BREAKING NEWS: Letter Asks City Council to Take Action on Maintenance of Animal Control Facility

I am sending this email to inform you about the condition of the Evansville Animal Control building and its impact on the community, including myself.

First, thank you for taking the time to read my email. I understand you are all very busy with many projects happening simultaneously.

Second, this is not a reflection of the Animal Control staff. Every single staff member truly cares about the animals and is doing the best they can with the budget set forward and the number of hours they can work.

Third, many of you know me. I am an advocate for Evansville. I have donated to your campaigns publicly and privately. I have lived coast to coast, have been stationed all over the country, and served 5 years Honorably in the United States Marine Corps, causing permanent disabilities to my body and making me a Disabled Veteran. I also own many businesses. Some of you I have worked alongside as a Licensed Realtor who owns a real estate team that employs other realtors, a managing partner at a Mortgage Company that has provided loans and funding to the top Evansville entrepreneurs with highly taxable enterprises, employable businesses, and bringing visitors to Evansville. Some of these locations you enjoy and are staples of Evansville’s downtown growth. I also invest millions of my own funds annually as well as directly bring in millions of dollars of out of state funds annually to provide Evansville with affordable, quality rental and resale homes for the community.

I have contacted the Mayor’s office multiple times on this matter over the past couple of months. I have received a very dismissive email stating that the mayor’s office doesn’t oversee Animal Control and that it is solely under the Department of Transportation and Services, specifically Todd Robertson. This was not from the Mayor herself, but staff.

I contacted Todd approximately a month ago, as well as the mayor’s office and a few city council members. Todd reached out to me and informed me that many of the items

mentioned are underthe city’s union maintenance team and cannot be handled by third-party contractors, even if they are free.

The current conditions at the Animal Control facility are in great disrepair. They fail to keep the animals healthy, promote the spreading of animal illness, discourage the public from adopting, and probably cause negative long-term health complications for the employees. 

I have asked multiple times for the following items to be corrected:

Handwashing stations—Credit where credit is due. After I contacted Todd, I saw that multiple sanitization stations were installed throughout the building. I offered to pay for this out of pocket with a construction company I own that carries all the necessary qualifications, insurance, and licenses to take care of this task, for free. I was denied.

Broken/backed-up drains—Multiple kennels have drains backing up, allowing animals to drink feces, urine, and other bodily fluids. In addition, a few drains have holes in them, which can allow an animal to get its paw caught and broken or hurt. I offered to pay for this out of pocket with a construction company I own that carries all the necessary qualifications, insurance, and licenses to take care of this task, for free. I was denied.

Safety items for staff and the public—Many safety items are defective, neglected, or missing. The eye wash station is completely empty and covered in dust. The fire extinguishers haven’t been inspected since 2020, which is a huge liability for the city. I offered to pay for this out of pocket with a construction company I own that carries all the necessary qualifications, insurance, and licenses to take care of this task, for free. I was denied.

Chipped paint in the kennels – Each kennel is painted on the walls. Naturally, they will get chipped or scratched as animals jump on them. This is an ongoing maintenance item that should be budgeted and prepared for. Todd has spoken to me and told me there was a budget approved for it, and it would be repainted in the fall. We are in the Fall now, and I would like an update. The importance of this item is that we want to encourage the public to spend time in animal control and adopt animals rather than euthanize them. The presentation of the kennels gives an overall dirty appearance, undermining the idea of publicly accessible animal control. I offered to pay for this out of pocket with a construction company I own that carries all the necessary qualifications, insurance, and licenses to take care of this task, for free. I was denied.

Ventilation, air quality, and airborne disease  – I did bump into one of our city council members down at animal control. I must be used to the smell by now, but they brought up a great point. The smell in the area is unbearable, causing them to put their shirt over their face to breathe better. How can we expect the public to spend time walking through if they have a hard time breathing? I have reviewed the air filtration system vents on multiple occasions, and they are always covered in dust, dirt, and mold. This also allows for airborne disease to spread throughout the building to other animals.

