Post by RealPitBull on Jan 18, 2008 8:14:06 GMT -5
Animal shelter ex-volunteers to sue county
Thursday, January 10, 2008
BY KIBRET MARKOS
STAFF WRITER
Two former volunteers at the Bergen County Animal Shelter allege they were let go for exposing animal cruelty at the facility and notified the county on Wednesday that they will file a lawsuit.
In a notice of claim sent to county officials, Michelle Cohen of Hackensack and Glenn Gilbert of Wallington said the termination was a violation of their First Amendment right to free speech.
In an interview Thursday, Cohen and Gilbert said they discovered last year that animals at the Teterboro shelter were being euthanized by injecting drugs into their hearts -- a procedure they called inhumane and outdated. They also said animals were killed although they could have been treated and adopted.
Gilbert, a former Jersey City police officer who volunteered regularly at the shelter since he retired 16 years ago, said he and Cohen asked county officials to conduct an investigation.
"We decided to go public because we got no response to our complaints," said Gilbert, explaining why he posted several comments on pet-related Web sites and message boards last summer in which he detailed the allegations.
County spokesman Brian Hague denied the accusations.
"We have conducted our own investigation of these allegations, and we do not believe their veracity," Hague said. "We take very seriously any complaint of animal abuse, neglect and cruelty."
Cohen, a freelance television producer who had volunteered since April, said she sent an e-mail to county health officials saying animals were mishandled and euthanized without justification. That e-mail, which was copied to dozens of recipients, was later anonymously posted on Craigslist.org, Cohen said.
Cohen and Gilbert said they worked at the shelter four to seven days a week as members of Friends of the County Animal Shelter Inc., which organizes the volunteer work there. Volunteers usually train animals and show them to people who want to adopt.
Both were told on Dec. 18 by FOCAS officials that they are banned from the shelter because their statements were defamatory and exposed the county to lawsuits.
In another letter dated Jan. 7, FOCAS officials said the county has threatened to boot the entire organization from the shelter because of the online postings.
"They didn't say, 'You are fired because the statements you made were false,' " said Rosemarie Arnold, the attorney for Cohen and Gilbert. "They said, 'You are fired because you exposed us to a lawsuit by exposing unlawful activity.' "
Hague said the county has in recent years improved the shelter by installing air-conditioners in kennels, buying better food and medicine, and staying open later.
A notice of claim must be filed at least six months before a lawsuit is filed when the claim is against a public entity. The time gap is designed to give the public entity an opportunity to investigate or address the cause of the complaint.
The county government, its freeholders and its executive, Dennis McNerney, are named in the notice as the future defendants.
E-mail: markos@northjersey.com
Thursday, January 10, 2008
BY KIBRET MARKOS
STAFF WRITER
Two former volunteers at the Bergen County Animal Shelter allege they were let go for exposing animal cruelty at the facility and notified the county on Wednesday that they will file a lawsuit.
In a notice of claim sent to county officials, Michelle Cohen of Hackensack and Glenn Gilbert of Wallington said the termination was a violation of their First Amendment right to free speech.
In an interview Thursday, Cohen and Gilbert said they discovered last year that animals at the Teterboro shelter were being euthanized by injecting drugs into their hearts -- a procedure they called inhumane and outdated. They also said animals were killed although they could have been treated and adopted.
Gilbert, a former Jersey City police officer who volunteered regularly at the shelter since he retired 16 years ago, said he and Cohen asked county officials to conduct an investigation.
"We decided to go public because we got no response to our complaints," said Gilbert, explaining why he posted several comments on pet-related Web sites and message boards last summer in which he detailed the allegations.
County spokesman Brian Hague denied the accusations.
"We have conducted our own investigation of these allegations, and we do not believe their veracity," Hague said. "We take very seriously any complaint of animal abuse, neglect and cruelty."
Cohen, a freelance television producer who had volunteered since April, said she sent an e-mail to county health officials saying animals were mishandled and euthanized without justification. That e-mail, which was copied to dozens of recipients, was later anonymously posted on Craigslist.org, Cohen said.
Cohen and Gilbert said they worked at the shelter four to seven days a week as members of Friends of the County Animal Shelter Inc., which organizes the volunteer work there. Volunteers usually train animals and show them to people who want to adopt.
Both were told on Dec. 18 by FOCAS officials that they are banned from the shelter because their statements were defamatory and exposed the county to lawsuits.
In another letter dated Jan. 7, FOCAS officials said the county has threatened to boot the entire organization from the shelter because of the online postings.
"They didn't say, 'You are fired because the statements you made were false,' " said Rosemarie Arnold, the attorney for Cohen and Gilbert. "They said, 'You are fired because you exposed us to a lawsuit by exposing unlawful activity.' "
Hague said the county has in recent years improved the shelter by installing air-conditioners in kennels, buying better food and medicine, and staying open later.
A notice of claim must be filed at least six months before a lawsuit is filed when the claim is against a public entity. The time gap is designed to give the public entity an opportunity to investigate or address the cause of the complaint.
The county government, its freeholders and its executive, Dennis McNerney, are named in the notice as the future defendants.
E-mail: markos@northjersey.com
I look forward to learning much here