People have been falling out of the woodwork to let me know that Ms. Spring has been job hunting, and a copy of Mary Jo's resume was just forwarded to me. Guess that's one place she won't be interviewing. I did not alter the format or create the weird indentation, that is her handiwork. I did blacken out her personal phone number and street name, that's it. You'd think someone who "Developed, implemented and evaluated marketing programs and advertising collateral from concept through completion" would have come up with a more attractive format for an item as important as a resume.

A few choice excerpts:
"Turned company’s financials around in just one year". Can't argue with that one, she just forgot to mention that the direction they were turned was downward.
"Expanded existing events and created successful, new fundraisers" When I read this, I was immediately reminded of Bill Clinton's infamous quote, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is." Only here, it depends on what the meaning of the word 'successful' is. The Indoor El Tour is new, and it will bring in $60 more that the Hermitage didn't have, so in that way, it is a success. She did create the spring fundraiser at La Encantada. And since she eliminated the WhiskerBowl Event, ditched the corporate Sponsor-a-Cat program, and gutted the donor pool so that the general public Sponsor-a-Cat program has fallen from $9,000 to $4,000, then yes, comparatively, the new events are a success.

I find the Human Relations portion for Hermitage the most entertaining: "Managed, hired, trained and motivated 20 employees...Directed, trained and coordinated group of 30 volunteers". If anyone knows any employees who were actually trained or motivated by Ms. Spring to do anything other than resign, or can identify a group of 3, let alone 30 volunteers who she trained and coordinated, please, let us know. It would also be nice if said individuals were actually still working there.

If anyone from other organizations where she has listed her copious experience would like to comment on the veracity of the claims regarding her work at their own businesses, please email the webmaster.

The following is an official Hermitage document. I have added a star next to the name of board members and their spouses.

PERSONS WHO ARE ALLOWED IN THE HERMITAGE CAT SHELTER OTHER THAN GENERAL PUBLIC 10/05/08

Volunteers & Board of Directors

Ginny Alexander*
Vern Alexander*
Jeannie Bolding
Judy Cools
Billie Cover
Tasha Cover
Sherri Cox
Kay Cuny
Sarah Dahlen
Glad Gammie
Pam Glantz
Pamella Harwood
Taylor Heidenheim*
Hope Hollenbeck
Carolyn Powers
Mary Rasmussen
Tom Rasmussen
Helen Shea
Judy Showers*
Kenna Smith*
Dawna Spencer*
Eunice Steinman
Joan Tulowitski*
Tom Tulowitski*
Nancy Wiseman
Ron Zack*

Now, this list was prepared only three weeks ago, but it's even smaller now. Vern and Ginny Alexander resigned, so I rather doubt they're still permitted in. I was told by the former admin assistant that Carolyn Powers was axed just because she has lunch with Sue Garvey, who is a former volunteer. So that leaves about 16 people who are not board members who are still permitted in the shelter. In the Executive Director's Report in the August Board meeting minutes, Ms. Spring states that there are currently 7 volunteers left, that the shelter does not need volunteer cleaners (on what planet does an animal shelter not need volunteer cleaners?) and they only want volunteers for tours and to do outside events.

The plan is to now put up a wall subdividing the entrance area so that access to the shelter will be further controlled. Visitors will now have to show photo ID, and then be issued a visitor badge before being permitted in the shelter. I wonder whether they will also have to put all liquids and gels in 3 ounce containers and remove their shoes for inspection.

Mary Jo Spring continues to cut down costs at the Hermitage by firing employees. The two most recent ones to get the boot were Ed and Michelle. That's now over 200% employee turnover since August 2007. ESG, the payroll/benefits/HR company the Hermitage outsourced every thing to, is certainly earning its keep.

By the way, everyone who works at the Hermitage is now an employee of ESG, not the Hermitage. Nice way to shield yourself from all those little unpleasantnesses.

If you read the Hermitage blog, you'll remember how several months ago, it was crowing about how the GI cat's health had been greatly improved by changes in diet and vet care. You would think these cats would be kept front and center, with staff making a point of showing these cats off to visitors as a shining example of how well the Hermitage's new vision is working. The reality is quite the opposite. Ms. Spring has banished the unsightly GI cats to an unseen part of the shelter, just the way she has the scooters. The GI room is disgusting. It is too small, reeks, has mold, and is a disgrace. I have multiple reports from volunteers that the room is not being properly cleaned on a daily basis, and fecal matter is allowed to accumulate. In an attempt to cut down on laundry, the cats are not given blankies to lay and sleep on.
Please, if you are able to visit the shelter, do so, and make a point of asking to see the GI cats. Inquiries from the public will result in a swift and dramatic change in their living quarters. Take a camera. And if you are disturbed by what you see, contact PACC.

