In another case, a senior dog presented with a limp and was placed on pain medication. Upon recheck, the record states: "P is stable. Still has a limp. Ok to d/c pain medication and move to gen pop." Pain management was discontinued despite continued clinical signs.

Similarly, a 10-month-old husky presented with a swollen leg and lameness. After 10 days, the record states: "P LF leg still slightly swollen at carpus but improving. No limping. D/C Carprofen. Still need xrays at time of spay." Radiographs were delayed, and swelling persisted.

Delayed diagnostics and inadequate pain management in a shelter environment can directly impact both welfare and behavior. Pain is a known driver of increased stress, lowered handling tolerance, and defensive behaviors, including escalation to biting. Without appropriate medical intervention, these responses may be misinterpreted as behavioral issues rather than pain related, potentially influencing outcomes such as euthanasia.

These concerns have been raised to executive leadership, including the CEO, and have been dismissed or left unaddressed. The examples outlined above represent only a small portion of ongoing, daily concerns. Failure to provide timely medical assessment, appropriate diagnostics, and consistent pain management compromises humane care and creates preventable safety risks for staff and volunteers. Immediate accountability and systemic change are necessary to ensure ethical standards of care are met.

2020 - 555

2021 - 553

2022- 640

2023 - 765

2024 - 1,116

2025 - 1,490

There's no doubt that spay/neuter is as important than ever AND this seems to indicate that elevated owner surrender fees are causing owners to "dump" their dogs.

It was one of the factors used to justify euthanizing her for behavior.

But this is the Sasha dog volunteers actually knew: social, playful, a true rockstar in doggy playgroup. In fact, she was so great she was used as a greeter dog to test new dogs. When a life-or-death decision is built on a label that doesn’t match reality, the cost is permanent and Sasha paid with her life.

How many more dogs are being misread? How well do Tacoma Humane staff know the dogs they are euthanizing?

Some were fortunate enough to spend their final moments with compassionate people who tried to comfort them. Others were dragged down the hall by untrained staff who showed little care as they were put to death.

Last year alone, HSTPC euthanized more than 300 dogs who were still counted in their “live release rate.” Many more were killed but never included in the official numbers. Loopholes make it easy to maintain a seemingly acceptable 90% live release rate while continuing to euthanize for time and space.

When a shelter hovers around a 90% live release rate, it often means the numbers are being used to justify killing rather than solving the real problem: dogs suffering trauma from prolonged shelter stress and a lack of meaningful enrichment and placement efforts.

Ace

Archie

Bando

Bella

Bellie

Benji

Bondi

Boris

Brother

Carl

Carolina

Cash

Cash Pitty

Cerys

Chad

Charles

Copa

Dap

Destiny

Unnamed Aussies

Dubai

Erik the Red

Filbert

Frankie

Gizmo

Granville

Hiwa

Jacob

Jasper

Jericho

Jerry

Joker

Kimbra

Leif

Lilly

Mark

Marlon

Maverick

Orion

Patrick

Peaches

Poppy

Qui-gon

Randy

Red

Reece

Riley

Robo

Roo

Royce

Sabaw

Sage

Sasha

Simba

Spirit

Sprout

Starfruit

Steel Cut Oats

Steven

Tony

Trucker

Tuck

Tucker

Vulky

Walnut

Willow

Winston

Wolfe

Zeus

Ziggy

It is no secret that non-profits are hugely attractive to people who have little to no motivation to improve animal welfare but are very interested in collecting a more than lucrative salary.

From the post:

So what actually needs to change?

It starts with a few crucial things…

1. The people in animal rescue.

We need better leadership. We need people without ego. People who lead with love. People who actually care about the animals more than being right, more than being loud, more than being seen.

And we need people who are actually in the arena doing the work for the right reasons. Not to feel important. Not to be seen. Not to project their own pain onto others. Because when that’s what drives someone, it doesn’t just create noise; it pushes good people out.