Sanitization, virus outbreak, costing the public money/heartbreak, and the death of a rescue. – Sanitization of the kennels is not up to par. If an animal, specifically a dog, is placed into Animal Control, it will get a disease commonly known as kennel cough. This is not typically fatal but makes animals sneeze, choke, gag, and other symptoms. This can also be brought home with the public on their hands or clothes, or if they adopt an animal, causing their animals to get sick at home. This prompts the public to take their pets to the vet, get treatment, and not want to go back to animal control again. There is a room that is typically for puppies in the rear for the public. It has approximately 5 or 6 kennels. There is 1 center drain in the entire room, meaning the kennels get sprayed out and all the disease gets washed right in the path where they walk in and out of the room. Without actual sanitization, this spreads disease. Puppies are very susceptible to a disease called Parvo or Parvovirus. It is highly contagious, highly fatal, and can last in the area for years without using the proper disinfectant.

Unfortunately, this is where the story gets sad. I tried to save a dog out of Animal Control. I saw a dog on Sept 26th at Animal Control, and the same day, I bumped into another city council member there. We actually had a discussion about animal control and about the specific dog (who was still alive in the kennel). This dog was set to be euthanized due to space (approx. 40 dog kennels for the entire city FYI). I stepped in the last 30 minutes to save this dog. Unfortunately, I had to bury her in my backyard on Oct 5th, less than 7 days later. She was an approximately 1-year-old healthy female dog that contracted Parvo from Animal Control due to the lack of sanitation, budget for staff, and supplies. She ended up costing me over $1,000.00 to try to save, for a virus that would be preventable if proper budgeting and support was there. I tried to save her; I rushed her to VCA Emergency Hospital and signed a no-budget treatment option that would typically cost anywhere from $4,000.00-$6,000.00.  In addition, my own personal dogs are now at risk for this disease to include my service dog. Not an “emotional support dog”, my actual service dog. My dogs also all came down with kennel cough that was spread from bringing a dog home from animal control. I am spending and will have to continue spending thousands of dollars on testing them for Parvo, as this virus can remain active in my yard and household for years now. This also took a personal toll on my wife and I. We tried to save an animal that was going to be euthanized, only to have her killed by that very system we pulled her from, just on a delayed timeframe.

What the city is failing to realize is that Foster and Rescue organizations are truly the backbone of your Animal Control. There are very few publicly reported statistics on euthanizations as of recently, but there are reports, articles, and other references averaging 1.5-2 euthanizations per day. Foster and rescue organizations are pulling animals at an extreme rate to prevent those numbers from quadrupling or quintupling. Some organizations are no longer accepting new animals as they are out of space. There has been little effort or recognition of this problem by the city, other than a select few individuals. We are currently kicking the can down the road until animals can’t be pulled by organizations, and Animal Control will be overflowing much more than it is.

Again, I want to reiterate that Animal Control staff and workers are doing the best they can, with the budget allowed, the amount of staff hired, and the supplies afforded. The blame should not be and is not on them, it is on the lack of budget for a city this large and an Animal Control budget not up to par.

This situation needs to be corrected with firm timelines and transparency to the public. There are many other stories like mine, as well as worse situations, however, I am going to be the loudest voice. Since this ended up killing a dog I tried to save from the system; I will ensure that I do everything I possibly can to bring this to your attention and the city’s attention. I am not pointing fingers in the sense of it being a Mayor’s issue, DOT issue, city council issue, or animal control issue. It is a community and moral issue that needs to be brought to light to be addressed. Without having a “squeaky wheel”, it won’t get any “grease”.

I have placed aside a substantial amount of funding that I would like to use to provide more rentals and resale houses to citizens of Evansville, but will use instead to get very loud with these photos and issues publicly if there are no results or action taken. Billboards, bandit signs, TV commercials, posters, social media campaigns, and more.

– Mark Albini

 

City-County Observer publishes this letter in its entirety without editing or bias.