Diane Madigan, appearing as a private citizen at the Aug. 17 meeting of the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees, urged the board to immediately close the shelter and suspend the animal control officer.
“We cannot condone or cover up inhumane treatment of our animals and incompetent record-keeping practices,” Madigan said, referring to recent complaints about the animal control situation.
She said she requested from VBT under the Freedom of Information Act, required Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) records and Department of Agriculture records, including admission and discharge date of any animal picked up with a description, length of stay at the shelter, and euthanized animals.
“I’ve been told that these legally required records do not exist,” Madigan said. “I’ve also been told that the cost of maintaining this animal-dumping facility is $105,000.”
Madigan reminded the board that a year earlier she stood before them to complain about Animal Control Officer Robert Queener’s torturous euthanasia he performed on her neighbor’s pet, a yellow Lab Mix.
She said after that meeting, she discovered Officer Queener was not certified or trained in the use of the Schedule II DEA controlled euthanasia serum, sodium pentobarbital.
She said at that time, the township did not have a public safety director, so she and her husband met with Captains Greg Laurain and Kenneth Brooks.
“They told us that when Al Ostrowski was animal control officer, he was the best they ever had and probably the best they ever will have.
“They admitted that they had not supervised Officer Queener as Al had trained him.
“Al had over 40 hours of sodium pentobarbital training at the Michigan Humane Society and was and is certified in its usage.
“They said that they would stop euthanasia until Officer Queener was certified in the usage of this deadly narcotics and ‘Go by the Book’,” Madigan said.
The animal control department is under the supervision of Captain Laurain.
Madigan said over the past month she heard several complaints from citizens about narcotic-filled darts being left at the scene of an animal capture, gunshots heard at the shelter, drowning of cats, the smells of dead, rotting dogs coming from the dumpster at the animal shelter, and Animal Control Officer Queener boarding his personal pet at the shelter while taxpayers pay him overtime to visit.
She said she started reading “That Book” that the captains referred to and forwarded information on DEA requirements and Michigan law regarding illegal dumping of animals’ bodies in the dumpster and mandatory record keeping.
Madigan’s neighbor on Bak Road, Phyllis McLenon, told the board about how the Yellow Lab died in agony after Queener gave an incorrect shot.
“I am an animal lover and I speak for my friends,” McLenon said.
Public Safety Director Carl McClanahan said the incident with the Yellow Lab happened several years ago and since then Queener was trained in the use of the euthanasia drug.
He showed irritation that Madigan had filed a “half dozen FOIA requests” over the past week or so. (The township had requested additional time beyond the 5 days allowed to comply with the FOIA request.)
He told her she would get the FOIA response the next day and, “We are complying and being completely transparent.”
Director McClanahan said, “We’ve written a mission statement,” but did not offer to share it.
“I have no intention of closing the dog pound without a direct order from the Supervisor,” McClanahan stated. There was no comment from Supervisor Paul White.
Resident John Delaney responded to McClanahan’s statement that the Yellow Lab incident was old: “Let’s talk about incidents on your watch.”
He reminded McClanahan of the dog in the dumpster and the dog in the freezer and, “shoulders were shrugged.”
He said it has taken six weeks for the complaints about the animals to be heard.
McClanahan said when there was a report of the dog in the dumpster, it was investigated immediately.
“We found out what happened and corrected that issue,” he said. “The gun shot at the dog pound. We had a statement … I’m not saying a shot wasn’t fired at the dog pound. We don’t know… The statement and police report will be released to Mrs. Madigan tomorrow.”
Resident Joannie Wazney said to Director McClanahan, “You said things are being looked into. When will we know what your investigation has found? Also, is the animal control officer still working there? Is he still using the same methods? I’m anxiously awaiting the results…”
McClanahan replied that he did research and wrote a mission statement and the records will be reviewed by several supervisors. He added the report will be ready within 30 days.
Resident Pam Ruff said she lives next door to the animal shelter. She heard gunshots at the shelter on July 19 and did not immediately call police.
She said she’s been told many times by police officers that they shoot cats there and sometimes drown them in five-gallon buckets. She said one day she heard a cat screeching and went over to find a soaking wet cat with a bullet in its head.
July 19 was on a Monday and by Wednesday there was a smell so bad that her husband went over to see what it was and found a decomposing dog half out of a trash bag in the dumpster.
She said she called police and an officer came over to the shelter and didn’t open the gate. He said it would be taken care of by Waste Management.
Ruff said Waste Management couldn’t get in when it came to collect the trash and so the dog continued the stinking all day.
Ruff said she went to the police department and Officer Roy Schroeder said he would take care of it. By then, the dog was leaking out of the bag, she said.
“If you were living next door, you wouldn’t say it was taken care of right away,” Ruff said.
She said between about 1996 and 2000, the township shots cats.
Trustee Jeff Jahr objected to the discussion of the animal control problem during a board meeting and told Ruff to talk to Director McClanahan. Ruff replied that she tried to talk to the director.
“The Supervisor should tell the director to talk to you,” Jahr said.
“I don’t feel it was handled right,” Ruff said.
Editor’s Note: Diane Madigan is vice-chairman of the VBT Public Safety Committee and runs a VBT ranch where police dogs and other dogs are trained. Joannie Wazney is one of the principals in the Buster Foundation, a rescue group for bully dogs. The DEA will be out on Sept. 17 to inspect the township’s records.