Five fired in deaths of animals at shelter

Five employees at Sugar Land Animal Services have been fired and their manager preemptively resigned after an investigation showed they euthanized dozens of shelter animals without authorization, city officials said.

Nearly 40 dogs and cats from the shelter were killed over a six-month period, said Doug Adolph, spokesman for the city of Sugar Land. The investigation began Sept. 15 after an employee notified senior management about the killings, the city said.

“At the time, it was our understanding that one animal, possibly as many as three, had

been euthanized,” Adolph said. “We confirmed what occurred. That’s when we placed the shelter manager on administrative leave.”

Don Specks, the manager of the facility on Gillingham, who Adolph said resigned before being fired, could not be reached for comment. Specks was hired in August last year after working almost two years as director of animal services for the Houston SPCA, according to his LinkedIn page.

The fired employees were veterinary technician Jenny Jandres, officer Kaitlin Martinez, kennel technician Amaya Dunn, field supervisor Sean Shay and supervisor Kate Hartsfield, who had been with the shelter almost six years.

Jandres said she could not comment without consulting her attorney. Shay said he had no comment. Martinez, Dunn and Hartsfield could not be reached for comment.

The employees involved claimed the animals displayed aggressive behavior or had a medical diagnosis, Adolph said. However, city protocol required that a veterinarian confirm the necessity of a euthanization and directly supervise the procedure.

Animals with behavior issues must also be discussed with a certified behaviorist, who gives a recommendation to staff.

In conducting the euthanizations, employees knowingly disobeyed direct orders and the Animal Services Division Manual of Standard Operating Procedures, the city said. Proper procedures were not followed, and verbal instructions were ignored.

“They decided to willfully disobey direct orders and ignore policies and procedures. I can’t speak for what was in their heart — maybe they thought what they were doing was OK — but it wasn’t,” said Adolph, adding that he had no reason to believe something had changed in April to trigger the euthanizations. While overcrowding is a perpetual problem in shelters, it is against city policy to perform euthanasia to alleviate overcrowding.

The city will temporarily reassign employees from other offices and departments to support the five remaining Animal Services employees until new workers are hired.

“To ensure transparency, the Animal Advisory Board, a citizen board appointed by City Council, was briefed soon after the city became aware of the unacceptable actions at the shelter,” the city said in a statement. “It will take time to rebuild public trust, but the city is committed to doing so. The swift and deliberate investigation and disciplinary actions are a start.”

As of Thursday afternoon, 30 dogs, 40 cats and four bunnies were at Sugar Land Animal Services. A litter of puppies was born Thursday afternoon.