The announcement last week that Wade Sadler, interim director of MCAS, is Multnomah county’s finalist for selection as permanent director is shocking because Mr. Sadler’s management style for the last 9 months of his tenure is disqualifying. His leadership style has been autocratic and bullying towards staff, volunteers, rescues, and citizens, many from the county’s most vulnerable populations with concerns about which he has neither demonstrated interest nor acknowledgement. All protections, the normal expected external checks and balances, have been removed.  

For example:  

• Once, owners who had surrendered their impounded dogs while in a state of emotional distress were permitted to re-claim them with the appropriate infraction ticket and corrective restrictions if a violation had occurred. Now, within minutes, they have no right to reclaim. It is entirely up to the director’s discretion. There are no rights to appeal.

• Experienced rescues are forbidden to appeal euthanasia decisions by the Shelter Review Committee, a group of in-house managers with limited animal behavior backgrounds or rehabilitation experience.   MCAS now permits no discussion and refuses to listen to options that will save animals’ lives without any risk to the public. In every case a process that will save lives has been replaced by policies dictated by a corrupting absolute power.  

People, especially public servants, who do not care about the views of constituents become worse, more secure in their unchecked power. That is what lies ahead.  

Many, perhaps the majority, if not the majority in this community, reject the view that sheltering is an industry.  The products, the animals, are sentient. The view that adoption returns are collateral damage and not the responsibility of the shelter management is also rejected.  The $19,000 study Humane Network research study was sought to reduce returns and improve adoption screening. Mr. Sadler’s approach is different. Instead of addressing the concern he creates an optical illusion. He makes the concern disappear by when calculating percentage returns using the intake total, an incorrect denominator instead of the adoption total.  

The focus is achieving high adoption numbers by every means possible.  The business practice of giving away free or nearly free animals at the end of the year exists to improve the end of year numbers, at high cost to the animals returned as damaged goods and then labeled “unadoptable.”

The system of selecting the director of MCAS is rigged, secretive, and alarming.   Major stake holders such as staff, volunteers, homeless advocates, veterinarians, rescues, and activists are excluded. Membership in the Citizens Advisory Committee is t the discretion of the director. This creates a committee beholden to the director, not one beholden to the citizens it serves.   

None of the qualities needed by the MCAS director are apparent from Mr. Sadler’s behavior and background. His entire shelter training has been under the tutelage of Jackie Rose, a controversial director, who after 2 audits with low animal welfare marks, left the county.  Low staff and volunteer morale, constant staff and volunteer departures still mark this agency’s history. Toxic levels of shelter stress remain unresolved, deaths are escalating. And animals continue to be labeled “unhealthy and untreatable” when that is not supported in the record. They are just inconvenient and then killed to ostensibly “keep the community safe” when they are no different than animals who live safely with responsible families. The public records document that fact. It is also indisputable that staff and volunteers suffer emotional trauma when unnecessary deaths become commonplace.

The  search committee has neither sought out  nor consulted  with the most successful proponents of progressive humane sheltering: Nathan Winograd of the No Kill Advocacy Center (www.nokilladvicacycenter.org the Koret Shelter Medicine Program at the University of California, Davis campus, the Calgary, Canada’s Model Shelter Program, or Best Friends. All of these offer to work alongside shelters to improve practices.  Why not here?

The individual selected as director will set the course of Multnomah County’s approaches to animal issues for as long as the next 20 years. He or she will set the future and fates of citizens and homeless animals in this county.   That individual will set the governance, philosophy and agenda for the entire community and for the agency’s demographic, largely a vulnerable, racial minority, and impoverished one.  It is a serious matter, with consequences that are far reaching.   

The selection process must pause and be reopened only after all stakeholders are provided the right to have their views heard and honored.  This search matters and it will affect animals and sheltering in Multnomah county for years to come.

Gail O’Connell-Babcock, PhD
Citizens for Humane Animal Legislation/Watchdog 

Regarding: MCAS director search

Demand from Multnomah county that the search for Animal Services Director be re-opened, be fair, honest, and honor this community’s values. Citizens have demanded humane sheltering in Multnomah county since 2000 (2000 Multnomah County Animal Control Task Force Findings attached). That promise has never been fulfilled. It is under threat now. The finalist selection of Wade Sadler, an individual who lacks the skills, temperament, and integrity to serve as director in a multi ethnic progressive community, should be rejected; the process re-opened, inclusive, and include all community stakeholders.

Contact Information

Jamie Waltz, Interim Director, Multnomah County Community Services E-mail  jamie.waltz@multco.us, Telephone (503) 988-7968

Marissa Madrigal. Chief Operating Officer
E-mail marissa.d.madrigal@multco.us, Telephone (503) 988-3292

Multnomah County Board of Commissioners

Deborah Kafoury, County Chair,
E-mail  mult.chair@multco.us Telephone (503) 988-3308

Sharon Meieran, District 1,
E-mail  district1@multco.us Telephone (503) 988-5220

Susheela Jayapal, District 2,
E-mail  district2@multco.us Telephone (503) 988-5219

Jessica Vega Pederson, District 3,
E-mail district3@multco.us, Telephone (503) 988-5217

Lori Stegmann, District 4,
E-mail  district4@multco.us Telephone (503) 988-5213

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A Short Peoples History on the selection of Animal Services Directors_ 1995 -2019:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1arxj7qRSmgDHeKCdpWQ15l7LEzIVHLLC

2000 Citizens 'Task Force Report:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1arxj7qRSmgDHeKCdpWQ15l7LEzIVHLLC