“The West Volusia Humane Society’s sole purpose is to adopt to a loving family as many animals as possible. To do this the shelter cleans, feeds and houses many variety [sic] of animals. Typically cats and dogs. The shelter pays for all of the food and vet fees for animals that need this. The personnel to maintain the shelter is also included in these expenses. When the animals are adopted if they have not been spayed or neutered the adoption fee goes towards the process of getting this animal fixed.” From "Statement of Program Service Accomplishments, 2007 Tax Returns"
Sure about that statement as fact? Truth? Take a look at Miss Piggy above as a classic example of an animal that was in desperate need and has yet to be adopted. Last summer when I visited the shelter I noticed that her nails were so terribly long that they curled up under her feet - she could barely walk. Can you imagine how you'd feel if your toe nails curled up under your feet? Do you think it would hurt? I wrote a scathing email to county council accusing the shelter of improper care of the pig. A couple of days later a veterinarian arrived to clip back the nails.
Also notice the filthy water. After sending those photos to county council and across the county the shelter did do a bit of cleaning. Mrs. Gloria Thomas, director, also padlocked the gate so visitors couldn't get in to visit with the goats and chickens and Miss Piggy or see the insulation hanging down from the ceiling of the barn where they lived in filth. Maybe that's finally been cleaned.
The 2007 tax returns for the shelter show income of $235,000 and expenses of $134,000! The accountant, Amy Whitmarsh, got paid almost $9,000. And Mrs. Thomas got a remarkable $31,000, yet documents from former volunteers say she was rarely on site. What is even more amazing is that the telephone bill for that tiny little shelter was almost $2,000! Hmmmmm.
The return also indicates that $13,000 came from MEMBERSHIP dues yet Mrs. Thomas and her "board" did away with the membership this year. Are they so flush with money they could afford to give up the potential for another $10,000 or more in membership!? Of course they only discontinued membership AFTER my investigation was made public! Was that a coincidence? Was it to stop members from having access to the financial records?
The accountant makes almost $9,000 yet there is very little work to do in keeping those books. I do know that she is good at stonewalling. As a life member (and I was also a corporate sponsor) I requested access to the financial records. Mrs. Whitmarsh refused. And she did so in writing. In fact she referred me to Attorney Mike Teal, stating that he was handling rewriting the shelter's by-laws. A letter from Mr. Teal refuted Whitmarsh's claim.
Are you curious about where all that money is going????? And are you curious as to why I was refused access to the financial records?
7 comments:
Not to mention that Miss Piggy is so obese (yes, a pig can be fat) that she can not see. She is so fat that her fat rolls cover her eyes, causing her total blindness. You can tell by the picture. I have seen this before. She needs to lose a ton of weight! They are probably not feeding her the correct diet for a pig... I WILL be out there soon to take pics... I promise.
Shame on Mrs. Thomas for telling people that the place could not be fixed up because there were no funds.
No more free money for you!
The pig is not blind
Pigs are big - that's why they are called pigs. I went to visit there last week and she is in fine condition for a pig. She is not blind and saw me very well. She even approached me for a belly rub. Stop the hate.
Hate? Anyone with an ounce of brains can see that pig is extremely over weight! Pigs are not fat like this. Go out to the county fair in November and tell me how many pigs you find this fat! None! This is ABUSE WVHS!
The claim that Miss Piggy was blind is posted as shown below. You should have corrected this.
" Anonymous said...
Not to mention that Miss Piggy is so obese (yes, a pig can be fat) that she can not see. She is so fat that her fat rolls cover her eyes, causing her total blindness. You can tell by the picture. I have seen this before. She needs to lose a ton of weight! They are probably not feeding her the correct diet for a pig... I WILL be out there soon to take pics... I promise.
Monday, April 27, 2009"
I am the poster of the above comment. I stand corrected. Please let me correct myself. Miss piggy was so fat that she could not see (obvious in picture) at the time this photo was taken. She was so fat that her fat rolls covered her eyes and thus blocked her eye sight. It is a common problem with obese pigs. I have not seen Miss Piggy and am judging my opinion off of this picture. However if she has lost weight, as I read she has, then I see no reason that she should not be able to see.
I am not a vet, but I am a very qualified animal rescuer and have worked quite extensivly with swine and other farm animals. The sad fact is that many neglected and obese pigs get this conditon, and live this way their whole lives.
I am very glad Maggi saw to it that Miss Piggy's conditons were improved. Maggi does a wonderful job rescuing these poor animals, and I only wish there were more people like Maggi out there.
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