Brock Animal Services is no longer providing compassionate, effective and efficient care for our animals. We demand better for the animals under their care.

In the last 3 years, 4 staff members have been let go without cause in a 5 person department.

The staff members that we as the community would see out securing injured animals, picking up food donations, visiting owners of the “road runners” - all gone.

The staff members willing to give of their time outside work and make the effort during work to put animal welfare first - all pushed out.

The shelter is currently understaffed and the remaining staff members do not seem to care enough to prioritize animals welfare by doing the bathroom breaks, enrichment, and socialization work for animals at the shelter.

The current shelter staff does not feel that, while they are doing Bylaw shifts, they need to let the dogs out for a bathroom break / enrichment or provide them with fresh food or water. Often leaving dogs from 3:30pm until 8am the next day (14 and a half hours) without a break from their small kennels. It is outrageous to choose aimless patrolling or bylaw complaints such as property standards over animal welfare.

One of the remaining staff members left a cat named Hope with a completely shattered leg (which later had to be amputated) in pain and without vet care because she didn’t want to pay for after hours vet costs or administer available pain meds herself.

Multiple remaining staff members refused to enter a kennel to treat an injured dog named Alex.

The supervisor failed to disclose her close relationship with a third party complainant and then terminated a long-term staff member and failed to renew the contract of another officer in response to the complaint. (A third party complaint about these animal lovers soliciting the voluntary surrender of neglected and malnourished animals during their own personal time).

We have watched the heart and soul of this shelter be forced out in order to make room for friends and for people who will put convenience and saving money above animal welfare.

And the truth is - we are losing faith in Brock Animal Shelter.

We demand better:
✔️ behaviour from our government,
✔️ services for our taxpayer money, and ✔️ compassion for our animals.

What needs to happen to ensure this is achieved?

� Improve oversight for Brock Animal Services;

� Hire a compassionate and experienced Supervisor or Manager for the shelter;

� Publicly release a consistent hiring and firing policy (including disciplinary escalation and termination criteria) for Brock Township staff;

� Publicly disclose a comprehensive set of minimum animal care requirements including but not limited to:
⁃ policy requiring immediate vetting of all seriously injured or ill animals;
⁃ consistent provision of pain control for all animals in pain;
⁃ when in doubt decisions on pain levels and severity of injury should always be made by a vet; and
⁃ consistent guidelines of time spent in kennels without interaction, fresh food & water and bathroom breaks.

� better training for all staff members (including the head of bylaw / animal services) including but not limited to:
⁃ onboarding training for all staff;
⁃ basic understanding of all Township of Brock bylaws that impact animals, the provincial PAWS act, the Pounds Act and any relevant federal regulations;
⁃ proper ethics and governance for a public body;
⁃ proper care and treatment of animals;
⁃ assessing pain and making emergency triage decisions;
⁃ basic behavioural assessment and how to handle various behavioural issues;
⁃ policies on vaccines, fixing of animals and vetting for injuries and illness; and
⁃ proper adoption policies and procedures.

Please join us in calling for major changes at Brock Animal Services.

#savingbrockanimals