It's July 30, 2008, and after I announced yesterday that I would be publishing the Hermitage Form 990s for 2007 here, and had just finished publishing the 2007 Annual Report filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission, the shelter has finally placed some of the information on their website. Their website version of the annual report is only a series of pie charts, no statements of accomplishments, no goals, no lists of events, no balance sheet, nothing.

So let's look at the unaudited Form 990 (it is a big file, I recommend starting to download it, getting a cool drink, and then returning to your computer). If you try to open it, and get a message your machine cannot open a pdf file, you can get the utility to do that for free from Adobe (the pdf reader is free, it's the pdf writer they charge for).

Firstly, please note the upper right hand corner of the front page includes the notation: Open to Public Inspection. The Hermitage, like all other tax-exempt non-profits, is required by law to makes these documents available to any member of the public, they are NOT private.

Go to page 20, and you will see a donation in the amount of $224,370, from A. Stoller Scott. A huge donation, you might think, that "new" Executive Director must indeed be doing a fantastic job, and that Coalition should hush up and go away. Unless, however, you knew that what had happened was that a donor had placed in their will a bequest of their house, long before Mary Jo Spring ever entered the scene, and that donor died. That 220K+ donation is the proceeds from the sale of that house.

Next, go to page 1, and look at Item 18, which is the amount of excess or deficit for the year. For 2007, the Hermitage was $68,818 in the black. If that kind donor had not died and left a windfall, the shelter would have been over $150,000 in the red for the year. And that was with an Executive Director in place for the full year, who was hired expressly for her fund-raising abilities. Even with the windfall, 68K is not much overage for a place with over a half-million dollar a year operating budget and 50+ year old building. Note that there have not been any claims that the shelter has been more expensive to run, just that there was less money coming in. And where were the funds for the new building that was being promoted all last year, and the mobile Neuter Scooter supposed to come from? Where are all the big grants Board President Tom Tulowitzski claimed were going to be the financial salvation of the shelter?

Note as well how the $69,818 net figure is obtained. The shelter is given large amounts of credit for depreciation for everything from the swamp coolers to hand tools. For accounting purposes, that is totally appropriate and correct, and if your own accountant did not do the same for you, then you'd fire them. But what it means in terms of actual money in the bank is that there was far less than $70K left over. And even with a $220,000 windfall bequest, the best that Mary Jo Spring was able to do as a fundraiser was cover her own salary, and make about $50K more. Not very impressive.

Finally, go to page 9, which includes the amount of contributions coming from gifts since 2003. The amount of gifts in 2003 was nearly $700,000 for the year. The amount for 2004 was $522,734; 2005 was $397,192; and 2006 was $260,770. Each year since 2003, the amount of money contributed to the shelter declined at least an additional $125,000 from the previous year. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON HERE? If fundraising had just been maintained at the 2003 level, not even increased, just maintained, the shelter would have a half-million dollars more money than it does today. Is this the Board's idea of fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility?

Not everyone in the coalition agrees with me that the public should be withholding funds from the shelter. But I think everyone in the community would look at these numbers and agree that an audit of the Hermitage is long overdue, and needs to go backwards as well. Something is very, very wrong. The Hermitage Board has some very serious questions to be answer.

All statistical information on cats taken in, adopted out, euthanized and total shelter population is information that is provided to the board on a monthly basis. Those reports are a part of the official board meeting minutes and should be available to anyone who asks for them because the board meeting minutes (with the exception of executive session) are part of the Hermitage's public record.

You'll notice in 1997 the total annual adoptions almost doubled. That's because it was in 1997 that the board voted to have "open to the public" hours rather than requiring that people make an appointment to visit. The Executive Director has been saying in her interviews that the Hermitage has decided to focus more on adoptions now--implying that up until now the focus has been on the sanctuary. NOT TRUE! Eleven years ago the board decided to focus more on adoptions! And the results are obvious in the continual increase in the annual adoption totals through 2000. There was a significant drop from 2000 to 2001 (unknown why) but then the totals hold fairly steady from 2001 through 2004. Again, there's a significant drop from 2004 to 2005. The former staff believed that this drop may in part have had to do with the fact that it was in this time frame that the shelter pretty much stopped taking in cats. It is interesting that the total adoptions for 2007 dropped to almost exactly the same as 1997 and this was on the Executive Director Mary Jo Spring's watch. She was there all of 2007. Her claims to the press of 6 adoptions per month are totally unfounded.

As far as total shelter population, the Hermitage's all time high population was 507 sometime during the summer of 2004 (this total was the combined number of cats physically inside the shelter and in foster homes). From that point on the population was steadily declining so that by the end of 2005 they were back down to 418, by the end of 2006 they were down to 389, and the total population was down close to 300 by mid December 2007 (So Taylor Heidenheim's statement in the newspaper article saying that there were 440 cats at the shelter when he came on the board is not correct). This decrease in population came from legitimate euthanasia, adoptions and a significant decrease in the number of cats coming into the shelter.

The Hermitage has steadfastly refused to share its financial information with the public, although as a tax-exempt non-profit, it is required to do so.
The 2007 Annual Report, as listed online with the Arizona Corporation Commission, is now available by clicking here

I will post the federal Form 990s next, and then an analysis.

A big thank you to the concerned donor who has made this information available.

From the Hermitage website, on the History page, which was last updated June of 2007 (I know, because I'm the one who did it):
We have grown from just a few cats adopted each year to over 3000 adoptions since 1997. Currently the shelter adopts out 200-300 cats annually..

300 divided by 12 is 25. 200 divided by 12 is 17. So the shelter's own website, as of June 2007, is saying there were 17-25 adoptions per month. And yet, in the July 2008 Tucson Citizen article, according to the Executive Director,
"Adoptions have jumped from an average of six per month to 30 in June alone".

So, either adoptions experienced a sudden drop under the new Executive Director's hand over the past year, or the numbers being touted to the press as evidence of success are wrong.

