Broward animal shelter needs director committed to ‘No Kill’

Broward County’s experiment of bringing in an alleged “No Kill” leader from outside our community has most certainly failed, and it is now time to look to the very community members who fought for the 2012 No Kill Resolution for the answers to achieving its goals.

There were two glaring issues with the last few animal shelter directors hired by the county; none had management experience or No Kill experience. Both of these skills are crucial to achieving a No Kill community.

Regardless of who is hired to run the Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Center, they must be a true leader and have experience managing a dynamic group of individuals. Specific for this agency, they must have a true understanding of and commitment to the tenets of the No Kill philosophy.

As we look to the future for our county shelter, the county must look to the very people in the community who want to see it achieve the goals of the 2012 Resolution. Lest we forget that this resolution was driven by the community’s desire to be a No Kill community.

We should therefore look to the community for the people to help achieve it. While this last director ostracized these very community members, they nonetheless did not abandon the animals of Broward County. Instead, they banded together to continue saving lives and working toward positive outcomes for the most vulnerable of the homeless animals. These are valuable people. Their insight and experience should not be discounted.

This job is not solely about loving animals but is also about leading a dramatic change in the way homeless and abandoned pets are treated in Broward

County.

The new director should be an individual who will build a team of true animal advocates; dedicated first and foremost to the animals.

The new leader must have experience in change management, developing and implementing projects and programs and experience managing people.

Our new director must put ego aside and defer to others while managing and developing a team of committed individuals. This person must be able to manage up the chain and down and be willing to accept feedback; critical and otherwise.

Under this type of director, employees at the shelter will be part of a bold team of change agents. They will be given the opportunity to grow and learn, develop the necessary skills to excel for themselves and for the animals. This is only achieved under the direction of a true leader and change maker.

To achieve a No Kill community, the county must be ready to put aside its institutional challenges and embrace the idea of a different approach to sheltering. This type of shelter is at the hub of a dynamic network of resources; not necessarily providing the resources but working with community partners to provide them.

Our shelter should embrace the downtrodden, reach out to the community for assistance and show humility.

So, before the county hires an outside search firm, I suggest it look inside its very own community for the leaders who will help bring about the change the community is expecting.