On Monday morning, I started as the Director at this shelter.
By 8:00 AM, I was balancing myself on the front counter, tearing down the old COVID plexiglass and ripping up “stay 6 ft apart” signs. My first act was to remove the physical barriers between the community and us.
Because to me, an animal shelter should feel like a place people want to walk into and stay. But a day into my job, my world came to a stop.
I’m going to be direct with you: This shelter is in a fight for its life.
I started working in animal shelters in 2003, and I have never seen a situation this dire. We aren’t just “underwater,” we are at the bottom of the ocean. We are carrying a significant amount of inherited debt to our vendors.
It’s so bad that vendors have shut us down. On Wednesday night, we couldn’t place an order for basic medical supplies due to outstanding unpaid bills. Aside from our mortgage, my wife and I live debt-free. Finding out that I’m now responsible for a “ball of debt” this massive, including one bill for almost $100,000, more accruing monthly interest, tore a hole in my gut.
I’ve had young employees in past jobs sit in my office over their personal debt, and I realize now I never truly understood their pain. I do now. It’s ridiculously overwhelming to say the least.
But I’m not here to point fingers or dwell on the past. I’m here to save animals and to fix this quickly.
We are already moving at lightning speed to fix the “human-made” problems:
- Opening the doors: Clearing clutter from the lobby, setting up a visible retail area for retail merchandise that had been in a closet, and replacing loud music in the kennels with music made specifically for shelter animals. I also made it easy for the public to leave Google reviews, good or bad, right from the front counter, because transparency matters.
- Strengthening accountability: Reviewing staff pay inconsistencies, creating a new internal budget from scratch, tightening approval processes so every dollar spent is tracked and intentional, and implementing a new written procedure for cat and dog enrichment.
- Prioritizing people: Reopening volunteer access to the back of the shelter that had been “off-limits” for years, making leadership less accessible. My office door is open, and I want people to feel that. Come back and see me anytime. And I’m 87% through my one-on-one meetings with every team member in this building.
Here’s the bottom line: The animals don’t know about the debt. They just know they are hungry, they need medical care, and they need a home. That care can’t pause while we work to fix our accounts payable. I’ve seen communities move mountains when they know the truth. So, this is the truth today. We have no cushion. We are operating on nothing. We need your help more than ever.
How you can help right now:
ADOPT A UTILITY BILL: It goes without saying that keeping the power on in medical for surgery and the lights on for our animals is at the very top of our list. By “adopting” a utility bill, you ensure our furry residents stay safe and comfortable while we work through our arrears.
CLEAR A MEDICAL DEBT: Our medical suppliers have carried us for too long, and we owe it to these valuable partners to make them whole. We need to clear this slate so we can keep our focus where it belongs: on the animals.
REPLENISH THE PHARMACY: We can’t do our work appropriately if we can’t stock our medical supply shelves. When you donate to “stock the pharmacy,” you help us purchase drugs that keep our animals healthy and ready for adoption, and you also help us avoid another bill we can’t pay right now.
DONATE: Every dollar goes directly to daily operations: food, medical care, and keeping the lights on. We need to show our vendors that we can pay our way and that the days of not paying bills are over. https://givebutter.com/donations-wafvu5
ADOPT OR FOSTER: We will be eliminating the appointment adoption model, thus putting animals in homes faster and eliminating yet another COVID holdover. And I’ve been very vocal about getting more cats in the building ASAP. Until we do, we need help clearing the dog kennels to help lower our day-to-day costs.
ENGAGE: I believe in radical honesty and transparency. Whether it’s a 5-star review of our progress or a 1-star review of where we still need to be better, we want to hear it. Come see the changes for yourself.
I’m here for the animals, and I’m here for my team that has stolen my heart, and I’ve only been here for four short days.
I won’t rest until this debt is at zero and this shelter is a place we can all be proud of.
But I need you to stand with me, with my team, with the animals.
Because failure now is not an option for any of us. And it shouldn’t be for you either.
With honesty and focus, Doug
