Town Officials Check Hi Tor Animal Shelter

NANUET, NY — Town supervisors from across Rockland paid a suprise visit Wednesday to the county's troubled animal shelter. Hi Tor Animal Care Center Wednesday. The unannounced inspection of Hi Tor Animal Care Center was meant to ensure the facility is adequately providing for the health and safety of the animals in Hi Tor’s care, they said.

The towns and villages in Rockland pay an annual fee to Hi Tor to house stray and rescued animals found in their municipalities.

Hi Tor takes in more than 2,500 animals each year. The County of Rockland has traditionally provided some funding to and made county facilities available to Hi Tor for animal control and care, and is underwriting a plan for a new facility. The shelter has suffered for years from overcrowding and underfunding, in a building basically unchanged since 1972.

The latest crisis began at the beginning of November when the shelter manager, Michael Santucci, announced he was leaving work to go to Rockland County Executive Ed Day's office to protest the board's actions and inactions, including work conditions.

The nonprofit's board called it job abandonment. They fired Sanducci on the spot. Two other staff members quit in protest.

That gave the board an operational crisis on top of its personnel crisis.

Visiting Wednesday were Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann, Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht, Orangetown Supervisor Chris Day, Haverstraw Supervisor Howard T. Phillips Jr., and Stony Point Supervisor Jim Monaghan.

They said they found the shelter cramped but in proper order. All the animals were properly fed and the enclosures were clean. The Rockland County Health Department was also on site during the impromptu visit, which they said was a welcome and reassuring sight.

The Supervisors also had the opportunity to have a candid discussion with Hi-Tor’s newly appointed Shelter Manager Victoria Kartis. They said they were "pleased that past practices and prior mismanagement were being addressed. "

They said they also wanted to ensure proper spending of taxpayer funds due to the Town's agreement with the County of Rockland to provide animal control services at Hi-Tor, which is a not-for-profit entity.

All five Town Supervisors encourage anyone willing to help or volunteer to please visit the shelter's website at hitor.org and fill out the simple volunteer application.

SEE:

Rockland Lawmakers To Consider Crisis At Hi Tor Tuesday