UPDATE: Friday, MAS release the following statement.
“Since June 1, MAS has used relief vets and organizations to perform spay/neuter surgeries. Pursuant to TN law for spray/neuter practices, for any animal that is unaltered at the time of adoption, pet parents sign a contract requiring them to complete the surgery within 30 days (T.C.A. Sections 44-17-501-504). If they do not comply, they may receive a citation, and a court order may be issued. MAS maintains an active DEA license and premise permit and has been administering pain medication, as needed, to animals in our care. MAS is not required to have a USDA vet on staff. The investigation will include internal and external review and the cause of death determination is being conducted by an external agency. “
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The chairwoman of a city advisory committee overseeing Memphis Animal Services says the city’s animal shelter does not currently have any full-time veterinarians, and is adopting out unaltered animals.
Dr. Jennifer Karnes, owner of Central Animal Hospital, said two veterinarians who had worked at Memphis Animal Services for years resigned last month, and MAS has not been able to replace them. She said most of the supervisors at the shelter have also quit over the past few months.
“MAS brought in Dr. Isis Johnson-Brown as the DVM of record for the Tennessee Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. I am very unclear whether Dr. Johnson is a part-time city employee or a contract per-day worker,” said Karnes. “They have daily veterinarians that come in some days of the week, somebody who’s just doing a shift.”
Karnes said MAS no longer has a scheduled drug DEA permit that would allow them to administer pain medications to animals or a USDA veterinarian on staff to issue health certificates.
“The shelter is not supposed to send a shelter dog to a shelter in Minnesota without a USDA health certificate,” Karnes said. “No narcotic pain management is available to animals unless they are seen by an outside veterinarian who prescribes drugs.”
Karnes said that because MAS doesn’t have full-time vets, they are sending unaltered dogs into the community with only a promise from the adopters that the animals will be spayed or neutered. She said she’s afraid pet owners will not be able to afford the surgeries.
“I know they had a doctor come in two Fridays ago and spayed and neutered 15 or 20 dogs. They try to get as many appointments as possible at Spay Memphis on Summer, but of course, Spay Memphis is doing their own thing, so they don’t have a lot of overflow for MAS.”
MAS Director Ty Coleman, who has been on the job for less than a year, has not responded to questions about the status of staff veterinarians, only saying their current staffing level is appropriate for continuing operations.
When asked if some dogs were being released into the community unaltered, Coleman released this statement:
“We recognize the importance of state laws requiring pets to be spayed or neutered and support our adoptive families in meeting this responsibility. If an animal is adopted before being spayed or neutered, we are able to provide a surgery plan that requires adopters to complete the procedure within 30 days.”
All 4s Rescue League, a group that works with pet owners to improve the lives of animals in the Memphis area, said they don’t think MAS would be able to follow up on adoptions.
“This is an absolute disaster,” said Suzy Hollenbach. “We are already gravely out of control with our stray population, and spaying and neutering is not being addressed in the backyard. Handing them out unaltered at the shelter is mismanagement at best.”
This week, MAS was forced to address the care of their animals after a dog was found dead in a play yard. Karnes said there was no question it was a heat-related death because the dog’s body temperature was over 109 degrees.
MAS hasn’t said how long Lulu was outside or if the dog was being supervised in the play yard, but it said an investigation was ongoing, and they were committed to the safety of all animals in their care.
WREG contacted the City of Memphis to find out why the veterinarians at MAS resigned and how many dogs had been released into the community unaltered, and we are waiting to hear back.