Chris is a tuxedo cat at the Hermitage Cat Shelter. Chris was featured as the Hermitage Pet of the Week on February 2, 2008. Here's his photo from that submission:


Chris was also featured as the Hermitage Pet of the Week on July 18, 2008. Here's his photo from that submission (second thumbnail from the left):

The first few lines of text accompanying the two photos is identical.
Chris is a 7 1/2-year-old handsome domestic short hair black and white neutered male. He came to the shelter several years ago, shy and somewhat neglected...
Unless the shelter is now performing plastic surgery, the cat in the July photo is actually Blizzard, who was adopted out several months ago. So, I think the shelter's identification problems with the cats is still pretty serious. What that means if you are adopting a cat and getting medical records, or if a cat requires medications, I leave to you to decide.

Wonder how the cats at the Hermitage are doing under the new vision? Ask the cats! In the two-and-a-half years I worked at the shelter, I was the only person who had to have medical treatment for an injury caused by a cat, and I just had an infection on my thumb. Medical personnel treating animal-caused injuries are required by law to report them, and PACC has to decide if/when/how the animal requires quarantine. In the less than 2 months since the old staff was replaced, three cats at the Hermitage have had to be quarantined for biting. Two of those cats were ones that need to have their bladders manually expressed, which is a process that takes know-how, and an understanding of that particular cat's body and behavior go a long way.

"The desert is a harsh place for cats to be outdoors."

--Mary Jo Spring, interview with Tucson Weekly, February 2008

The shelter will no longer take in feral cats and is moving the remaining ones to a trap-and-release program, Spring said.

-- Interview with Arizona Daily Star, July 2008

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum sent out an email today inviting members to visit the website to see the 2007 annual report. The email includes a direct link to the report, and a phone number for questions. The condensed version of the financial section is 3 pages, clearly presented, and includes detailed numbers on finances, operating revenues and operating expenses. It lets members know that the audited, detailed documents are available to them. The report includes updates on the status of individual projects. Other items of note include the board composition: the board has 21 members, two of them veterinarians, including the chair. One member is specifically designated as the docent (volunteer) representative. Lastly, they have a large and very active list of corporate donors. Clear communication, transparent financials, broad-based leadership and support; thumbs up!

Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum Annual Report

Of the 54 adoptions the Hermitage is claiming for the months of May and June, 17 are for PACC cats, the vast majority of them kittens. What is the nature of this new financial relationship between PACC and the Hermitage? Is the shelter being paid a certain amount for each cat? How is this not a conflict of interest in placing the Hermitage's own cats? There have been several adoption events at PetsMart this month--are these events featuring PACC cats, Hermitage cats, or both?

What is the nature of the new financial relationship between the Humane Society and the Hermitage? Will the Hermitage be housing and adopting out Humane Society cats as well? Is there a fee for this, or is it in exchange for a discount on the veterinary care? How is this not a conflict of interest in placing and caring for the Hermitage's own cats?

How is the shelter financing the new "free vet care for life" program that was announced to the press earlier this month? How can this possibly be a cost-savings for the shelter?

The Hermitage is paying its current in-house cleaning staff minimum wage. They are also paying an outside cleaning company to spray patio areas, and it must be paying considerably more than minimum wage for these services, in order for the outside company to make a profit. How is outsourcing this cleaning cost-effective? Why are there continual ads running on Craig's List for new cleaning personnel? With greatly reduced numbers of volunters cleaning, and fewer cleaning staff, how is the shelter being cleaned to the same level?

The number of volunteers cleaning and giving tours has declined dramatically over the past three months. What impact has this had on the shelter's cleaning costs? What impact has this had on the amount of overtime wages paid to hourly supervisory personnel? How is the Hermitage compensating for these additional costs?

Last year a number of public announcements were made about the Hermitage building a new facility, and the purchase and management of a mobile Neuter Scooter. The Neuter Scooter was projected to have been in operation by now. The land for the new shelter was supposed to have been obtained. What is the status of these two projects? When will they be completed, and what will be the cost? What is the source of money for these projects?

At the public meeting this past September, Tom Tulowitzski, the Board President, said the shelter was going to be addressing its financial problems by applying for large grants to fund projects. Eleven months later, the board member who was responsible for this area has resigned, the shelter 2007 tax return was not audited, the shelter remains in an unauditable state, and donors visiting the website are greeted by financial data from 2006. Without an audit, the Hermitage is ineligible to apply for substantial grants. It would appear to the casual observer that the Board has failed in its fiduciary responsibilities. Please explain why the Board should not be expected to resign.

An excellent letter to the editor, Tucson Citizen, on Monday, July 21
Scroll down to the fifth letter.

On the outside shelter wall, facing the street, is a large, white wall. Painted on it are the words "Paws to Remember". A volunteer painstakingly painted large teal-colored paw prints around the words and wrote on each paw the name of a deceased pet, and the date the pet died (went over the Rainbow Bridge). Nearby is a small planted area. It is next to the outside patio of the Sonic Zone, where visitors can see the shelter mascot, Sonic, and his Shyster friends sunning themselves. It was intended as a little contemplative area, and fund raiser for the shelter--donors paid $100 for each paw print on the wall. When the volunteer who painted the paws saw what was happening at the shelter, she, like so many others, left. She told me she recently drove past the shelter, and could see that no one had added any paws since her departure some time ago; I have to wonder whether the shelter has stopped receiving donations, or is it more failing to follow through?

In talking to the press recently, the Executive Director of the Hermitage was quoted as saying the feral cats would be placed in a trap-and-release program. The vast, vast majority of the feral cats at the shelter have in fact been there for years, and I am unaware of any trap-and-release programs where there is a gap like this between the two events. TNR is used as a method of preventing growth in established feral colonies, not as a tool to remove sanctuary cats who are "taking up space", as Ms. Spring so eloquently put it, in her interview with the Arizona Daily Star.

