Hi all, I wanted to let you know that we now have 1428 signatures on this petition. Thank you so much for your support!
Here is more clarity on the questions and issues we are asking him to address. He keeps saying to wait for a new City Council in January. Well, the animals that may be sick, and those that may be euthanized before January, can't wait for a new City Council. In fact, there are changes that he can make now, and they do not require approval from City Council.
COPY THIS & EMAIL TO: rgusciora@trentonnj.org
Mayor:
-Why are you allowing Officer Munoz to create an unsafe environment where volunteers are not given access to the dog's complete behavior records and medical history?
-Why did Officer Munoz remove the color-coding system that TAR put in place so that volunteers could see which dogs could be walked and handled?
-Are the walkie-talkies still being used by volunteers?
-Why can't volunteers see the dog board?
-Why are the volunteer "point people" being allowed to mistreat other volunteers despite multiple volunteers complaining about them?
-Why is Judy claiming that Yvette said she is the only person allowed to contact rescues to save a dog's life? You have an overcrowded shelter. How does this make sense? You need more help, not less. We thought it was "about the animals"? Why does Judy care who gets a rescue involved?
-Why are your volunteer "point people" allowed to dictate rules when all volunteers were told at orientation that no volunteer is above another? To be clear, the "point people" we are talking about are Terry, Judy and Lisa.
-Why is the shelter not accommodating volunteers who have special needs?
-Why are you allowing your "point people" and Officer Munoz to ignore immediate and direct assistance from Trenton Animals Rock?
-Why is Officer Munoz ignoring and delaying OPRA requests? They are all well past the 7 days typically given to respond.
-Will you let Trenton Animals Rock pull Rocky and Alexa if another rescue can't be found so they can be euthanized in a loving environment with volunteers who can actually handle them?
-Will you open up the kennels to the public again and allow people to freely enter?
-Can you be more transparent and allow photos and videos to be taken freely inside the shelter?
-Can you please disclose your behavior assessment and correction policy including who is performing them and what is done if an animal "fails"?
-Will you respond to volunteers who have repeatedly emailed you about dogs that have lost a lot of weight and appear to have worms?
-Where are the 12+ dogs that you moved to boarding? We are told it's Yardley Kennels in Yardley, PA and that the city has offered them money to build more kennels. If this is true, where is this money coming from?
-Did all the dogs that were transferred to the boarding facility receive the proper medical clearance to cross state lines into PA?
-Are all of the dogs being dewormed properly?
These are commonsense questions, and any true animal advocate would want the answers to them. It doesn't have to be combative. If you're doing everything well, then answering them all should be easy! And if some of them are incorrect, correct us! We're here for it.
Making these recommended changes would make the shelter a safer and more welcoming place for people and animals. There are a lot of current volunteers offering a lot more help. They should be utilized and not shut out. The shelter is overcrowded and needs all the help it can get.
SUPPORTERS: We encourage you to copy and paste this post and send it directly to rgusciora@trentonnj.org and ask him to respond to each point and not to simply use his boiler plate response. City Council does not need to respond to - or address - the issues above.
Please also copy:
jmunoz@trentonnj.org
ygraffie-cooper@trentonnj.org
alopez@trentonnj.org
wbridges@trentonnj.org
acruz@trentonnj.org
aliston@trentonnj.org
Please also ask all your friends and family to sign today: https://chng.it/vn7H9RG58B
Thank you!