Ms. Spring feels that the "scooters", or paraplegic cats, are too unsightly to be permitted in the front rooms of the shelter, because they sometimes poop on the floor. Prior to purging the staff, outsourcing the cleaning to Jani-King, and getting rid of all the volunteer cleaners, this was not a problem. People were on hand to address these things as they came up, cleaning was a continual, ongoing process, as it would be in a real sanctuary, hospital, or home. It was not a big deal. Ms. Spring says she has previous hospice experience, so you think she'd get this. The scooters cats are not in any pain whatsoever, are highly mobile, very social, and quite popular. Now, all the scooters except Festus have been put in a room in the back out of sight. This room does not have the smooth tile floors of the front, but instead has rough concrete that abrades their legs. There used to be washable carpeting the staff could put over concrete to protect the legs of the scooters, but that has been thrown out and not replaced. Ms. Spring's solution? Have the techs wrap the legs of the hidden cats. Remove the climbing trees that Festus so enjoyed. And start proclaiming at loud intervals how inhumane it is to have paraplegic cats at the shelter. That way, when they disappear, no one will notice for a while, and then she can trot out her oft-used refrain "We're so sorry, but no one realized how much they were suffering..."

Just how bad is the Hermitage's financial situation? Only $32,000 remains in the operating fund, and the shelter requires $43,750 a month in expenses. The money market fund was decimated over the past few months. The Sponsor-a-Cat revenue is less than half what it was just months ago. Almost no funds are being generated from public donations. The Board is now in a position where it is having to tap the building fund for daily operational expenses. My projection is nine months of cash left, at this rate. And if another pipe bursts under the sagging floor of the ISO area, where the sewer pipe continues to leak, not even that much.

How does this compare with other Tucson animal groups? FAIR is adding kennel space to its facilities. Casa de los Gatos is thriving, and has multiple fundraisers every month. I get enthusiastic emails from volunteers who used to help out at the Hermitage, talking about how much they now enjoy being at HOPE.

Board members, you are killing a Tucson gem.

Ms. Spring's big new fundraising idea for the fall is an Indoor El Tour. A tidal wave of two people have signed up, bringing in a profit of $60 for the shelter, so it may end up surpassing the Litterbox Lariat as the Hermitage's primary source of income for the fall. With an annual operating budget of a half-million dollars, the funds raised from this event should pay for shelter operations for .012% (yes, the decimal is in the right place) of the yearly expenses.

This is a list of 64 dead Hermitage Cats put down between June 6 and July 28, the date put down, and the cause the Hermitage/Humane Society cited. This is part of what will be on the back of the T-shirts. There are additional cats not on this list, so the total killed since the purge of vet tech staff is greater than 64. If you are a sponsor, you may want to check for your cat, and see if you were charged for sponsorship after the date your sponsored cat was put down. If so, you may want to contact the IRS.
I am receiving emails from former techs, volunteers and visitors, telling me that cats listed are not feral, did not have the conditions listed, etc. For example, Blossom did not have manx cat syndrome, the reason she had no tail because she had been hit by a car, and it was amputated. Anyone who had bothered to read her medical chart would have known this.
I wonder how many of you reading this now would be euthanized if humans were put down for severe asthma, cystitis or ringworm or gum disease. This list was generated by the Hermitage and Humane Society, I did not edit anything on this, including their typos. I have only bolded some items to make it easier to read.

