INVESTIGATOR TO BE HIRED OVER 250 MISSING SHELTER PETS

S.D. Humane Society wants answers about animals sent to Tucson

The San Diego Humane Society is planning to hire a private investigator to find out what happened to hundreds of rabbits, guinea pigs, rats and hamsters it transferred this summer to its Arizona counterpart — even as the Tucson shelter suspended two of its leaders over the ongoing mystery.

The San Diego nonprofit is also looking to pursue legal action. “We will pursue this as far as we need to find out where our animals went,” Dr. Gary Weitzman, its president and CEO, said this week.

It’s been nearly two months since the local shelter transferred 318 small animals to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona in Tucson to alleviate pressure on its local shelters. But questions quickly arose after the Tucson shelter declined to share any information about the whereabouts of 250 of the animals.

Although the animals were reportedly adopted out through a private rescue organization that wanted to remain anonymous, animal advocates’ concerns grew when no one could find a rescue center capable of handling 250 animals, let alone getting them all adopted in just a few weeks.

In a response to a demand letter sent Sept. 18 from the San Diego organization’s attorneys, the Tucson group’s attorneys placed the blame again on their counterpart, reiterating its contention that it had been forthright about their plans.

“SDHS has dragged HSSA through the mud as SDHS diverts negative attention created by its own spotlight,” the letter dated Sept. 25 read.

After weeks of back and forth, the Tucson organization’s board of directors decided Friday to suspend its CEO, Steve Farley, and its chief programs officer, Christian Gonzalez.

To Weitzman, it’s the first glimpse of hope that the Tucson group is taking the matter seriously.

“This suspension really feels like the first time that things are moving toward a more productive conversation,” he said.

The transport — the largest in the San Diego Humane Society's history — was initiated as the local shelter reached a record number of animals in its care.

Though in California it is illegal for pet stores to sell dogs, cats and rabbits, other small animals don't have the same legal protections. That's part of why so many of these animals land in shelters, Weitzman explained.

“It's a critical practice in animal welfare to transport animals … to a place where there may be more of a potential for them to get into homes,” Weitzman said.

Farley previously told the San Diego Union-Tribune that when they arrived from San Diego, 250 of the small animals were immediately transferred to what he described as “small, familyrun, family-funded” rescue that the Tucson shelter had worked with for over a decade.

The private rescue reportedly had adopters lined up for weeks, and only about 60 of those animals were not immediately adopted, Farley

said.

Even so, Weitzman remains skeptical of the entire transaction.

Though the incident has garnered publicity in both San Diego and Arizona, Weitzman pointed out that no adopters have come forward to say the animals are safe.

He also noted that although the roughly 70 rabbits his organization transferred to Arizona had microchips, none of those that were allegedly adopted have updated the owner information — which adoptive families would typically do with new pets.

In a statement released Saturday, the Tucson board said they've been in communication with the private group who say the animals were placed in adoptive homes. The board “is aware of no evidence to the contrary” and “presently has no evidence indicating any animal was harmed.”

However, the board decided to hire an independent investigator, suspending Farley and Gonzalez “to ensure the integrity of this investigation” and that anybody — inside or outside the Tucson shelter — with information could come forward

with it without fear of retaliation.

“As people who care deeply about animals, we understand well the significant interest in ensuring the animals are OK,” the board's statement read. “While this private group does not maintain adoption records in the manner that a large organization like HSSA does, we are looking for all the information available, formal or not.”

The Tucson group did not respond to the UnionTribune's request for further comment.

The board's response came days after animal advocates held protests outside board chair Robert Garcia's law offices last week, demanding answers regarding the animals' fates.

Protest leader Kelly Galligan, who has for years worked with the Tucson shelter as the president of the board of the Bisbee Animal Shelter, says the goal was to demand action from the Tucson board.

“This organization is much needed in this part of Arizona, and we can't afford for them to go down, so the board needs to do their job,” Galligan said. “I think this is just going to be the impetus

for the overhaul that was really needed anyway with the leadership.”

Animal advocates have also created a Change.org petition to demand the Tucson group be held accountable.

The petition, which had over 19,000 signatures as of Wednesday, details some advocates' suspicions that the missing animals may have been sold as live food for snakes.

Weitzman has also heard these suspicions but had yet to hear direct confirmation of the animals' fates from the Tucson shelter as of Tuesday.

“We want to stay optimistic, but it's just getting harder and harder to do so,” he said.

Weitzman says that he and the San Diego group won't be letting up pressure either.

Anyone with information can contact the Humane Society of Southern Arizona's board of directors via email at board@hssaz.org. For updates about the San Diego Humane Society's efforts, visit sdhumane.org/transportupdate.