Animal shelter investigation complete

Elizabeth Gist

After a long and difficult process, the City of Rushville has concluded their investigation into alleged wrongdoing at the Rushville Animal Shelter.

Allegations were brought to light by assistant animal control officer Jamie Glandon, who said that she found a German Shepherd-Mastiff puppy alive in the freezer after apparently being euthanized four days earlier.

Glandon alleged that incidents like this had happened twice before and the city was notified. Both Glandon and Rushville Animal Control Officer Jack Hill were placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the investigation.

According to the city’s press release:

“An investigation was commenced regarding the Rushville Animal Shelter, in part, because it was alleged that a German Shepherd-Mastiff mixed puppy lived four days in a freezer after it was euthanized. Two local veterinarians interviewed for this investigation found that it was highly unlikely that a dog could survive the Rushville Animal Shelter freezer in a barrel for four days ... .”

“Highly unlikely that the dog was found alive doesn’t mean impossible,” Glandon said. “And it obviously was possible because she’s still alive.”

Glandon said she handed over a list of contacts that the city could talk to who saw the dog first-hand, and also witnesses who saw a cold mist coming from the door of the freezer on warm days, implicating a possible leak.

The city’s release continues:

“Additionally, a local veterinarian, along with Mayor Bridges and Captain Mark Mathews, found the dead bodies of two German Shepherd-Mastiff mix puppies in the freezer. These were the only German Shepherd-Mastiff puppies that were believed to be euthanized during that time.

“It is unsubstantiated that Gabby is the dog that was euthanized. The Assistant Animal Control Warden, Jamie Glandon, refused to turn over Gabby to the City for further medical evaluation and has continued to refuse to turn over Gabby for investigation. According to the report from Captain Mark Mathews, he stated that he was unable to determine or locate any record of the animal in question even being at the shelter.”

Glandon stated that these finding are unfounded.

“Intake records from the county could quell this mystery,” Glandon said. “They could have also called the person who had come and picked the puppies up from his residence. Gabby was there.”

Responding to insubordination allegations, Glandon points to a letter she sent the City of Rushville and Captain Mark Mathews dated Dec. 4, 2007. According to a copy of that letter provided this newspaper:

“I’m sending you this letter in regards to Gabby, the German Shepherd/Mastiff mix. Because of the condition in which Gabby was found on 11/16/07 after attempted euthanasia, Gabby was placed into rescue and a foster home. Her foster mom has been made aware that the police department for the City of Rushville would like to have Gabby seen by a veterinarian. Gabby’s foster mom has already had extensive tests run at her personal expense by an independent veterinarian concerning Gabby’s condition, but is willing to have the tests run again.

“Gabby’s foster mom is concerned for Gabby’s safety and has asked that the following stipulations be met before consenting to additional tests:

1. The City of Rushville recognizes in writing that Gabby is not the “property” of the City.

2. The City of Rushville agrees in conjunction with Gabby’s foster mom that the test be performed by an independent veterinarian outside of Rushville.

3. Once the tests have been completed, Gabby will return home that day with her foster mom.

4. Gabby’s foster mom will be present in the room for the entire exam.

If the City would rather utilize the tests already obtained by Gabby’s foster mom, through an outside lab, she would be more than willing to release those lab results to the investigator.

Thank you, Jamie Glandon.”

The city’s release continues:

“The investigation, although no malice was found and no laws violated, further revealed that the Animal Control Officer, Jack Hill, failed to supervise the Assistant Control Officer, and he failed to follow city policies. Additionally, the process to euthanize animals failed. Therefore he will be suspended for a period of five days with pay, which shall take effect retroactively with his administrative leave. He has further been removed as Animal Control Officer and transferred to the Rushville Street Department under agreement between Mayor Robert L. Bridges and Mayor-Elect Mervyn Bostic. Jemmy Miller will be acting Animal Control Officer until Mayor-Elect Bostic names his new appointment.

“Additionally, it was found that Jamie Glandon, the Assistant Animal Control Officer, failed to cooperate during an investigation, was insubordinate to the Mayor, the Animal Control Officer and Captain Mark Mathews, the investigator. She also had a dereliction of duty in that the Animal Shelter was filthy under her care and she did not write policies and procedures as was directed. She will therefore be suspended for a period of five days with pay, which will also be retroactive to her administrative leave.”