I feel safe in assuming these cats will not be released back to wherever they came from, and before her dismissal, Paula Smith heard discussion of a barn relocation program, and included questions about it in a letter to the board. Two banned volunteers have told me about overhearing a conversation about this as well.

So then, let's discuss barn relocation. We live in Arizona, and anyone who has lived here for any length of time will tell you that if you have a small pet, and you leave them outside, you will not have Puff for very long. This is not some rural eastern community where the predators were all hunted out 75 years ago; this is the desert southwest, and we have coyotes in abundance, mountain lions, owls and hawks. For this very reason, the Hermitage has a long-standing policy of not adopting cats to people who intend to let the cats outdoors. And the Humane Society of the US says on its website, "on average, cats who are allowed to roam outdoors often don't live to see age five. Cats who are always kept safely confined can live to be 18 to 20 years old."

Barn relocation programs are designed as a last-ditch effort to help feral cats who are facing imminent death because the place where they live is threatened with demolition, or the property owner is removing them and they have nowhere else to go. The idea is to try and at least give them a chance at living in a somewhat protected environment, rather than put them down. The cats are being moved from one feral living situation into another, and the people working with them are essentially trying to do the best they can to maintain the cat's status quo.

The Hermitage cats, on the other hand, have been living quite happily in a sheltered, urban environment, many of them for years and years. There are no predators, no parasites, no cars, they have been spayed/neutered, have ready access to clean water and good food and medical care. Many of them have become quite tame. Taking a Hermitage cat and placing it in a barn relocation program would not be a step up or in parallel in quality of care; it would instead be a dramatic, and for many of them, fatal, step down.

The next Hermitage Board meeting is on Wednesday, July 23rd, 6 PM at the Ward 6 City Council offices near Speedway and Country Club. I'm sure the barn relocation program will be part of the discussion, and it would be interesting to see how the board justifies going into executive session to discuss and vote on that--it certainly can't be considered a personnel issue. It will also be interesting to see whether they will send letters to the sponsors of feral cats before relocation, or if they will wait until after the deed is done, as they did with the nearly 50 euthanasias reported in the paper this month.

Stop the killing and protect the lives of the cats currently residing at the Hermitage Shelter.

Here are links to more letters to the editor at the Tucson Citizen.

Letters to the Editor: The cat shelter furor
Five letters to the editor. (July 10)

Cat shelter story just scratched the surface
Letter is second on the page. (July 12)

Dig deeper: Something stinks about cat issue
Letter is third on the page. (July 18)

Curious and bright-eyed
Always getting into things
Tenacious children that know no limits
Sailing gracefully off of the counter

Ostentatious and brazen
Vanquishing the evil ‘roaches
Ever the mighty hunter
Relinquishing ground to no bug

Terrors of the house
Hissing and spitting at one another
Eventually whacking rumps
Rambunctious and full of life

Always there with a purr or a nudge
Insisting on immediate head scratches
Never sharing their “pet’s” attentions
But perfectly willing to groom one another
Obvious rulers of the house
Whenever humans aren’t around

Beautiful in all aspects
Regardless of age
Indomitable in spirit
Despite all attempts of control
Gatos eterno sobre el puente del arco iris
Eternal cats over the Rainbow Bridge

I would again like to appeal to those in the general public who are able to do so within their budget and lifestyle, to adopt special needs and shy cats from the Hermitage, since the level of organizational dysfunction is now clear. At this point, I would not personally view adopting a cat from there as supporting them, or helping them financially, but as rescuing from a bad situation a loving and lifelong companion.

I wrote the "In the News" section on the Hermitage website in June of 2007, and they have not updated it since. There are no links to the articles, letters to the editor or editorials in the Tucson Citizen or Arizona Daily Star, and no links to the Channel 4 or Channel 9 video or transcripts. There is not exactly a dearth of material.

The Hermitage has, however, place a blog link right in the middle of its website, finally realizing that the internet is a dynamic, not static communication instrument they should have been using all along. Unfortunately, it totally sidesteps the current problems, media coverage, and euthanasias. Note the complete omission of the word "volunteer" from the website. It lauds the Food for People's Pets Program (in which the shelter acts only as a collection site, the donations come from the public), the Piddle Program (which was the idea of a now-fired staffer) and falsely claims record adoptions. FIV+ "cats are now located in an area within the adoption area and are now visible to people coming to the shelter to look at adopting a cat." What is not mentioned is that the FIV cats were already located in an area adjacent to adoption, and clearly visible to the public before the move. The cats have been moved maybe 10 feet across an open walkway.

I think, rather than putting time and effort into creating a bland blog with no meat, a better use of time would be to post the Tax Form 990s for 2007, with an actual analysis, rather than the pie-charts currently showing 2006 information. Mary Jo Spring was hired for her qualifications as a fund raiser; let's see the results.

My grapevine tells me that the Hermitage has indeed had more cleaning staff turnover. If you are one of those folks, and would be willing to share your experiences with me, either privately, or for publication, please contact me at TopDog@AnimalHomeBuddies.com

Lizzie is a nice tuxedo cat with a white caste-type mark on her forehead. She's listed on the Hermitage website, under the eminently adoptable section, fourth cat down. What the new staff does not realize, in their continued confusion about which cat is which, is that Lizzie is not at the shelter, and was in fact adopted out several months ago.

Here's her info as listed on the website. They're getting better at taking down incorrect information, once members of the public spot the factual errors, and let them know.



"Lizzie is a domestic short hair, spayed female, black and white kitty, born 2002. She came to the shelter 9-03 when her guardian was no longer able to care for her. Lizzie is a sweet girl who enjoys attention from people and gets along with other cats."

