A little over one year ago, Jackie Rose, Director of Multnomah County Animal Services, claimed status as “one of the top premier organizations in the country, if not in the Pacific Northwest.” Within days, County Chair Deborah Kafoury echoed those claims. Chair Kafoury should have waited for the results of the on-going audit before putting her own credibility at risk. That audit, the Multnomah County Animal Services Audit Report issued on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 is now available to the public and Chair Kafoury at https://multco.us/auditor/animal-services-important-issues-still-need-be-resolved. It demonstrates that the agency remains far from the “top premier” status claimed by Ms. Rose and Chair Kafoury. Designed to evaluate the agency’s responses to recommendations issued in 2016, the 2018 audit demonstrated that many failures of policies and practices continue. Among the specific findings, the audit documented that: (a) The agency does not provide daily enrichment (social contact with people, mental stimulation, and physical activity) and, as a result, creates long-term stress on the animals that leads to serious medical issues and behavior problems; (b) The agency’s processes for evaluating animals’ behavior is inconsistent, unclear and poorly documented, failings that can lead to biases in decision –making; (c) The information posted by the agency and needed by people seeking to be reunited with their pets continues to be inadequate, inaccurate, and insufficient; (d) There is insufficient data to determine whether the agency is meeting its “live release rate” goals; and (e) In order to provide the transparency needed for accountability, the agency should make its records accessible online by the public. Ms. Rose has had adequate time to correct these failings and provide adequate daily enrichment for the animals, to establish the practices needed for documentation of decisions about animals’ behavior and their fates, and to provide the on-line access to the records need to reunite animals and owners and allow the public and the County Commission to assure accountability. She has failed and should be replaced. Then, and only then, will there be a chance that this agency will deserve the premier status that this region deserves, a shelter in which animal welfare and animals’ lives count. Gail O’Connell-Babcock, Ph.D ---- MCAS Director Jackie Rose's optimistic presentation in February 2017 to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners: https://multco.us/multnomah-county/news/animal-services-exceeds-national-standards-live-release-rates-lays-out Backup link to the 2018 Audit: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1c8Tfxbxe7dOORn9lG7LL1Dp0vlT8lM82