(Image: Animals still available for adoption at APA Olivette)

Dear APA MO,

We reach out today as fierce APA advocates, animal lovers, and admirers of the impossible work you all do. We have donated hundreds of dollars to the APA, adopted beloved animals from the APA, and the writer of this letter attempted to volunteer at the Brentwood location but did not last even one day due to the emotional strain of what you all do. 

With that deep respect and admiration in mind, today we share grave concerns over the APA electing to return control of the Olivette shelter to St. Louis County, which are clearly shared by many. The website notes it was the APA's decision to back out of the five-year $16 million contract early and that "we were hired to turn around a struggling shelter, which we did successfully."

If true that your efforts will be better served elsewhere, why the mad dash to adopt out all animals remaining at the Olivette location before the county reassumes control? If you truly believe the Director of DPH and the County Executive's statement that they will operate the shelter "according to the tenets of Socially Conscious Animal Sheltering," that they will not mismanage the facility all over again, resulting in the needless deaths and abuse of hundreds of animals, why the rush? 

There are multiple red flags that the county does not intend to continue proper shelter protocols, which cast doubt on the hope that anyone is being truthful about animal welfare as top priority. First, the county plans to cease all volunteer operations and programming, which is utterly insane. Second, the APA itself has admitted the county has not shared its plans for operating the shelter after the transition on February 21 and is therefore attempting to remove all animals before they take over. That does not square with the public statement of having successfully turned around a struggling shelter that will maintain in the APA’s absence. Third, the county has already lied about not considering shelter-wide euthanasia upon reassuming control when the Post-Dispatch obtained a contingency plan and emails indicating that they were. 

Nobody believes the county’s statement, "the welfare of the animals is our highest priority." Our guess is you don't either. 

Any one of these would be reason enough to stall or cease the transition all together, let alone all three before the county has even taken back operations. Returning animals to government officials who have made it clear by action that they have no intention of following appropriate sheltering protocols is complicit in the needless execution, abuse, and mismanagement of hundreds of animals. 

The APA’s efforts to shelter as many animals as possible elsewhere in the meantime are admirable, but does not absolve it of responsibility for what is to come. What about all the animals that come after, who will be left in the county's abysmal, lethal care? 

Further, due to lack of transparency around how and why the transition is occurring on the part of both the APA and the county, supporters who should have a say have little time to organize and take constructive action.

We don't know the real reasons the APA backed out of the contract, but it is our hope that this beloved organization does not become yet another cautionary tale of money and greed. The animals and your constituents who believe in you, your employees and volunteers who work tirelessly for you, deserve better.

Therefore our ask is this: the website FAQ notes it was the APA's decision to conclude the contract early. If true, that implies the APA has the power to reverse it. We urge you to exercise that power, forgo the decision to return control of APA Olivette to the county and finish out the contract properly. At the very least, we ask that you stall the transition for at least three months until more constructive conversation can be had and action taken. 

We also deserve real answers and transparency as the why the contract was terminated early. To make this decision with no input from the community served is unfair and unjust. 

Journalists, lawyers, and concerned citizens are watching, hopeful that the right thing will be done.

With concern, but ultimately love and respect,

 -Your devoted community