There is another Hermitage posting to Craig's List looking for cleaning staff, the second one in less than three weeks:
http://tucson.craigslist.org/npo/750848822.html

I would agree that there certainly seems to be an opportunity for advancement, since the cleaning staff turnover rate since March is approximately 130%.
******************************************************************

Calling All Cat Lovers! (Tucson, Arizona )
Reply to: r_tors@hotmail.com
Date: 2008-07-11, 9:10AM MST

We are a non profit cat shelter with about 275 kitties to care for--we need a Shelter Assistant who would help with cleaning the shelter and feeding the kitties. Minimum wage to start with opportunity for advancement. Part time or full time hours available. Submit resume or call for interview.

* Location: Tucson, Arizona
* Compensation: Minimum Wage to start
* Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
* Please, no phone calls about this job!
* Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 750848822

I was an assistant vet tech at the Hermitage when Cyrano came in. There was often not room for new animals at the shelter, so we had to prioritize admissions. This was a gut-wrenching, but necessary task. The top priority for admissions was cats needing emergency medical care; while this may seem contrary to those unfamiliar with the sanctuary ethic, there were two good reasons for this choice. First, we knew if the Hermitage did not take an injured cat, the rescuer would take the cat to PACC or the Humane Society, and it most likely would be euthanized due to cost or time-intensive medical needs. Second, if it seemed likely that due to the severity of its injuries that the cat might need to be euthanized, then the kind thing to do would be to have it evaluated as quickly as possible, so that its pain would not be extended by being carried all around town while the good Samaritan went from shelter to shelter looking for help. The general philosophy was that while there were a number of organizations in town that could help cute, young, healthy, adoptable animals, we were the only one that specifically focused on helping those that had already used up a fair number of their nine lives. So we sometimes turned away healthy animals, because if they went to PACC or the Humane Society, they at least had some chance at being adopted and getting a new life. Our unique place was to help the ones no one else could or would take.

Cyrano was a male, longhaired, applehead flamepoint kitten, apparently a purebred, brought to the shelter in a box by a good Samaritan, who found him crippled by the side of the road. When the shelter vet examined Cyrano, he found two BBs lodged in his back, one very close to his spine, and a variety of other injuries. The supposition was that someone shot Cyrano, who then ran out into the street to escape his tormentor, and the unfortunate kitten was then hit by a car.

Now, if you have ever seen a flamepoint, you know that they are very attractive cats. They are born almost white in color, and then as they age, darken to orange on the tips of their ears, nose and tails, with soft striping on areas of their body that are cooler. Appleheads in particular are known for their outgoing personalities, and being a branch of the Siamese family, very talkative. And even for an applehead, I think Cyrano was exceptional. By the time he was well enough to leave the medical isolation area and join the rest of the shelter cats, everyone was pretty captivated. But Cyrano had a problem: the trauma of the accident had caused damage to his nervous system, and he could not control his bladder or bowels.

Any other place, Cyrano would have been put down, admittedly with great reluctance, to make room for other, more adoptable cats. But Cyrano's run of bad luck ended when he came in the Hermitage door. Because there he had time. And over the course of several months, living uncaged, in a home-like atmosphere, with the stimulation of other cats to play with, and doting volunteers to cuddle and socialize him, it was possible to gradually wean him off the medications that helped him control excretion. When the day finally came that he was pronounced completely cured, and no longer requiring medical assistance, I applied to adopt him. As I write this a year and half later, he is snoozing behind my monitor, occasionally opening a blue eye halfway to see if any new crunchies have suddenly appeared in the dish. The effects of his injuries will always be there; he never jumps, he'll tap on my thigh to ask to be lifted up, and he lacks some of the feline grace of my other companions. But those are not his defining characteristics to me. Cyrano is my furry alarm clock that starts popping my cheeks at 5:30 if I don't get up, my greeter cat that follows me all over the house with tales about everything that happened in my absence, my belly-kneader when I'm watching TV, my slayer of paper bags, and the only creature who truly understands my discourses on the proper application of marinade when grilling salmon. It all came so close to never happening at all, and I find myself wondering if he had arrived at the Hermitage door this past month, if the story would have had the same ending.

The questions that I and many others have been asking have finally been answered, and are out in print and on air for all to see. I would like to thank the local press for pushing for answers, and encourage them to continue, particularly for current financial data. Due to Wednesday's article in the Arizona Daily Star, everyone in Tucson now knows:

--The Hermitage has in fact euthanized a large number of cats; on Monday at their KVOA press conference, it was announced as over 40. In Wednesday's article in the Star, the number quoted was "nearly 50". So it would appear that the number euthanized continues to increase.
--The Hermitage euthanized cats which had sponsors, but did not notify the sponsors.
--The Hermitage is moving the remaining feral cats to a trap-and-release program.
--In referring to the removal of feral cats, "The decision was made because the feral cats were taking up space at the shelter..."
--The long-time cat care manager was fired May 31. But it wasn't until six weeks later, immediately after the publication of two newspaper articles focusing on unhappiness over changes at the shelter appeared, that The Hermitage claimed the euthanasias were due to medical neglect, and filed an animal cruelty complaint with the police. According to board member Taylor Heidenheim, "They were not paying attention to where all our cats were, some cats weren't looked at for four years." As the reporter wrote, "Why it took so long to notice medical neglect is unclear. Spring has been with the shelter about 18 months."
--The Hermitage has stopped doing home checks.

I invite you to reread the letter from Cholla Eaton which appeared on this blog several weeks ago. Cholla is a certified vet tech, with 14 years work experience with animals, including SPCA and Humane Society shelters outside Arizona. She assumed the cat care manager position three days after the long-term cat care manager was fired. She left after 2 days. And she did not find hidden, untreated or suffering cats; she found bad management.

http://savethehermitage.org/index.php?itemid=47

I've gotten questions from folks who know that people are unhappy with the shift in the Hermitage's mission, asking what the original intent was. Sister Seraphim established the Hermitage as a sanctuary. You can see this on the frontispiece of her book, All God's Creatures, published in 1966 by Dodd Mead & Company, which says in bold letters "HERMITAGE ANIMAL REFUGE". And the copyright page contains the same notation, followed by the current street address of the shelter. While people interested in adopting an animal would go to sister when they wanted to find a companion, and she was happy to assist them, the Hermitage was not founded as an adoption center. It was a permanent home for a variety of animals that were old, difficult, unwanted, or had other problems. Sister's most famous quote is "A hermitage has been my animals' and my refuge."