I see it happen all the time in shelters and rescues to good people. People who love animals, who want to help, who would make a real difference decide to leave this space because they can’t take the negativity, the judgment, and the way this community can treat its own.

And when those people leave, the animals lose.

If this space becomes more about noise and ego than impact, more about being right than actually getting results, we lose the very people we need the most. And the dogs are the ones who pay for it. That has to change. We need the right people representing this community.

During this stray hold period, kennel aides are supposed to walk these dogs. What we have seen tells a very different story.

Looking at records from July-Dec of 2025, a handful of dedicated kennel aides were voluntarily initialing the communication board when they took a stray dog outside, not because it was required, but because they knew how desperately these animals needed it. It was not a standard. It was not enforced. It was individual kindness filling a gap that leadership refused to address.

The result? At best, these dogs got one short potty break per day. Never twice. And as you can see, many never got out at all.

Imagine your dog getting lost. They end up at the shelter, frightened and alone, trying to hold their bladder for days on end with no relief, no comfort, and no consistency.

This was raised with shelter management and the board repeatedly. Nothing improved.

This is not an isolated oversight. It is a failure of leadership and a failure of basic animal welfare standards.

In Jan of this year kennel aides were told to NOT initial the communication board if they had taken out a stray. They were not given a reason why.

Despite begging management to not euthanize this guys, they did. He had so many volunteers literally fighting for him. A group of 5 of us literally lived at a house we borrowed and rotated who spent time there with Otis so he could get the CHANCE at living a normal life.

Volunteers regularly serve in hands-on roles—walking dogs, assisting with training and meet-and-greets, transporting animals, and providing visual content. These efforts are meant to support staff and animals, not manage employees or give directives. Framing this support as staff being “told what to do” creates unnecessary tension in an environment that relies heavily on collaboration.

Volunteers play a critical role in animal care and community engagement. Messaging that discourages communication or portrays volunteers as adversarial is unprofessional and risks undermining teamwork and animal welfare.

HSTPC should be a place where community members who are donating thousands of hours each year are truly valued instead of demonized because they dare to want better for the animals.

When potential adopters invest significant time and emotion—sometimes driving for hours—to meet a dog, being told to return another day often means the opportunity is lost. With so many dogs available for adoption, consistent staffing for facilitated adoptions is essential so these chances aren’t missed and dogs aren’t left waiting in kennels longer than necessary.

This issue is known, but a lasting solution has yet to be put in place.

Senior leadership continues to say dogs are getting out regularly and that staff are taking out potty trained dogs but the logs shows you differently.

Holding urine and feces for this long is a serious welfare concern. It can lead to medical issues, increased stress, and behavioral decline — all of which directly impact the dog’s wellbeing and adoptability.

This is more than a one-off oversight. It highlights a disconnect between what is being said and what is actually happening. The documentation speaks for itself, and the dogs deserve better.

Hailey was not taken out of her kennel until January 29 — six full days after intake. Her sheet shows she held her urine and feces for four days until she physically could not hold it any longer. No animal should ever be put in that position.

This is not just a minor oversight — it’s a serious lapse in care. Holding urine and feces for that long can cause pain, medical complications, and extreme stress. It also leaves dogs sitting in soiled kennels, which further impacts their health and wellbeing.

Leadership often states that stray dogs are being taken out regularly, but Hailey’s documentation tells a different story. This is a clear example of a dog who did not leave her kennel for nearly a week.

Dogs like Hailey rely on people to meet their most basic needs. When those needs are not met, it raises serious concerns about standards of care. The records speak for themselves — and Hailey deserved better.

The impact is real: I’ve donated more than 2,500 hours to this shelter, an investment worth roughly $42,500. Last year, volunteers contributed more than 40,000 hours, proving this community wants to be part of the solution.

