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10/23/2024 01:10 PMAmid rumors concerning the Valley Shore Animal Welfare League (VSAWL), the Board of Directors and shelter president have released statements on the organization’s status. Meanwhile, a protest against closing the shelter is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. at 647 Horse Hill Road in Westbrook.
Founded in 1972, the VSAWL is a Westbrook-based organization that owns and operates a no-kill shelter and adoption facility for cats and dogs. Its website states that it is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization operated by a board of directors. Besides the board, the organization also has a small staff and several volunteers who handle the facility’s day-to-day operations.
VSAWL Shelter Director Delilah Lord told the Harbor News that earlier this year, VSAWL was facing rising costs and, as a result, was in serious need of donations. An Aug. 5 Facebook post for a fundraiser benefiting the VSAWL states, “The shelter is in desperate need of your help.”
Lord said the organization has since received money, but there were frustrations with the previous board’s leadership.
“They really weren’t doing much in terms of fundraising,” Lord said.
Lord said that due to those frustrations, new leadership was elected at a board meeting in September, specifically the election of Dottie Wells as interim president. Since then, Lord said Wells and the board have made life difficult for staff and volunteers by changing work hours and concealing information about the VSAWL’s future from them.
The First Post
In early October, rumors concerning the financial wellbeing of the VSAWL began swirling. The rumors included allegations that the organization was going to sell itself to a kill shelter or other entity. Those rumors were further flamed when the following post was made on the VSAWL Facebook page on Oct. 16:
“Good morning. Unfortunately, the rumor that you are hearing about the shelter is true; we have a new president; she has been president for 16 days. In the last 16 days, we have had five board members quit. Several volunteers quit. She canceled three upcoming fundraisers. She changed the hours for staff without it being voted on. She has stopped all intakes. Asked for medical records of current animals. She had a secret meeting where no minutes were recorded, invited the Humane Society to this secret meeting, and talked of dissolving the shelter. Two founders asked if they could put a pause on dissolving the shelter. We currently have six board members, and one is related to her, and one is her best friend. VSAWL has proof of all these claims,” the post stated.
Lord told the Harbor News that she made the post. The post has since been deleted, and Lord said she has been blocked from accessing the VSAWL Facebook and Instagram pages.
To demonstrate the support the VSAWL has locally, Lord has called for a protest for people to show their support for keeping the shelter as part of the community and to reverse the ban on taking in new dogs. The protest starts at 6 p.m. at the shelter located at 647 Horse Hill Road in Westbrook.
The Board and Wells Respond
Wells has disputed some of the characterization in Lord’s original post. Initially, The Harbor News received the following message attributed to the VSAWL board, which was also posted online:
“Like many of you who have been expressing concern online, we are volunteers - volunteers on the VSAWL board and volunteers at the shelter itself, working directly with the animals at our weekly shifts. Nothing is more important to us than the health, safety, and best interest of the animals in our care. Additionally, we care passionately about our staff, volunteers, and donors.
The shelter is going through a transition. Various information that has been circulating online IS NOT CORRECT. The shelter board has made no decision to close the shelter. We have not contracted to sell the organization to anyone, let alone a high-kill shelter. This information is simply NOT true.
The board has been meeting regularly and working with staff to tackle the issues before us as we consider all of our options to move forward in the best interest of VSAWL.
We appreciate all of the concern from our local community. We are happy that so many of you have had wonderful experiences volunteering with us or adopting from us. As we move forward, we are grateful for your patience and support as we implement the necessary steps to do what’s best for our animals and for the organization.
Please be careful about what you believe and spread online. We board members are regular citizens like anyone else, with families, jobs and “other lives” away from our volunteering. Spreading and believing false information can lead to catastrophic results. Please, in your desire to help the shelter, don’t lose sight of the truth or the effects of spreading false information. “
Wells then separately contacted the Harbor News to answer more specific questions. Asked about what transition the VSAWL is undergoing, Wells said “The transition mentioned in the statement refers to the changing over of board members, as well as the implementation of much-needed structural changes to better serve and support the animals in our care and the staff.”
Wells said it was because of that transition that some of the other activities have stopped.