There is a nice Tucson Weekly article on the Hermitage, written in 2004, which lauds it as a local hero. Note the number of cats cited (500), the yearly adoption rate (350) and the number of volunteers (70). The overall tone of the article is one of peace and happiness, and the reporter certainly seems to have enjoyed her experience; the sanctuary side is what made the shelter unique and celebrated, and from the numbers given, it clearly existed in harmony with the adoption side.
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/bot/pets3.htm
You'll need to scroll about a third of the way down the page.

I want to emphasize again, that neither I, nor any member of the Save the Hermitage Coalition has any problem with the shelter adopting out cats. Almost everyone associated with the shelter has adopted a cat from there themselves. There was a group of volunteers who specialized in giving adoption tours, and many people came to the shelter to adopt because the staff and volunteers knew the cats so well, and could readily identify which cats would be a good match for a particular person's lifestyle and preferences. The concern is that this shift to becoming an adoption center is a violation of the original intent of the shelter, breaks the commitment already made to the existing sanctuary cats, and pushes them aside in order to create an adoption center for cats from other organizations.

In talking to a KVOA reporter, Hermitage Cat Shelter Executive Director Mary Jo Spring said that due to the neglect, dozens of cats got so sick, they had to be euthanized. The article states the disease the cats had is common, and Spring relates "It's called stomatitis. It's a mouth condition. If treated early, it can be taken care of, but if it progresses to a certain degree, it gets so bad that the cats aren't able to eat."

Stomatitis is indeed a common condition in cats; it is an inflammation of the mucous membranes in the mouth. And yes, severe stomatitis can prevent cats from eating. But you don't put a cat down for having bad gums and plaque. You clean the teeth, give antibiotics and/or steroids to remove any infections or swelling, and in extreme cases, remove the teeth. I googled "cat stomatitis treament", and have listed below the first page of links. Not a single one lists euthanasia as being necessary in severe cases.

http://www.mypetsdentist.com/site/view/110772_FelinecatStomaitits.pml
http://www.cat-world.com.au/StomatitisInCats.htm
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_plasma_cell_stomatitis.html
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/9352/stomatitis.html
http://www.petwellbeingblog.com/2006/10/lymphocytic-plasmacytic-stomatitis-in.html
http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/cstomatitis.html
http://www.petplace.com/cats/stomatitis-in-cats/page1.aspx
http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=162427
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=998

Mary Jo Spring, Executive Director of the Hermitage Cat Shelter, had another press conference today. If you get a chance to see the video, look at the background and notice how empty the shelter is. It was a very warm day, which means the cats would all have been out on the patios, but there were only a few lonely souls high on shelves.

Mary Jo has publicly accused Paula, the cat care manager, of animal abuse and neglect, by hiding cats, failing to treat sick cats, and failing to euthanize cats that were suffering. She has also accused Encanto Vet Clinic and the volunteer vet of failing to report this abuse and neglect. I don't think Mary Jo thought these statements through before she made them. If Paula were truly hiding cats, and was not taking them to the clinic, or showing them to the visiting vet, then how exactly were the veterinarians supposed to be aware of this alleged abuse and neglect? Mary Jo has told the press that 40 cats had to be euthanized due to failure to provide medical care, that many cats had to be euthanized for stomatitis, and that this condition had been allowed to go on for a long time. That means over 10% of the cat population was walking around suffering within a few feet of her office door, and she didn't notice for a year-and-a-half? And what about the other vet techs, assistant vet techs, cleaners and volunteers? Was Paula supposed to be fooling all of them too, or were they all supposed to be in on it?

http://www.kvoa.com/global/story.asp?s=8632158

In this report, Mary Jo Spring, Executive Director of the Hermitage Cat Shelter, accuses the former cat care manager of animal abuse and neglect, and the former vet clinic and volunteer veterinarian of failure to report abuse and neglect. She claims that cats were being hidden. She claims that due to the neglect, dozens of cats got so sick, they had to be euthanized. When asked during the Channel 4 interview "why it took so long for this situation to come to the attention of Hermitage officials, and why only one person is being held accountable.", her reply was "It's being investigated, not just the one person, but that is a good question. That should've been brought to light, but it wasn't."

Mary Jo Spring does actually work at the shelter, has been there for over a year-and-a-half, and if there were any kind of inappropriate behavior going on, she is the one who should've brought it to light. If there was abuse or neglect, why did it take her over a year-and-a-half to find out? If there were truly dozens of cats so sick they needed to be euthanized, sitting mere feet from her office, how could she possibly miss that? In the newspaper article over the holiday, refering to former staff and volunteers, she states "I got wind they were going to scoop up all the cats so I put a moratorium on adoptions to them."

We are talking about a cat shelter, founded by a nun, as a sanctuary for unwanted pets, not an Oliver Stone movie.

The Save the Hermitage Coalition, to which I belong, strongly encourages the public to adopt from the Hermitage. I think there will be a large number of people who read the Citizen article over the holiday about the euthanasia numbers at the shelter, drew their own conclusions, and decided it was time to adopt. I would especially encourage retirees, those with veterinary training, and others with extra time or abilities to consider adopting special needs cats.

The Daily Star has an article today on changes at the Hermitage. It contains three points I want to clarify and supplement. I am also surprised that while the article is primarily couched as being about the blog, it does not bother to include the blog address.