Yet far too often leadership would rather volunteers step back than face hard truths. The focus shifts from the message to the messenger, and the response is frequently negative. Our insights, creativity, and solutions—volunteers who show up, lighten staff workloads, and care for the animals—are repeatedly dismissed.

The time has come for a change in leadership to restore trust and drive real, tangible progress. The time is now.

Email to Tacoma Humane Society Foster Lead:

“Due to the difficult communication with you during my THS foster experience, I would like to remove myself from the foster list.

The lack of initial clarity, the less-than-friendly replies and waiting in your office yesterday for nearly an hour past the time you requested I arrive has created an overall experience I am unwilling to repeat.

Yesterday I started at the front desk and was asked to wait in your office. I asked staff to radio you, and after a half hour of waiting I finally asked vet techs to give the foster animal a rabies shot and chip. I heard multiple staff trying to reach you, repeatedly asking you to come to your office and then telling you transport for the foster animal had arrived, with no response from you. When you walked in an hour after I arrived, you gave no sign that you cared that I’d been waiting for you for an extended period. There was a clear disregard for my time.”

One of the thigs I cherished most was being about to spend time in the dog's kennel providing comfort, care and enrichment before or after our walk. This has been taken away as well. Now we must open the kennel door a crack an attempt to get a leash on them. Any care or comfort must be done outside in the weather or in a populated hallway. Dogs who will not come to the door will not be walked unless a staff member has time.

The other day as I drove in, sick to my stomach at the thought of being in that oppressive environment and feeling the negativity, I wanted to see the dogs. During my shift I felt a deep sadness knowing that I couldn't be in such a hostile environment anymore. As I walked the last dog of my shift, I stopped, held him close, told him I loved him and told him good bye, because I knew I would not be back.

Ego has no place in animal welfare. Love does. When an animal is suffering, the response should be extraordinary compassion, selflessness, and relentless effort. True dedication shows up in policies and practices designed to provide the highest level of care, regardless of the circumstances.

At Tacoma Humane Society, many caring people show up every day and do their best for the animals. Unfortunately, leadership does not reflect that same passion. Instead, truth is minimized, messengers are silenced, and policies are used to control rather than support care. Rather than expanding access to help, procedures too often limit it—and punish those trying to provide it.

Volunteers who simply want to serve their community and help vulnerable animals have been targeted, vilified, and misrepresented. Many who once gave countless hours of time and expertise are leaving because they can no longer endure the toxic environment. Talented employees are leaving as well.

This should be a place where the community comes together for animals in need—a place filled with purpose, trust, and shared commitment. The work will always include heartbreak, but it should never lack unity or compassion.

Leadership should build community and model the right values. Instead, the focus too often seems to be on being right rather than doing what is right—and that pattern continues to repeat.

This program was started and primarily run by a dedicated group of volunteers, alongside one supportive staff member who has since left for another area shelter. From the beginning, volunteers carried the workload with little to no support from leadership or staff.

Since that staff member’s departure, the program has steadily declined. What was once offered six days a week is now down to just two. Fewer dogs are getting enrichment, socialization, and the opportunity to show who they really are outside of a kennel.

Even more concerning, the program now appears to be used as a determining factor for whether a dog is “dog social.” Dogs who don’t immediately show social behavior in this limited setting are being labeled — and in some cases, euthanized — based on those interactions.

A volunteer-driven program meant to provide enrichment and give dogs a chance is now being reduced, under-supported, and used in ways that raise serious concerns. These dogs deserve consistency, thoughtful evaluation, and a program that truly reflects their needs — not one that’s shrinking and being used against them.

The story gets better. The CEO is told by staff of this deception and instead of firing or demoting the two people involved she sends out the email above to other shelter CEO's. She is attempting to cover this up and write a policy after the fact to protect the two employees and allow them to get a free amputation. This is fraud, grift, unethical behavior to use your tax dollars and donations. Note: neither of the two women involved would qualify for low income as they make management wages. So this would be another fraud. THS needs new leadership.

