No Cruelty At McKamey, Executive Director Says In Letter To Volunteers And Fosters

The embattled executive director of McKamey Animal Center has reached out to MAC volunteers and foster partners, assuring them that there is no truth to allegations of animals at the facility being treated cruelty.

“By now you are all aware of the assertions being made against MAC and our staff,” Ms. Fricke wrote, referring to complaints made by former employees who watched while an animal control officer used at catch pole to drag a bleeding, cowering dog to the room where it was to be euthanized.

Further, according to the allegations, that officer and others in the euthanization room were heard laughing while the animal was being killed.

Unfortunately, the current and former employees said, that incident is not the only time an animal at McKamey was neglected and/or treated cruelly.

“The claims being made are horrendous,” Ms.

Fricke wrote in the letter distributed Friday, “and I don’t blame any of you for being troubled by them. However, I can say with 100 percent conviction that there has been no cruelty here at MAC during my tenure, and there never will be.”

“You may not know me well yet, but you certainly know the staff you have been working closely with during your tenure as MAC volunteers and fosters,” she continued, “and I have no doubt that you have 100 percent confidence in their commitment to the health and welfare of our animals.”

The letter, circulated by the facility’s interim volunteer manager and its volunteer coordinator, went out at the end of a week marked by turmoil at McKamey.

An explanatory statement posted on the organization’s Facebook page, for example, drew more that 500 responses from people concerned about the allegations – the vast majority of them angry and demanding change.

In her letter, Ms. Frick acknowledged McKamey has problems.

“Do we have room for improvement?” she asked. “Absolutely, and we are working hard at bringing MAC in line with best practices each and every day. To do so, we are currently evaluating all aspects of our organization and prioritizing our much-needed infrastructure improvements.”

Further, she said, McKamey now plans to “begin working with a deeply respected advisory group to ensure we’re practicing the most modern and humane animal control practices.

“I look forward to sharing more detailed information soon,”she continued.

The full text of Ms. Frick’s letter reads as follows:

Dear MAC Volunteers and Foster Partners,

By now you are all aware of the assertions being made against MAC and our staff. The claims being made are horrendous, and I don’t blame any of you for being troubled by them. However, I can say with 100 percent conviction that there has been no cruelty here at MAC during my tenure, and there never will be.

Do we have room for improvement? Absolutely, and we are working hard at bringing MAC in line with best practices each and every day. Todo so, we are currently evaluating all aspects of our organization and prioritizing our much-needed infrastructure improvements.

We will also begin working with a deeply respected advisory group to ensure we’re practicing the most modern and humane animal control practices.

I look forward to sharing more detailed information soon.You may not know me well yet, but you certainly know the staff you have been working closely with during your tenure as MAC volunteers and fosters, and I have no doubt that you have 100 percent confidence in their commitment to the health and welfare of our animals.

I hope that you will remember them when you hear assertions being made, and know that those damaging rumors are not, and never will be, a true representation of MAC.

Thank you so much for all you have contributed to MAC and to the animals – I know that when the dust settles and the truth comes to light, we will all move forward stronger together.

With deepest appreciation.

Inga