The tone and content of the article, Hermitage ex-staffers air gripes on Web tends to support Mary Jo Spring's contention that the problems at the shelter are due to disgruntled former personnel. In fact, I am only one of over 50 people in a coalition concerned about the shelter; I just happen to be the one with a blog, which existed long before the current situation at the shelter, and will hopefully continue long after. The former staff comprise a minority of this group, the majority are actually former volunteers, sponors and donors. Former staffers have letters on the blog, yes, but so do volunteers, sponsors and donors. I emphasized this to Mr. Brodesky, and gave him the direct contact information for 4 other people, non-staffers who had been involved in the shelter in a variety of roles, and invited him to a meeting where all 50 would be in attendance. He did not contact anyone else from the coalition, nor did he attend the meeting.

Lastly, adoptions: the shelter's claim that people are upset because cats were adopted out is completely, totally, utterly false. This is a gross insult to the many volunteers who spent endless hours giving adoption tours, and the staff's special efforts working with the adopters of special needs cats to ensure smooth and successful transitions. And the claim that there are now record adoptions is false. What people are upset about is that the sanctuary side of the shelter is being pushed aside in favor of adoption.

Mr. Brodesky states that I have made debatable claims on the blog. Yes, I do make some points which are a matter of opinion, I would agree, and that's largely what editorial-type articles like blogs are for. In terms of facts, I offered to provide the reporter with written documention, tapes and eyewitnesses to support my claims. He did not ask to see any of my materials, or for contact information of any witnesses, and he does reporting for a living, so I feel safe in assuming that when he said debatable, he meant opinionated.

Yes, as the article states, The Hermitage has served more as a sanctuary than as an adoption shelter. It is beyond belief to me that this is now being cited as a flaw. A sanctuary was Sister Seraphim's founding vision, a place dedicated to meeting the needs of animals who could not live in regular homes. That is what made the Hermitage one of three or four unique animal care facilities in the country. The home-like atmosphere is why people went there to adopt, so they could see uncaged cats freely interacting with other people and animals. A Hermitage is a place of retreat, and I would like to the shelter return to that goal, rather than becoming just a branch of the Humane Society.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/breakingnews/90133.php

I am printing below the text of the article that ran in the Tucson Citizen this weekend. I am putting my own comments alongside in italics, so it is clear which voice is mine. The use of bold characters is also mine, to emphasize particular points.

Euthansia now an option
Cat shelter undergoes major changes

RYN GARGULINSKI
Tucson Citizen

The longstanding Hermitage Cat Shelter has undergone cataclysmic changes.

A 100 percent turnover in staff, the switch to new veterinarian services and the euthanasia of about 40 felines were part of the overhaul.

The most dramatic change was a shift in philosophy. The no-kill shelter, 5278 E. 21st St., was set up by a Russian Orthodox nun in 1965 as purely a sanctuary for unwanted cats. But the Hermitage's main mission now is to find the animals permanent homes.

I have no problem whatsoever with the board of directors wanting to follow a different mission than was set out by Sister Seraphim, and all the people who contributed money, time and effort to the shelter. They just need to do it with their own money, time and effort, and quit attempting to achieve a short-cut to their goal by hijacking a perfectly lovely, unique and practical organization.

Not everyone is happy about the changes, especially the group of about 50 folks who formed the Coalition to Save the Hermitage Cat Shelter. Coalition member Katy Heck, who quit working at the shelter about two years ago for personal reasons, said the coalition has sent letters to donors and supporters letting them know about the changes.

The reporter made a factual error here. I was employed at the shelter for over two years, and left in September 2007.

Heck, who runs a pet-sitting business and employs at least three former shelter workers, said Hermitage's board of directors and new management are not disclosing what's being done at the 43-year-old shelter.

"Things change," said Mary Jo Spring, who has a 15-year background in nonprofits and was hired as executive director about two years ago to revamp the shelter.
"The shelter will always continue to be a lifelong refuge for those kitties who will not be adopted, but the new emphasis has been to find forever homes for our cats."

Even cats with special needs - those with spraying problems, ailments or disease - have been finding homes.
"People sometimes come in looking specifically for special needs cats," Spring said.

This has always been true, nothing new there. In fact, Gypsy, the cat featured in the photo accompanying the article, had been adopted out from the shelter on two previous occasions before Mary Jo Spring joined the shelter, and was returned both times for spraying, even thought the adopters went to great lengths and tried many different ways to alter her behavior.

Adoptions have jumped from an average of six per month to 30 in June alone, she said. Ten were cats with special needs.

This entire statement is grossly midleading. The entire time I was at the shelter, adoptions ranged from 12 to 27 per month. When I left there were about 17 per month, so if it went down to 6 per month on average, that happened under Mary Jo Spring's tutelage. In previous years, especially at Christmas holidays, adoptions have approached 50 per month. The sweeping changes over the past 6 weeks have not resulted in any significant change in adoption rate. And the shelter has always adopted out special needs cats.

New veterinarian services have also been brought in from the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, which saves the shelter thousands of dollars, Spring said. Services are provided by Humane Society vet Karter Neal, who has a vast background with shelter animals, she said.

I have never met Dr. Neal, and have no personal animosity whatsoever towards her. However, she is a Humane Society vet, and everyone knows that the Humane Society has a different philosophy and vision than the Hermitage. And a shelter background does not equal a no-kill background, and neither of those is the same as a sanctuary. The Humane Society is not a sanctuary. The Humane Society uses euthanization to control the size of its animal population. The two group's values are in conflict in this area.

The shelter's 200-plus cats are in the process of getting exams, which led to the euthanasia of 40 cats in the last several months.

Using the numbers that Mary Jo has provided herself, these are the statistics that say everything to me:
Adoption rate - 7.5 cats per week
Euthanasia rate - 6.7 cats per week

"People say, how can you kill cats if you are a no-kill shelter," Spring said.
If a cat is suffering or has no hope for treatment, it is only humane to have them euthanized, she said.