June 6	Bella	semi-feral/cystitis/urine retention
June 6	Sissy	uncontrolled seizures/poor BCS/cog dysfx
June 6	Jasper	renal failure/poor BCS
June 6	Christine	feral/stomatitis/atopy
June 6	Kes	feral/chronic uncontrolled inflamm disease
June 9	Puzzles	FELV+/chronic diarrhea/poor BCS
June 9	Fatso Catso	DM/deteriorating BCS
June 9	Kino	severe asthmatic
June 9	Riley	poor BCS/geriatric/CRF?
June 9	Jessie I	feral/geriatric/stomatitis/Depo induced DM
June 10	MacGuire	FIV+/stomatitis/chronic inflammatory disease
June 10	Buffy	FELV+/paraplegia/hx DM/chronic URI
June 10	Brutus	stomatitis/inflam skin disease/poor BCS
June 10	Mosby	chronic UTI/IBD/FIE
June 11	Annette	feral/stomatitis/CRF
June 11	Sam	severe stomatitis
June 11	Hoover	feral/stomatitis
June 12	Reebok	feral/stomatitis
June 12	Hitchcock	feral/severe stomatitis/rhinitis/URI
June 12	Bebe	feral/viscous/chronic stomatitis
June 12	Al	feral/chronic stomatitis/renal failure
June 12	Ranger	feral/stomatitis/rhinitis/URI
June 12	Malibu	feral/stomatitis
June 12	Ritmo	mega colon/impaction/feral
June 13	Tyrese	feral/stomatitis/rhinitis/URI
June 13	Robbie	20 year old/stomatitis/chronic rhinitis/FLUTI
June 13	Solomon	semi-feral/somtatitis/poss FLUTI history
June 13	Tiger	CRF/stomatitis
June 14	Dusty	geriatric/renal failure/ OA R hip/CV disease
June 14	Crum	chromic URI/stomatitis
June 14	Malachi	poor BCS/geraitric/prob CRF
June 14	Dasher	chronic inflammatory diz(stom/rhinitis/colon)
June 14	Danner	feral/stomatitis/rhinitis
June 14	No name	feral/stomatitis
June 17	Blue	BCS1/9 /severe weight loss/hepatobiliary?
June 17	Beatrice	felv+/feral/stomatitis/active URI
June 23	Smokey	hx LSA/chemo/chronic URI/ringworm carrier
June 27	Golden Boy	geriatric/stomatitis
June 27	Rags	geriatric/stomatitis/neoplasia?
June 27	Beta	feral/severe stomatitis
June 27	Dante	feral/stomatitis/other CV disease
June 27	Leta	GI lymphoma?/thickened SI/poor BCS/lethargic
June 27	Black Beauty	feral/severe stomatitis
June 30	No name feral	stomatitis/tongue sloughing
June 30	Rose	feral/severe stomatitis/rhinitis/URI
July 1	Stash	azotemia/poor BCS
July 1	Shooter	feral/severe stomatitis
July 2	Paterno	feral/stomatitis/URI
July 2	Johnny	feral/stomatitis
July 2	Xena	feral/severe stomatitis/poor BCS
July 2	Cash	feral/stomatitis/URI
July 3	Blossom	manx syndrome/chronic diarrhea/poor BCS
July 3	Pacey	hyperT4/stomatitis/rhinitis
July 7	Victor	semi-feral/osteomyelitis/stomatitis
July 7	Sebastian	feral/stomatitis/severe weight loss
July 9	Gromet	uncontrolled Stomatitis
July 10	Cannoli	FeLV+/large abdominal tumor/resp distress
July 14	Lucienne	feral/Stomatitis/chronic URI/rhinitis
July 15	HBC D/0	HBC/epistaxis/moribund/brain damage
July 18	Lolita	FeLV+/poorly controlled Stomatitis
July 22	Kenna	feral/stomatitis
July 22	Keesha	feral/Stomatitis
July 28	Blinky	FIV+/last eye w/melting ulcer/non resp Stomatitis
July 28	Digger	recurrent severe Stomatitis/loss after TME in 07/08

Litterbox Lariat is the big fall fund raiser for the Hermitage. Only this year, it's going to be the big fall fund loser. It does not require a CPA to understand why. Here's what the executive director has done:

Tickets to the event are $85, with $25 going directly to La Mariposa to pay for the dinners. Due to the low volume of response, the RSVP deadline was extended from October 15 to the 24th. As of Wednesday, sixty seats had been sold. That makes $3600 actually coming in. I received an email today that some people who bought tickets to the Lariat are now asking for their money back, but for the purposes of this exercise, we'll stay with the $3600.

La Mariposa was guaranteed the purchase of at least 50 dinners. Some people who purchsed those tickets are now asking for their money back. However, I'll be generous and leave the $3600 coming in as it is on that particulare item.

Room rent for the ballroom is in the neighborhood of $2,000, depending of course on how long the event lasts. Ginny Alexander, who arranged the event, was able to get Mariposa to comp that.

