There have been a lot of inflammatory comments from all sides of the fence surrounding the mistaken euthanasia of 4 dogs at DAS recently. My goodness, there is so much to say, but I will keep it simple and hopefully productive.
First, there has been an apology for the mistake and for the damage that DAS has done to the community and a promise to review some DAS procedures. Thank you DAS. In all sincerity, thank you. I hope you will conduct this review in a timely manner and transparently publish your findings and any changes you make to your training and SOP docs.
For those of you who have commented on your distaste for rescuers who stomp their feet and demand attention – in theory I agree, but in practice, the city has done this to themselves. If an email, call or request is made through appropriate channels by an individual or a NON 501 3c rescue group, statistically speaking, they will not get a response or help. If the same individual posts on facebook and or makes a fuss or gets a lot of attention on Facebook, DAS will show up on Facebook and offer help. People are learning reactionary behavior based on rules of engagement set by DAS.
The second part of that “you made your own bed statement” is that without the media commotion, DAS does not have a strong history of self motivating to do the right thing when people question their process and procedure. We are a very strong case study there. Which is a shame. Anytime a life is at stake, emotions are high. When people have the impression that DAS is unresponsive and unaccountable – that is then the reality for those people. Despite the good work that happens everyday at DAS, that perceived reality has unfortunately left a negative impression of DAS on the city. And that impression has been earned.
DAS and DCAP are generally not kind or open minded to the public. They want to be left alone in their circle of expertise and with their preferred established rescue circle to do their thing. That would be fine if their thing was working, but it’s not. That doesn’t make them bad people or suggest that they care about animals any less, but it is a big, big barrier to success.
There have been many valid points from concerned established 501 3c rescue groups about this incident and the groups involved with these dogs. I share many of their concerns. But equally as powerful are some very poignant statements that support the dismissive nature of the power set at DAS and their favored rescues and their disdain for individuals and groups like Gypsy Dog Ops. Groups like Gypsy Dog Ops work hard to collaborate and to reach out to DCAP and DAS to understand the rules and the obstacles, but we are met with unanswered emails, schedules that are too busy to accommodate a meeting, non responsive behavior to collaboration requests from our city councilman, and lots and lots of conflicting information that comes from official sources.
Jim Wenger, while I respect your opinion and your stance and I support many of your concerns and the wonderful work you do, your comments offend and dismiss the very core of the needs of our neighborhood – if there was ANYONE who would come deal with the chronic stray, loose and hard to catch population in our neighborhood then we would volunteer for them. But it does NOT exist. Let me repeat and clarify that – that group does NOT exist as a 501 3c. And Duck Team Six will only pick up dogs if they have a foster – our problem has long passed that lofty ideal.
The gap from my front yard to 311 to DAS field services to the shelter, no less a rescue group has not been filled. Please do not chastise a VERY effective, thoughtful, non reactive group of people for trying to solve a problem they would rather not have in the first place. Do not use such a broad statement to collectively insult us all by calling our work unprofessional, ill equipped, and part of the problem. If there was not a chronic unaddressed gaping hole in basic necessary services, these people would not be trying to fill the gap on their own.
I am as knowledgeable and as “professional” at catching and rehabilitating hard to catch unsocial dogs as anyone at DAS. And I will be so bold as to say I am more proficient than most at DAS in that area. I am not a 501 3c, but that does not make me part of the problem or incompetent or a waste of city resources to collaborate with. And most importantly, it does not mean that I do not have valid knowledge of what goes WRONG at DAS. I learned my professional level animal behavior and dog catching skills out of need, not desire. When an individual citizen has to learn professional level skills to manage safety and quality of life animals issues for their neighborhood, it speaks volumes to the chronically unaddressed problem.
From Maelesk Fletes – President of the Dallas Animal Companion Project (DCAP) “Because one mistake happens doesn’t mean you don’t have to throw it out with the wash,” Maeleska Fletes said of the current investigation. “It happens, unfortunately.”
We understand the expression “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”. It is used to suggest an avoidable error in which something good is eliminated when trying to get rid of something bad, or in other words, rejecting the essential along with the inessential.
But this is not about ONE mistake. And no one is suggesting throwing out the baby. Why is everyone at DAS so resistant to reviewing procedure? To revamping and modernizing procedure? To an outside audit or to a consultant? And I am not talking about starting the process in 2017, or 2019, or 2020, I am talking about now!
Who wouldn’t want help in analyzing their business if their business is not meeting their goals, or when their customer service scores are unimaginably substandard, and or they can not find the financial support or the budget they need to succeed?
The expression says – throw out the bathwater. The expression comes from a time when multiple people shared bath water and by the time it was the baby’s turn to take a bath, the bath water was so dirty you might not see the baby in the water.
Throw out the dirty bathwater. One big mistake does not make the dirty bath water the city is sitting in regarding the loose and stray animal population. DAS, be proud of the work you have done to date, but not so proud that you are blind to the overwhelming public feedback to look inward and then look forward towards change.
In the meantime, to all of you who have said that non 501 3c rescue groups are the problem, we’ll still be here reaching out in the spirit of collaboration and education to our neighborhood associations, to our churches, to our schools, to our friends, to our rescue partners, to our city leaders, and to everyone we can find to support for the Oak Cliff Animal Initiative. Together, this collective of “unprofessional” passionate individuals will help solve this for our city and for our neighborhoods.
DAS – there has always been a seat at the table for you, Just give us a call when you are ready and we’ll sincerely and openly welcome your meaningful collaboration. In the meantime, we’ll go back to business as usual “being part of the problem”.
Please like and share our post if you support Gypsy Dog Ops, the Oak Cliff Animal Initiative and all the individual rescuers who work so tirelessly in their efforts to help our neighborhood be a safe place to live for both people and animals.