This statement it so glib, it is easy to slip by. Everyone agrees that if an animal is suffering, you put it down. But what if it has a chronic condition, like FIV, which cannot be treated, but is not suffering? This is the kind of animal that sanctuaries are for; and this is the kind of cat that comprises a large portion of the Hermitage population; cats with FeLV+, FIV+, early renal failure, epilepsy, and the like.

"Like you would do for a pet," she added.

Wow, do I have a lot of clients that would disagree with this statement. I know plenty of people who have pets that are approaching the end of their lives that require special care, sometimes very expensive care, and as long as the pet has a good quality of life, the owners choose to continue with that.

The staff of at least 12 who were in place before Spring's hire are gone. The employees either quit or were fired, most within the past several months. Longtime volunteers have been told they were no longer welcome. "When I came here, staff and volunteers ran the shelter," Spring said. "And here comes this executive director. People got mad, mad because we had policies and volunteers were not making the decisions."

No, people did not get mad because there were policies. The Hermitage is a nonprofit with over a 40-year history, a half-million dollar a year budget, and over a million dollars in resources. It had a lot of policies in place, true to Sister Seraphim's original vision, and those were what made the shelter unique. People came to the shelter with their time and money because it's a sanctuary. If they wanted to be part of a large-scale adoption organization, there are plenty of other places that meet that need. People took great pride in the sanctuary, that was why the shelter was known nation-wide. Mary Jo Spring has been at the Hermitage for over a year and a half, and she still doesn't get that. People did not get mad because of change, people got mad because change was made from the basic foundation of the organization, without consultation, explanation or even informing people what was being done.

She said some were also distraught when longtime cats, formerly deemed unadoptable, found permanent homes.

Patently untrue.

"They were upset because their buddies were gone," Spring said. "We don't deem animals unadoptable anymore."

No animal at the shelter was ever deemed unadoptable, and to imply that was the case is disingenuous. Some animals were deemed to be adoptable only to specific types of homes. Cats with feline leukemia could not go to any home, they could only go to homes with no other cats, or cats that already had leukemia. Same situation with FIV+ cats. Some cats had special medical needs, such as diabetes, and could only be adopted to people with previous medical or veterinary experience. There were very good reasons why some of those cats had been placed in a sanctuary setting. And all the cats in the shelter were regularly reviewed to see if they could be moved into the prime adoption area of the shelter.

A "Piddle Program" helps place cats that tend to spray all over, breaking their habits with special litter and a holistic flower extract.

The Piddle Program, which Mary Jo trots out as an example of the great new thinking at the Hermitage, was the brainchild of Joleen Snowden, one of the workers that Mary Jo fired.

Free vet care for life entices others to consider adopting cats plagued with feline diseases.

No current or former staff or volunteer I have talked to has heard anything about this "free vet care for life" program. How exactly is this being financed, and when did it start? Were the adopters of the 10 special needs cats told about this wonderful program?

Other programs have been established to work with Pima Animal Care Center, helping to rescue its overflow of cats and kittens.

If the shelter is opening its doors to PACC animals and patting itself on the back for saving them, why it is turning away at the door equally needy animals? Where do they think people take those cats if the Hermitage doesn't take them in?

Former employees and volunteers, however, have been denied adoption privileges.
"I got wind they were going to scoop up all the cats so I put a moratorium on adoptions to them," Spring said.

An adoption center that denies adoption to those best knowing the cats, including vet techs and volunteers entrusted to perform home checks. Brilliant.

She said dissenters or bad feelings aside, the foremost concern should be caring for the cats.
"Does that seem like a way to care for the cats?" she asked.

Indeed.

For more information on the shelter or its programs, call 571-7839.

For more information on the Save the Hermitage Coalition, call 256-1914.

This is contact information for all the current board members. This information is required by the IRS to be made available to the public on the organization's Form 990 tax returns, so publication of this information is not a violation of anyone's privacy.

Tom Tulowitzki (President)
11645 E. Quiet Valley
Tucson AZ, 85749

Taylor Heidenheim (Vice-President)
8445 E. Ocotilla
Tucson, AZ 85750

Ron Zack (Treasurer)
1826 N. Hayden Dr.
Tucson, AZ 85715

Kenna Smith (Secretary)
7320 N. La Cholla
Tucson, AZ 85741

Judith Showers (General Representative)
7660 E. Desert Ar.
Tucson, AZ 85715

Shelter Contact Information, listed on the website:
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 13508
Tucson, AZ 85732

Shelter Address:
5278 E. 21st Street
Tucson, AZ 85711

Email:
hermitagecats@aol.com

Telephone:
(520) 571-7839

I am publishing, without editing, an email to me from Fred Yost. Fred is one of those people who are very, very slow to anger, and his calm and thoughtful demeanor is one reason why he was the shelter spokesman for so many years. I am the one to whom Mary Jo Spring stated that she thought Fred was hiding cats, and that she was going to confront him the following day. It was a long and very surreal conversation.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have been affiliated with the Hermitage for 11+ years, first as a volunteer and thereafter as an employee, holding positions ranging from Shelter Tech to Facility Director. During that time, I believe I always performed my duties reliably, to the best of my abilities, and most importantly, with the welfare of the shelter's felines being my primary concern. Some of the things I am proudest of participating in during my tenure are:

*initiating Kitty Korner, our first consistent TV spot, which continues to help find homes for Hermitage kitties;
*piloting a Trap/Neuter/Return program which, in its 3-year span allowed us to sterilize 600 feral cats (98% of the time spent trapping and transporting these cats was done "off-the- clock.";
*fostering upwards of 100 bottle babies;
*permanently fostering/adopting many shelter residents that were nearing the Rainbow Bridge so that they would be able to spend their last days/weeks/months in my home, and
*working with wonderful volunteers to keep an aging facility from falling down around the ears of the kitties we all love so dearly.

The point of this "list" is not to look for accolades for myself - it is to point out the fact that the entire staff of volunteers and employees I worked with during this time provided that level of commitment. I have never before had the honor of working with such a large group of people who are so committed to the goal of animal welfare and so competent in doing what it takes to achieve that goal.