Worried that the coalition would have a protest, Ms. Spring has hired security for the event. There was much discussion of whether to use a simple security guard, or a more expensive off-duty police officer in uniform. It was decided the uniformed officer would be scarier and worth the additional cost. So there will be one uniformed officer for 5 hours at $30 an hour. Subtract $150 to get $3450. I hope they feed the officer a nice dinner beforehand, and he has an enjoyable evening. He may have the best evening of anyone there.

Ms. Spring has a penchant for very elaborate and costly cards and envelopes and graphics. Two sets of invitations were printed out, the first to a group of 500 people who had donated in the past. When there was not a response from that mailing, a second printing of 250 was done, and given to a Hermitage supporter to send to her personal mailing list, which was separate from the first. That mailing was done last Friday. The total seven hundred fifty invitations were printed and mailed at a cost of about $2,000. That brings the income down to $1450.

The admin assistant estimated that $200 so far had been spent on incidentals for the event (pins and ribbons to identify the attendees so the police officer would know who had a vetted ticket, etc.) Now the event is down to $1250.

There were two shelter workers whose work time was spent preparing for the event. The admin assistant estimates she spent 80 hours and the accountant 40 hours, before they resigned this week, and that Ms. Spring spent 4 hours. Assuming the admin and accountant make $9 per hour, that would be an in-house cost of $1080. Ms. Spring makes about $48,000, but she is salaried, and such a hard worker, that we'll assume that she put in her work for free. The lariat is now down to $170, and there are still additional incidental expenses that haven't been made yet.

The big money from this event has always come from the silent auction. Event coordinator Ginny Alexander had done a great job getting some very lovely donations for the auctions. Ginnie resigned Wednesday, as well as her husband Vern, who was on the Board, and took back her donations. While I did not directly witness the event, it is my understanding that the rest of the Hermitage items were placed outside the door of their residence, where they were finally retrieved by Board member Taylor Heidenheim. Independent of this incident, a second donor of many nice items was also displeased with what was happening at the shelter, and withdrew her items as well. So Ms. Spring is probably hoping against hope that first, there will be something left to bid on, and second, some benificent angel will be bringing his big checkbook and be generous. But the biggest purchaser of seats for the event has already withdrawn his support from the shelter once, for very good reasons.

Next article: projected profits from Ms. Spring's new fall fund raiser, the Indoor El Tour.

The front of the Save the Hermitage T-shirts will feature a list of former staff, or volunteers, your pick. Each person will also receive a laundry marker so they can add to the list as it grows. Since these are being done as individual iron-ons, if you are a person whose name actually appears on the T-shirt, you have the option of having your own name highlighted in red. As the former administrative admin informed me, the number of former staff from this year now stands at 56. (No wonder the Hermitage has contracted out its HR to a private company, they need one person dedicated solely to filling out W-2s). Due to the length of the list, there was some debate as to whether we should make this available as a T-shirt or a T-shirt style dress, but we finally decided to stick with the T-shirt, and encourage people to add new names to the sleeves.

From the Hermitage August Monthly Budget Report:

Merchandise Sales: $0
Continuous Fundraisers: $0
Sponsor-a-Cat (Businesses): $0
Bequests & Surviving Cat: $0
Grants: $0
Seraphim Circle: $0

Having a competent, hard-working fundraiser in charge: Priceless

Gentle Readers, please allow to me deviate this morning from the usual to address a specific individual. You may not completely follow the rest of this post, but details will be forthcoming.

Dick, please read this to Mary Jo. She used to have Paula do that every morning, but that's not going to work any more. You may need to move the dancing cat video off to the side of the screen, this morning is going to be rather full.

Is it quiet in the office this morning, Mary Jo? I bet it is, since both your administrative assistant and accountant resigned Thursday morning, and you are so lacking in basic office skills you can't take the messages off the answering machine. And after what's happened in the past 24 hours, it's probably pretty full. And according to the activity schedule for the remainder of October, you had them scheduled to work the Blessing of the Animals Tabling Event on Sunday, the KVOA Noon News Pet Spot on Monday, and you're scheduled to do the Martha Vasquez Show on Thursday.