“Because of this transition, we have canceled a few recent fundraisers and have temporarily paused the intake of new animals so that we can focus on providing for the animals currently in our care and on making decisions about how to best move the shelter forward,” Wells said,
She also reiterated that the VSAWL was not seeking to partner with a high-kill shelter.
“Also, as we work toward improving the shelter, we are considering all options with regard to partnerships, alliances, and supporters; though, to be clear, we have not and would never consider working with a high-kill shelter,” Wells said
The Correspondence
The Harbor News reviewed numerous text messages and emails between board members related to the allegations in Lord’s post.
In one email sent Oct. 3 to the board, Wells wrote, “Please keep this email confidential (including from staff members). I have spoken to James Bias, Executive Director of the CT Humane Society. He has agreed to meet with us to hear what’s going on and hopefully figure out some options for moving forward.” The email then asks the board to meet on Oct. 8.
A board member who attended the meeting texted a staff member that the possibility of dissolving the shelter was brought up at that meeting, but the group decided to table the idea. That board member said that while board members were present, no records were taken of the meeting.
When contacted by the Harbor News, Bias said the meeting did occur, but disputed some of the rumors that have spread. Bias emphasized that the Connecticut Humane Society is not a high-kill shelter and said the society is not trying to buy the VSAWL. Bias noted that VSAWL’s facility is in need of an upgrade and said his impression was that the board was taking stock of where the organization was.
However, it wasn’t just the meeting with Bias that concerned Lord and some volunteers. Lord said that a new schedule was made that required staff and volunteers to work late hours and limited time for volunteers to be with the animals, a fact that annoyed volunteers and caused some to quit.
“The change in hours meant no one would be here with volunteers in the evening. Most of them come between 5:30 to 7 p.m., so no one would be here to introduce new dogs to them, and animal control wants us to introduce new animals,’” Lord explained. Lord said that when she informed Wells of that information, Wells told her to tell the volunteers to change their time if they wanted to meet new animals.
A separate correspondence from a former VSAWL member said that eight volunteers had quit so far and that they had raised concerns about the dogs being fed later than normal and about having nobody to contact in an emergency.
“All very valid concerns and concerns our insurance provider would have as well,” the person wrote.
For several weeks, Lord said she was the only staff member working at the shelter and that she did not have any days off. Lord alleged the policies were changed without being voted on individually.
Lord said that she was abruptly asked to keep certain information related to animal adoptions private, which concerned her.
In one email dated Oct. 9, Wells wrote, “The board decided as of tonight, we will temporarily be halting the intake of animals until further notice.” The email then asked for vet records of each animal.
Another email from Wells sent on Oct. 12 stated that the board had decided to temporarily suspend adoption fees at the shelter and instructed Lord not to publicize the information.
“We would like you to wait to disclose this information until the adopter has gone through the evaluation process. Once you have decided to accept the application, then you can let them know. However, if a potential adopter expresses hesitation or concern about the fee earlier in the process, you can let them know as soon as they bring up their concerns, no matter where they are in the process,” Wells wrote.
“I’m confused that if we need the money, why are we canceling fundraisers? Why are we pausing the adoption fees? Stopping intake and asking for medical records of all our animals makes it seem like they want to clear out the shelter,” Lord said to the Harbor News.
Lord is not the only person connected to the VSAWL concerned about the organization's direction.
The alleged potential sale of the VSAWL, the changes to policies and procures, and a lack of confidence in the current executive board were specially listed in the resignation email from one former board member shown to the Harbor News. Another board member stated via text that they were contemplating resigning but were afraid of what would happen to the shelter if they did so.
Yet another staff member submitted a resignation and singled out the changes to the policies as to why they were quitting.
The Harbor News reached out to multiple current and former members of the VSAWL board seeking comment but received none.
Uncertain Future
Lord said she is concerned about publicly rebuking the VSAWL board. “Yes, I am worried about what will happen to me legally, but I’m speaking up because I am trying to save the shelter,” Lord said.
A resident who has adopted from the VSAWL in the past started a petition on Change.org titled Prevent Our Local Animal Shelter from Closure, urging the board not to close the shelter. So far, the petition has over 1,500 signatures.