My own demise began last August 30, when I awoke and was unable to stand up. A trip to my Doctor and from there to the hospital revealed that several cervical vertebrae were damaged, requiring emergency surgery. This having been accomplished, I notified the Executive Director (ED) that my Doctor's preliminary estimate for recuperation was six months. I was told to not worry about it and to take as much time as I needed, that my job would be there when I was ready.

In pursuant conversations, it was agreed that I would resign my position so that I might be eligible for AHCCCS, the shelter having discontinued health care coverage for employees several months prior. During further conversations/emails between myself and management, it was reiterated several times that I should take as much time to recover as necessary to lessen any risks upon my return. I was also "personally guaranteed" by an Executive Board member that my job would be waiting for me when I was ready to return. Any of you present at the Luau may also remember that the Board President wished me well and stated that I would always have a place at the Hermitage.

In December, 2007 I emailed the ED notifying her that my Doctor had cleared me to return to my duties, and I asked what steps had to be taken to facilitate this process. The email I received in response follows:

"Dear Fred:
Everyone at The Hermitage is certainly pleased at the relatively quick recovery you have made and your desire to return to work.

Unfortunately, this is not quite as simple as it may seem. When you resigned for medical reasons, we had little choice but to fill the position that you vacated, since there were many things that required immediate attention due to the age and condition of the facility. It would not have been in the best interests of the cats to do otherwise, and I'm sure you can appreciate that. We did not know when, or if you would be coming back. The person who is now filling the position you vacated has proven himself to be capable, hard-working, and dependable, and it would not be fair or ethical to ask him to leave his position.

As we prepare the 2008 budget, I can also tell you that we are facing a significant budget deficit that will severely limit our ability to add additional staff positions. In the future, you are welcome to inquire if any jobs will become available.

I know that this is probably not what you wanted to hear, but I hope I have explained the situation in a way that you can understand and appreciate.

Yours truly,

(Executive Director's name)"

It is true that someone had to be doing the maintenance work I was doing to keep the facility ongoing and that the person hired to do such work is an asset to the organization.

It is not true that the Hermitage did not know "when, or if" I would be coming back. I had kept them up to date on that topic from about one week after my operation.

The person hired to fill my position was hired to work two days per week. I fully agreed that it would not be fair to ask him to leave that position. However, was it any more "fair or ethical" to ask me to leave after 11 years on the job? I communicated to the ED and Board that it would be perfectly acceptable to me to return for three days per week, thereby removing the necessity to terminate anyone. I never received any response to this offer.

It was also not brought to my attention that at the same time this correspondence was occurring, the shelter was interviewing for the position of "Shelter Manager." I must humbly state that it would have been difficult to find anyone with better qualifications for this position than me; I should have at least been given notice that such position was currently open.

To say that my position or any of the other terminated staff would be adding additional staff positions for 2008 is misleading. To the best of my knowledge, it would have been reasonable to assume that the staff in place as of the end of 2007 would have been in place for 2008 and thereafter. None of us was anticipating a purge.

In my opinion, there were other factors that led to my not being reinstated. For one thing, I spoke with a Board member regarding a mailing the Hermitage had done requesting funds earmarked for several special projects at the shelter. I was told (by the ED) that funds had been received for these projects, but when I requested release of such monies to purchase materials for them, was told repeatedly that there was no money available. I expressed my opinion that this might not be seen in a favorable light by donors who visited the shelter and wanted to see the results of their contributions. To the best of my knowledge, this concern was not addressed.

Another factor (again, in my opinion) was that as a member of the Expansion Committee for building a new shelter, I frequently expressed concerns over matters such as site location, facility design and scheduling, and proposed feline capacity. I (as staff liaison) had serious concerns on all these matters with the site that had been procured and was trying to be sure plans were examined thoroughly before proceeding with the plan. It is my understanding that the shelter management is now looking for another site. I also opined that the ED was perhaps being overly optimistic in stating that we would be in a new facility within two years of the initial announcement. Such opinion was not particularly appreciated.

It was also made known to me at a later date (I cannot document this) that on the day I went into the hospital, I was scheduled to be summoned to the "office" for allegedly "hiding cats" so that they would not show up in the shelter's records. I find it hard to believe that anything this absurd would enter the mind of upper level management, but then again...

To sum this all up, I do not feel that I was treated in a professional manner by the management and Board of the Hermitage. I fully realize that I can be replaced without the organization faltering, but the fact is that when as many experienced staff leave as has been the case in the last several months, both the cats and the organization suffer. The organization suffers through the loss of many years of experience, and the cats suffer by loss of people they have grown to trust over the years.

There was no valid reason for the removal of the entire staff and many volunteers at the Hermitage. We all contributed greatly to the welfare of the resident felines and from all accounts, they are suffering from our absence. Anyone who reads this, please come to your own conclusions; I ask only that you do anything in your power to guard the welfare of the cats at the Hermitage (No-Kill) Cat Shelter.

Sincerely,

Fred Yost

These are photos of cats in the "Village" area of the shelter (Shyster area to old folks like me). These cats are free-roaming throughout 8 enclosed rooms and patios, and do not have collars. If you had a knowledgable person to point out the differences to you, and time to get to know them as individuals, you wouldn't have any problems. But if you didn't have another tech to teach you, and the cats were moving continually, and you needed to give some of them medication, what happens? This is the situation the vet tech staff is in, because there was over 100% staff turnover in the past month. So, which one is Black Beauty? Is that Leila on the third row, or Jerry? How do you tell Tasha from Carol? Digger regularly escapes from the House into the Village area, can you tell if he's one of these? He only has two white hairs in a specific location.

Avalanche
Bebe
Ranger
Dusty
Ritmo
Hitchcock
Beatrice
Puzzles
Buffy
Fatso Catso
Bella
Jaspur
Kino
Wierd Al