Manatee County Animal Services' new chief sets sound agenda

Only two months into her position as the chief of Manatee County Animal Services, Sarah Brown has spent time correcting procedural deficiencies found in yet another agency audit and witnessed the revival of the Animal Services Advisory Board.

The same week she accepted the appointment, Brown's welcome to the community was marked by a protest along Manatee Avenue by animal advocates claiming a lack of accountability in Animal Services and demanding a slew of firings. Nothing unusual about that.

After all, the agency, its employees, county commissioners and administrators have endured the slings and arrows lobbed by sharp critics of the practices and procedures at Animal Services for years. The recent protest followed frequent calls for firings and resignations. But those animal activists have been quiet of late, a hopeful sign.

This latest audit, conducted by the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller's Office to determine the validity of allegations by a former shelter manager, confirmed two of the accusations. Neither was explosive and both have been addressed. One covered clerical and administrative oversight problems with time cards and the other on vaccine storage.

The re-establishment of the Advisory Board comes at an opportune time for Brown to demonstrate one of her key goals: community collaboration. Animal Services already has great relationships with rescue and other animal organizations, key partners in easing the county shelter's chronic overcrowding.

After some 18 months on hiatus in the wake of public hostilities over several high-profile animal cases, the Animal Services Advisory Board is back in business. Momentum to re-establish the board stalled last fall.

The volunteer board became a target of protesters in July 2014 when a strident crowd of around 100 people descended on a board meeting to accuse county shelters of animal cruelty and mistreatment as well as disrespect toward humans. The board quit meeting about four months later. Today's a new day, and board members sense positive energy -- and a better future.

Brown stepped into a demanding situation, but she appears up to the task. Upon assuming her post in February, she established a host of welcome priorities: accountability, transparency, open communications, compassion and, as mentioned, community collaboration.

The shelter is working on expanding the foster system, creating a new behavior evaluation system and attracting additional volunteers.

The circle of vocal critics pales in comparison to the broad community support of Animal Services from rescue and other animal organizations and volunteers united behind the county's No-Kill policy.

Trailblazing commissioners approved a No-Kill policy in 2011, the first county in Florida to embrace the challenge of saving healthy and adoptable animals from euthanasia and only putting down ailing and aggressive ones.

Back in 2008, 61 percent of the dogs and cats that entered Animal Services were euthanized. For several years now, the agency's save rate routinely surpasses the 90-percent benchmark required for No-Kill status. Less than 10 percent of county shelter pets are put down.

Brown stepped into a post with a somewhat checkered history, but the remarkable and ongoing success of the No-Kill movement remains a point of pride.

Animal Services does not hold an impeccable record. Some agency wounds were self-inflicted, the most notorious being the years-long absence of oversight of an East Manatee shelter where deplorable, substandard conditions existed.

Animal Services deserved a profusion of blame for continuing to send animals to Napier's Log Cabin Horse and Animal Sanctuary while knowing of the ghastly deficiencies, this coming to light after law enforcement raided the so-called shelter in February 2014 and arrested the owners on animal cruelty charges. Both were convicted. Reforms brought new practices and procedures to ensure oversight of the shelter's private partners is maintained.

In a February interview with Herald county reporter Claire Aronson, Sarah Brown articulated additional important objectives, perhaps the highest being the restoration of community trust in Animal Services and implementing positive changes. She certainly deserves the community's support moving forward.

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Manatee County Animal Services' new chief sets sound agenda ."