seen it on FOX News. On the Facebook page of the haters. And in misguided social media claims that are utterly false, lies and untruths. You’ve seen the cat. Well, here is the cat.

This beautiful cat was brought to our shelter with a serious eye problem. It was infected and ignored and abandoned by its owners. We took the cat in and I can say with much pride that the cat is healthy, happy and a symbol of exactly what the Waggin’ Tails Shelter has been able to do for thousands of animals in Cicero and in the surrounding areas.

Our policies are clear and simple.

1 – Every injured animal will be sent directly to a Veterinarian for immediate care. Injured animals will not be handled by our shelter. That means if they are sick and must be put to sleep, it will be at the explicit direction of a Veterinarian. We work with 5 veterinarians.

The only exception will be in extreme cases, such as if a dog or cat has been hit by a car and is dying on the street and is suffering.

2 – Another false allegation is that of cleanliness. Currently, the shelter is staffed 16 hours each day, but from midnight until 8 am, overnight, the animals are left alone in their cages. This causes a lot of sanitary issues when the staff reports in at 8 am in the morning, resulting in photos that have been used to falsely claim the animals live in filth. Every cage is cleaned every day.

To ensure that this is stepped up, President Dominick has directed the hiring of two more staff people to work the shelter overnight and ensure the cages are clean 24-hours every day, as best as humanly possible.

Waggin’ Tails Cicero Animal Shelter official logo

Additionally, the animal welfare drivers who help monitor the community for stray and abandoned animals will be assigned to work at the shelter and help maintain it, and will only go out of the shelter on calls to rescue or pickup stray animals.

3 – Currently, no volunteers will be used. Instead, every employee will continue to have certification and training from NACA, The National Animal Care and Control Association. The shelter remains open to the public and in fact, right after this, we are inviting everyone to come to the shelter and see the animals and how the shelter staff works.

We are looking at how other shelters handle animals, which have and do not have fulltime veterinarians. How they handle volunteers and how they address issues of cell phone cameras, videos and photography. All of them have restrictions. We’re going to look at all of the ideas and decide which ones are best for our community.

4 – Currently, every animal has a file on it that details when it came in, the circumstances of the animal’s condition, and ownership. We’re going to enhance that file to include more information; everything that happens with the animal from the moment they come to the clinic to the moment that they leave. When they are fed. When they are cleaned. When they are walked. When the animal went to a Vet. We’ll have an intake photo an da outtake photo too when it is adopted.

All employee certifications will be placed on the wall in the Shelter and visible to the public. We want the public to see who works there and what their training has been with animals.

RIGHT NOW I WANT TO INTRODUCE CSO Anthony Green who is the lead animal control officer for Berwyn, a city that we work with closely and which also has reviewed all of the accusations and facts regarding this case. (Statement will be posted)

ALSO, I WANT TO INTRODUCE DVM Mary Eisenlohr a 25-year veteranian to speak about the conditions at Waggin’ Tails Animal Shelter. (Statement will be posted.)

I want to repeat that we respect the views of the many people who have expressed their concerns. We are listening to their ideas. We believe they have been misled by the false accusations, but that’s not the issue today. The real issue is what can we do as a government and a community to make the shelter better, and improve the care of the animals? That is a commitment that President Dominic and this Board has made.

We are listening to the ideas and we will be making changes to make Waggin’ Tails Animal Shelter an even better shelter than it is.

THANK YOU

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