BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
Emotions ran high Wednesday
night, as officials from Companion Animal Alliance met with East Baton Rouge
Metro Council amid allegations of animal abuse and neglect.
"The cat was dying, barely
breathing and didn't receive any attention." "The changes have not been
positive. They really have taken a backwards turn. However many in attendance also
stood in support of C.A.A.
"I feel like we're going in
the right direction we just need the time." "It's a difficult job and these
are some of the most dedicated people I have ever met."
At issue is a recent
investigation of the shelter by Animal Control after complaints were levied and
the result is an organization in need of improvement according to Control
Director Hilton Cole.
"You cannot run an animal shelter,
an open end intake animal shelter without standard operating procedures,
organizational chart and a departmental or organizational manual," said Cole.
C.A.A. Executive Director Kim
Sherlaw agrees that improvements are needed and is hopeful changes will make
both sides happy.
"We need to move forward with the
more progressive model for Baton Rouge and we're going to do that by coming
together as our organization, with animal control, with rescue groups and with
our advocates," said Sherlaw.
Advocates that included members
of council who added priority number one should be the animals at the shelter.
"One thing I heard today from
everyone who spoke on both sides of the fence and believe it or not all have a
common goal and we all want to see that these animals are taken care of," said
Councilman Joe Boé.
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