Are you working hard today, Mary Jo? I bet you are, since the event coordinator for the Litterbox Lariat fundraiser, scheduled in 8 days, also resigned Wednesday night. I believe she spent a good portion of Thursday returning items for the silent auction (Just so you know, most non-profits actually contact vendors and ask them to DONATE items for auctions, instead of paying retail for them. That's why it's called a fundraiser). So it looks like the 60 RSVPs won't have anything much to bid on with their $20 credit. But that's really OK, because you signed that agreement committing to buy 100 dinners, no matter how few supporters actually show, so the people who do attend can really pile up on the seconds. And since a goodly portion of that 60 are actually tables purchased by donors that don't actually have real people to sit in them yet, there may even be third helpings. Does the uniformed security guard get to eat too? Don't you agree that it would have really been nice if at least the board members had all bothered to buy tickets? Especially now that there are only six board members left, since Vern also resigned from the Board on Wednesday night.

Any recently departed, or current Hermitage employee or Board member who has not already done so, and would like to talk to us, on or off the record, please email the webmaster. If you are new to the blog, and not sure who we are, please read the archives, and compare the information there with your personal experience. Trust your gut, and what you have seen and heard yourself.

Taylor Heidenheim, do you know of ANY other nonprofit organization in the US that has 50 banned volunteers? Does that not give you reason to stop and wonder for a moment? Tom Tulowitzski, it's been a year since you said bringing in Ms. Spring was going to improve the financial status of the shelter, and grant-writing was going to save the day. Has that happened? Ron Zack, you are an attorney. Are you aware that Ms. Spring attended the public September AWASA meeting as the Hermitage representative, and in front of representatives from animal rescue groups from all over southern Arizona, repeatedly called the Save the Hermitage Coalition "terrorists"? Judy Showers, you seek a more stable, positive environment for the Hermitage, ask yourself if Ms. Spring has treated you in a way consistent with that goal, and then think about how she must treat those in positions below her when a board member is not present. Kenna Smith, ask yourself if you would want to work for a director who had fired or forced out every single paid employee over the past year, and gone through five managers. And then remember you are the boss of that director -- what is your obligation?

It is tough enough to make a go of an animal rescue group in good times. The combination of the bad publicity brought on by Ms. Spring's July grandstanding with the press, the very bad economy, and the loss of volunteer labor at the shelter and for fundraising is leading to serious economic hard times. None of the plans for a mobile clinic or new facility has borne fruit. You are bleeding money and running out of time.

The Hermitage has traditionally aligned itself with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah, as the kind of organization it would like to be. Many Hermitage board members and staff have attended training there, and thought highly of them. They are independent and have no stake in what is happening here in Arizona. Ron Zack made clear you're not interested in using them as mediators, because you don't want to talk to us. But the board was not unanimous in that feeling, and a lot changes in three months. You do think highly of BFAS as an organization, and you must certainly realize that if you spoke to them in confidence, they would keep that confidence. What is the harm in asking them their opinion of your current situation, and what you can do to improve it? There is never anything to be lost by talking, and there is nothing to be lost by getting an outside perspective.

The Hermitage received some lovely publicity in the newspapers for their adopt-a-thon event this past weekend. Unfortunately, about 50 people were not able to attend and adopt a cat, donate to the food drive, or purchase tickets for the upcoming fundraiser. Why? Because they are all former Hermitage volunteers, which means they are not permitted to adopt, or enter the premises.

Board members, for goodness sake, has a single one of you actually called a single one of the volunteers who was banned, to ask for their side of the story? Or every single time, have you just accepted Ms. Spring's explanation? Fifty people are gone. Is that not astounding to you?

If you would like a Save the Hermitage T-shirt, complete with a list of dead and missing cats on the back, email the webmaster. Shirts will be provided at cost. Please include info on your size, and preference for long or short-sleeve. These shirts are de rigeur for Litterbox events.

Mary Jo Spring, Executive Director of the Hermitage, was on TV doing the usual Pet of the Week promotion. If you were not familiar with the details, then you may not have noticed that Ms. Spring was not able to remember the correct name for either the cat she had brought with her, or the Humane Society vet who provides services for the Hermitage. Orbit was a special needs, black-and-white cat with unique markings, and was adopted out several months ago. And that was certainly not him on TV. It is unclear whether Ms. Spring is just very confused, or the Hermitage continues to have a problem correctly identifying the few remaining cats.

Fred II, or "New Fred", the maintenance worker at the Hermitage is gone. That brings the staff turnover to 187% since last August. The Hermitage is a big, rambling, old building, with many add-ons, and several outlying buildings as well, and the Board never saw fit to address the multiple building code violations, "because we're going to be starting on the new facility real soon". This has gone on for years. And when Fred Yost, who was the full-time maintenance worker, was sidelined by a back injury last year, the Hermitage hired "New Fred" on only a part-time basis. When Fred Yost recovered from his back surgery, and was released by his doctor as being ready to reurn to work, the Hermitage told him that they had hired someone else to fill his position, and it wouldn't be right to let the new part-time person go. Fred Yost also offered to work part-time, which would have brought the position back up to one full-timer, but that fell on deaf ears. And now there is no one doing the work. One wonders what the city inspector would find if they went there now.