Glandon responded as follows.

“As for the shelter being filthy under my care, if they think that’s dirty they should have seen it before I started,” Glandon said. “The filth level could have a lot to do with the fact that when dog kennels are sprayed out, sewage backs up into the cat room. Someone could work for a week straight with an army of volunteers and that place still would not look or smell clean.”

As for the “dereliction of duty” in the failure to write policies and procedures as directed, Glandon had this to say:

“I volunteered to write the policies and procedures and was not given a timeline,” Glandon said. “I had hoped to present them at the Nov. 20 Council meeting, but had to reschedule it for the Dec. 4 meeting. When I asked Jack [Hill] to sit down with me and give his input, he told me he trusted me to do it and that he would look it over. But building the euthanasia policy from scratch turned out to be a situation in which there was no middle ground. We each have two different methods for conducting this procedure, and it had to be done one way and that was it. I was not comfortable writing the policy on the way that Jack performed the euthanizations and he was not comfortable with my method, which is why no policy was ever put in place. Neither of us wanted to go against a set policy.”

The city’s release further stated:

“Her duties have been limited to the animal shelter ONLY pending another investigation. A tort claim was filed by a concerned citizen alleging their pet was euthanized by order of Glandon. The claim also alleges that the animal was not scanned for a microchip which it allegedly had and was not held for the prescribed waiting period.”

Glandon responds.

“We did have someone come in looking for an animal. Several people who called for this dog gave two very different breed descriptions — one being a shepherd mix, one being an Australian Shepherd mix — so I was unsure of the exact breed of animal, but just said that their animal was picked up by the county. A man and his son came in on the 13th after a round of dogs had already been put down the day before, but didn’t see their animal specifically. Supposedly the animal had been picked up by county on the 7th, which would be longer than the usual five-day holding period limit. There was never any proof garnered that this specific animal was in our freezer. Jack nor I ever went in there and started scanning every dead animal. Who in their right mind would want to? At this point, it’s all hearsay.”

The city concluded their release with this:

“Mayor Bridges has also offered his assistance to Mayor-Elect Bostic to develop new policies as a result of his contact with Martha Boden with the Marion County Humane Society. He will assist the new Animal Control Officer when appointed by Mayor-Elect Bostic to have these policies and procedures in place on Jan. 1, 2008 when the Bostic administration takes office. Additionally, all animals have been transferred to Marion County’s Animal Shelter and Standard Fertilizer will pick up all remaining animal carcasses. During the time between now and Jan. 1, animal shelter employees will be cleaning and painting the facility to prepare for a fresh start when the new administration takes over. It was also decided that all animals will be euthanized by a qualified veterinarian until new policies and procedures are approved by the City Council and implemented.”

Again, Glandon responds.

“Hopefully the volunteers who went in to take care of the animals while I was gone will be big advocates on conveying to the new administration what bad shape the shelter is in,” Glandon said. “A new facility is needed desperately for a fresh start for everyone involved. I think any money put toward the shelter should be put toward building a new shelter, because the current shelter was not built to house animals. It’s basically falling down from lack of upkeep. It’s like using a piece of bubble gum to repair the crack in the dam. And regardless of how pretty or unpretty it is, it’s unsanitary. If the shelter is going to have a real fresh start, it needs to be total, and it needs to get the attention and monetary support from the city that it deserves. I have had several Democrats recently elected say how they support a new shelter and think it’s a great idea, and I sincerely hope that after the first of the year they will step up and continue to show their support in efforts of fundraising to get a new facility.”

Glandon also applauds the new euthanization policy.

“I think that if euthanization has to be done, that’s the best way to do it,” she said.

She hopes that the situation has brought a lot of things to the public’s attention.

“Hopefully the new administration will support my efforts in working with rescues to save as many animals as possible, as Mayor Bridges did. Hopefully, with the awareness of the shelter’s conditions, people will be more responsible with their animals and euthanization rates will drop.”



Elizabeth Gist can be contacted at elizabeth.gist@rushvillerepublican.com or at (765) 932-3111 ext. 109. Add a comment to this story at www.rushvillerepublican.com.

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