Camden shelter officials defend reports
Sep. 27—A group of concerned citizens showed up at Monday's Camden County Humane Society with questions about the operations and possible discrepancies in reported kill rates.
Because they were not on the list of people asking to address the board during the public comment period, they were initially denied a request to speak.
St. Marys City Councilman Jim Goodman asked if he could have two minutes of the board's time and was granted the request. He immediately ceded his time to Terri Walden, a county resident who has an issue with what she said are conflicting numbers submitted in the board's monthly kill rate reports and what is actually happening.
Board President Dave Brown said Walden was misinterpreting the numbers. The reported kill rate for August was a little more than 16%, Brown said.
Walden claimed the actual number was much higher.
Brown told Walden the best way to get her questions answered was to submit them in writing to the board and "we'll respond in due time."
Madonna Marx, board secretary, said the monthly reports do not reflect what happens over time. She gave the example of 50 dogs coming to the shelter at one time. Half the dogs get adopted and the other half are sent to another shelter for adoption. She said the monthly numbers don't show that change.
"There are ones being sent to other shelters that aren't getting totaled up," she said.
Board members also discussed preparations for the impending threat of Hurricane Ian. They said biggest issues at the shelter are the possible loss of power and water, but there is plenty of propane in case of a power outage and a good supply of potable water to sustain the animals.
After the meeting, Phyllis Brown, who is not related to the board chairman, said she has attended the past two meetings and the board's attitude toward the audience was "totally different" because members of the media and an elected official were in attendance.
"They would have never allowed people to talk or ask questions," she said. 'I don't understand the way they explained the statistics."
Walden said she planned to take the board up on its invitation to submit some thought provoking questions.
"There is a conflict in the numbers in the monthly reports," she said. "They have done nothing to get these animals adopted."
