Good Morning
It has been one week since the Northumberland Humane Society ( NHS) Board & Executive Director dismissed General Manager Shanika Suriya without notice, opportunity for discussion or the ability to say goodbye to her team .
After two years of dedicated service this action has caused great suffering to Shanika and appears to be in direct contravention of the NHS Mission Statement.
Our Mission Statement
The Northumberland Humane Society (NHS) is a charitable community resource dedicated to protecting and providing temporary shelter and comfort to all animals in need and promoting adoption and rehoming for abused, abandoned, neglected and unwanted companion animals.
We promote humane treatment of all living things and work within the law to respond to and investigate all complaints of cruelty and neglect. The Northumberland Humane Society endeavors to eliminate cruelty and over population and we support the principle that no person has the right to cause pain or suffering to a living creature.
The fact that the Board and Executive Director had no replacement or transition plan in place has left current staff overwhelmed, unsupported and the animals at the shelter in questionable care.
This action has left many community partners, volunteers, supporters and advocates feeling confused, disappointed and questioning the stability of the NHS.
Many have pulled financial support.
The lack of transparency provided to members and the public at large needs to be addressed.
There are numerous dogs currently in the shelter, some who have come in through the contract with Municipal Animal Services, that are bite risks. The lack of trained and experienced staff leaves people and animals at risk of injury.
On November 13th the NHS Shelter sent out an email requesting help in caring for the animals, a daily requirement that should be covered by trained staff.
The NHS shelter had a closed sign on their door on Monday November 14th and Tuesday November 15th, which also puts them in breach of their agreements with both The Town of Cobourg and The Municipality of Port Hope.
We are requesting a review into the board's policies and procedures around the dismissal of Shanika Suriya, working conditions for current staff and status of care for all of the animals in the NHS shelter.
We have included images of a couple dog cages taken on Tuesday November 15th and have video of two dogs in one cage due to a lack of space, this puts both dogs at risk. * included is a still image from video which has been sent to both Cobourg & Port Hope and the NHS.
We ask Executive Director Henny Venus to explain why he has not been on site to ensure the shelter remains open and the staff and volunteers are supported and animals are receiving the best care.