Something is rotten at the Humane Rescue Alliance

As we turn toward spring, one of the saddest stories I've heard is how the Humane Rescue Alliance -- the largest animal welfare organization in the DMV -- terminated five dedicated volunteers for "unprofessional conduct" aka speaking Truth to Power at the end of last year. Several others were dismissed at intervals. Then I heard the news today that HRA has terminated an additional 20 volunteers. As a donor, I am very disappointed that a non-profit charitable organization, which depends so much on volunteers, would retaliate in such a spiteful way -- for both the volunteers' and the animals' sakes.

For those readers who are not pet people, HRA has a contract with the District Government to perform animal control services. It has a virtual monopoly on welfare/shelter services for DC residents. The CEO makes $387,000+, and these volunteers had the temerity to ask for improvements in the shelter animals' living conditions (cleanliness) and quality of life in general (outdoor walks, playtime, behavioral training), more resources to hire/train staff to care for them, and restoration of low-cost spay/neuter/vaccine services for the general public's pets.

After six months of trying to work through the chain of command and being fobbed off, or promised things that never materialized, or being told every shelter was experiencing the same sort of overcrowding problems, several volunteers felt compelled to tell their stories to"The DCist" and NPR's WAMU-FM. The volunteers still sought meetings with senior management, then leadership -- making informed suggestions, as experienced volunteers often do at non-profits. In response, HRA hosted two controlled roundtable "discussions" for 10 attendees each.

Finally, last October, 42 current and former volunteers signed a respectful letter to the CEO and Board of Directors, outlining their concerns, offering recommendations, and sharing a list of on-the-ground priorities. The letter's content ranged from unsanitary conditions to hiring/training more staff, from transparent euthanasia policies to "warehousing" overflow dogs, to missed medications, no outdoor time, and the loss of low-cost medical services to DC residents' pets.

Other volunteers shared the same concerns, but were afraid to sign. Their fears were well-founded. Speaking Truth to Power is never easy. No matter how well-intentioned the constructive criticism, HRA dismissed years of hard work and commitment with a snap of its fingers. As a donor, I believe the measurement of a charitable organization's worthiness is partly in the way it treats its volunteers -- with respect for them, and for the time and commitment they make.

Meanwhile, the Board expressed its full confidence in the CEO for day-to-day management, seeing no need to get involved in the nitty-gritty because they are focused on the "big picture." That's all fine and good, until the organization's daily dysfunction undermines the very "big picture" mission and values that the Board has an obligation to uphold and protect! As donors, we deserve accountability for the use of our hard-earned money.

I do not know all the details, but this is what I do know, based on HRA's own website, posts, and my own experiences and observations.

HRA often refers to an "unprecedented influx" of animals since the pandemic, yet has not offered low-cost spay/neuter services to the general public since September 2019, well before the pandemic shutdown in March 2020. That means 4+ years of unwanted/unplanned-for litters of puppies and kittens. Dog and cat pregnancies only last 9 weeks with multiple pregnancies each year, and litters can range from 4-6 offspring. Do the math. Spay/Neuter programs are proven, humane animal population management tools. Many shelters nationwide resumed low-cost spay/neuter services during summer 2021, right after Covid vaccines became widely available, but not HRA. Does HRA ever consider how its elimination of low-cost spay/neuter contributed to this "unprecedented influx" of animals to its shelter? How many are 5 years-old or younger? How much of the current overcrowding is of HRA's own creation? Separately, the reduction of its once proactive community cat TNR (trap-neuter-return) program to a shadow of its former self also probably contributes to increased numbers.

HRA suspended its 3x weekly low-cost vaccine clinics on September 1, 2023 "until further notice." So for five months, many puppies and kittens likely did not get their series of canine and feline distemper vaccinations/boosters, which normally start at 6-8 weeks of age. It means they have missed their first rabies vaccines, usually given after an animal is 3 months old. Instead HRA now offers vaccines every other Friday in a parking lot, a sad reduction in service. As of this writing, HRA just restored an indoor Thursday evening vaccine clinic. So the previous 12 hours a week have actually shrunk to a mere 5-8 hours a week, depending on whether it's every other Friday. HRA states it has increased its vaccine offerings -- technically true, since the offerings were ZERO for five months. Anything would have been an increase.

HRA suffered a series of contagious disease outbreaks throughout 2023, and only declared an "all clear" in December. Shelters are prone to outbreaks, but clean shelters with sufficient staff, strict sanitation, proper isolation protocols/wards, can keep these to a minimum or none at all.

HRA bemoans its lack of staff due to a nationwide shortage of veterinarians and vet techs. But why can't it recruit qualified people, when other shelters are able to? A look at its "Careers" page shows a constant stream of 20-25 vacancies, many listed for 120+ days. I should note that HRA often takes down its listings and then re-posts them so that the clock starts ticking all over again. There are positions on the current "Careers" page which actually date from September 2023.

How much does HRA lose when good people leave its employ because of low salaries, broken promises, impossible working hours, unresponsive management, and a leadership out of touch with the daily grind? How much does it lose when it dismisses experienced, knowledgeable, tried and tested volunteers? When a CEO climbs up the exterior fire escape to get to the second floor executive suite, rather than walk through the main lobby and greet the employees and volunteers of the organization s/he leads, what does that say about workplace culture?

HRA owns huge property lots on M and 10th Streets SE, where it was supposed to construct a new state-of-the-art facility -- a full-service veterinary clinic, adoption center, kennels, exam rooms, prep and recovery rooms, proper isolation wards, conference rooms, an education center, behavior/training facility, offices, dorm rooms for interns from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, a boarding facility, and underground parking. DC taxpayers helped buy that property for HRA via a $5 million DC Council grant in 2015. This land is now valued at $10+million, but sits unbuilt upon. What happened to this commitment to DC residents? "Building out" the old Walker-Whitman clinic in SE could be a step forward, but it is not the visionary, comprehensive facility HRA promised.

Yes, I still donate to Humane Rescue Alliance -- for animal welfare, not a bloated CEO salary of $387,000+. The DC Government should seek a full accounting from HRA for its animal control contract, demand a timeline for its promised new facility, and mandate full reinstatement of low-cost spay/neuter and vaccine services accessible to all DC residents under a new comprehensive animal control contract. How can a major animal shelter not offer low-cost spay/neuter services to the general public, especially in the Nation's Capital? HRA can promote itself as a "national leader" and as a mentor for "capacity-building" for regional shelters, but its local job performance leaves much to be desired.

Last but not least, volunteers are often the life's blood of non-profits: for their skills, their time and efforts, their passion for the cause, for their charitable contributions beyond their work shifts. Intimidating them into silence, terminating some of the most dedicated and hard-working ones because you don't like what they are telling you, and because they don't have any Whistle Blower policy to protect them, is not only cowardly, it's like eating your own and spitting them out. I have witnessed how far these volunteers go above and beyond to care for the animals, because they know there aren't enough staff to do all the outdoor exercise, socialization, and educational play that they need so they don't deteriorate in a shelter environment. Does the CEO not know?

Nobody wants to see HRA fail the animals in its care nor the residents it is supposed to serve. It can and must do better. As animal welfare leadership professionals, they should stop hiding behind excuses, blaming the pandemic and their own volunteers.