Below is the unedited letter from Becky Zimmerman to the board about her experience about joining the ranks of the banned volunteers.

---------------------------------

I am writing this letter to warn you about the inappropriate and threatening behavior of one of your employees at the Hermitage Cat Shelter. On Thursday, September 17, 2008, I went to the Hermitage as usual to scoop, clean and cuddle. After I'd been there for about 45 minutes, I was told that Rosalie wanted to see me. I went back to the office, knocked on the door and was told to come in.  When I opened the door, Rosalie, Mary Jo and Paula were all sitting at their desks.  Rosalie looked up and said that the shelter was no longer using volunteers.  I was confused as I was not the only volunteer in the shelter that morning but I seemed to be the only one being singled out. She said she was sorry I had come in but they had tried to call me, and the phone number I had given them didn't work; the phone just rang and rang. When I protested this possibility and stated that it would have been nice if they had called because I come in from Vail, she just kept insisting that they had tried but got no response. I find it impossible to see how that could be accurate. I adopted two cats from the shelter in the past three and a half months, one on June 15th and one on July 10th. I wrote my phone number on the application form for both adoptions. I guess it’s possible that Rosalie forgot that after the first adoption, she called me, at the same number, to see how my new adoptee was doing.

As I was leaving the office I told Rosalie that it was the shelter’s loss that I would no longer be welcome. On the way back through the house to retrieve my water bottle and say goodbye to people I’ve been friendly with, I met another volunteer and told her what happened. Then I went to ask Debbie about a cat in ISO who I wanted to adopt because I have a good record with very shy cats.  She asked me to step into ISO for a second so she could get my phone number and update me on this cat’s progress.  Just as I was reaching for the door to leave ISO, Rosalie burst through the door and started screaming at me to get out.

She screamed "YOU ARE NEVER ALLOWED IN ISO.  NOW GET OUT!” Then she threatened, “I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT AND YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE WHEN I TOLD YOU.  GET OUT BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE."

I have never been subjected to such raving before, at anytime in my life, and I was shocked and shaken when I left. I wonder what would happen if I called the police to report Rosalie’s verbal assault. I also wonder how many others have been subjected to her tirades. And lastly, I wonder how long you, The Board, will allow this to continue. Maybe until you have a lawsuit on your hands?

Sincerely,
Becky Zimmerman

The Hermitage website has a new page that states: "The Hermitage offers programs that help our precious animals live long and healthy lives." There are links to detailed information on several programs, and one very interesting omission: the much-maligned Barn Cat Program. Has the Barn Cat Program been cancelled? Is this a tacit admission that it didn't help cats live long and healthy lives? Or was it perhaps simply too embarrassing to discuss publicly?

This time last year, there were over 300 cats at the Hermitage. If you go to the redone hermitage website, it appears they only have 27 cats available for adoption, and I can see from the photos posted that even some of those cats are no longer there. The number of cats cared for at the shelter used to be proudly included in the introductory paragraph. Now this number is mentioned nowhere on the site -- from the few photos shown, you'd think the Hermitage was a very small facility, not an organization with a $500,000 yearly budget. How many cats are at the shelter?

In the September Hermitage newsletter, there is a section asking for donations for special kitty carts for the paraplegic cats at a cost of $1,200. The idea is that the cats would be better able to get around, and avoid getting sores and ulcers on their legs where they come into contact with the floor. It does sound like a postive.

The problem here is that because the Board let the Executive Director purge all the previous staff, there has a been a huge loss of collective knowledge about what has already been tried, and what worked and what didn't work. Guess what, carts had already been purchased for exactly this purpose, at considerable cost, and tried. And while it was a nice idea that might work in a home setting, what the staff found was that in a setting with many other cats, it didn't work, the carts disturbed the other cats a great deal. And because unlike dogs, paraplegic cats are also enthusiastic climbers, it created additional hazards. If the Hermitage wants to reinvent the cat cart wheel with its new staff, that's fine, but why do they need new carts to try it out? Unless they threw out the veterinary supplies along with the vet techs?