The Pressure Was ON!

It was a Thursday night just two weeks after the four month old puppy named Mooie was found clinging to life in a Washington State residential backyard. 

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Mooie succumbed to her injuries, but that night, the streets came alive as crowds assembled in front of Federal Way City Hall holding signs with messages demanding answers and calling for justice.  By the time the Town Hall meeting started, there was standing-room only.  King County Animal Control (KCAC) and the Federal Way Police Department had sent representatives to address those in attendance and the thousands of animal advocates who slammed their inboxes with email messages and inundated their offices with phones calls.  

There had not been another time that a King County agency had come under more public scrutiny and pressure to account for their actions concerning an animal under their jurisdiction.

Unlike Pasado’s case, Mooie’s case was never solved.  But similar to the death of Pasado, Mooie’s murder has served as a seminal milestone.  Looking back on the events of that Thursday evening in March of 2006, it’s clear that a series of developments were put into motion that will have a profound effect on animal services in King County, and possibly the country.   The culmination of these developments will occur on April 14, 2008 when King County Animal Care and Control, KCACC (FKA KCAC) will once again be the subject of public scrutiny.   

Pushing the Envelope.

Shortly after the Federal Way Town Hall meeting, Pasado’s Safe Haven met privately with King County Councilmember Julia Patterson and asked for her support in overhauling the animal cruelty investigation practices and protocols employed by KCAC.  We knew that Councilmember Patterson would be a willing partner based on her long-time commitment to animal-related initiatives. 

Indeed, KCAC management was called before the full King County Council to provide a comprehensive report on their operations, staffing, policies and practices.  Councilmember Patterson and her fellow council members all agreed that major reforms in all areas were necessary if KCAC were to live up to its mission of an animal services program “reflective of the prosperous, compassionate and generous community we serve.”

Pushing the Limits!

A flurry of Motions passed by the King County Council promulgated a progressive set of animal services standards and oversight.  The very first motion passed called for major reforms in animal cruelty investigations in direct response to Mooie’s case.    A Citizen’s Advisory Committee was impaneled to make recommendations on how to best achieve the end-to-end goals set by Council.  One of the recommendations submitted was to hire No Kill Advocate/consultant  Nathan Winograd to evaluate KCACC.  Two weeks ago his damning report on dismal shelter operations and lack of coherent polices was made public.