As volunteers are pushed away, the shelter is relying more heavily on “no-touch enrichment.” While this can be helpful, it should never become the primary form of care. Tossing a treat from the hallway cannot replace the basic needs of a dog who needs to go outside, stretch, explore, and connect. Enrichment should help dogs cope between outings—not replace the time outside that they truly need.

It’s heartbreaking to see a coping tool become a substitute for meaningful care.

Dogs deserve more than survival in a kennel—they deserve moments that make them feel like dogs again.

Its time for a change in leadership and a new board that won't turn a blind eye to the lack of humane treatment at the shelter.

Over time, those dogs begin to come out of their shells. They make steady progress, and it becomes easier to leash them and take them out to the play yards, and eventually on walks. Many even reach a point where they run up to the volunteers they’ve bonded with, excited for attention and time outside the kennel.

Once that initial barrier of fear is broken, these dogs often have a high success rate for adoption—often on the first try—all because a volunteer took the time to connect with them in their kennel. That opportunity has now been removed by shelter administration, despite being essential to helping these dogs successfully transition out of the shelter.

Without that in-kennel bonding time, many dogs will remain fearful of their environment and will ultimately be unnecessarily euthanized for “behavioral issues” they were never given a real chance to overcome.

Dismissing the insight and dedication of accomplished people who freely give their time to strengthen this community is unacceptable—and so is continued inaction. It is time for change, and we hope you will lend your voice to this effort. Please sign the petition at the top of this page and write to your local leaders (template and contact information also available at the top of this page).

Inhumane Society:

I have a stray kitty that I am feeding and keeping warm and sheltered. I wanted to find him a home. I called Tacoma Human Society and was told "if the cat cannot be picked up or pet - we consider it

unadoptable. Therefore we will neuter him and drop him off back in the neighborhood he came from."

Now, I understand there is no way that all of Tacoma's stray cats could be housed at the humane society...however, I was not given other options I could potentially explore. The person I spoke to was extremely cold and rude. I also expressed concern with this health of this kitty. No advice was offered - even upon asking what else I could do. Very disappointing experience with this organization.

Across our community, there are rescues with the networks, resources, and expertise to step in and help relieve overcrowding and improve outcomes. Groups like Old Dog Haven, for example, specialize in placing senior dogs into loving homes and have a strong track record of doing so successfully.

So why aren’t more of these partnerships happening?

It’s honestly frustrating—and hard to understand—that more effort doesn’t seem to be made to reach out and collaborate. When capable, willing rescues exist but aren’t being engaged, it raises important questions. Is it a lack of outreach—or something else?

This isn’t about criticism for the sake of it. It’s about making sure every available resource is being used to help these animals.

At the end of the day, this should be about what’s best for the dogs—not who’s in control.

But there’s a growing concern that the environment feels less collaborative and more controlling. Instead of being supported and valued, some volunteers feel pressured, dismissed, or discouraged from speaking up.

That’s not sustainable—and it doesn’t just affect people, it affects the animals too.

This isn’t about blame. It’s about culture.

Are we creating a space where volunteers feel respected and empowered… or one where they feel they have to stay quiet to stay involved?

Because better collaboration leads to better outcomes—for everyone, especially the animals.

It appears the only step taken was to confirm the cat wasn’t lost by a family—then return it to an industrial dumpster area.

That’s hard to understand.

Were there other options that could have been explored—medical evaluation, rescue placement, foster care, or relocation to a safer environment?

This isn’t about placing blame. It’s about asking whether more could have been done to help a vulnerable animal in a clearly unsafe situation.

Because animals deserve more than being returned to survive where they were found.

There are a handful of kennel aides and adoption services representatives truly care about the animals. They spend time in kennels or give dogs kennel breaks at the end of the night and let them hang out in the lobby. Some of them save animals who are on the euthanasia lists or foster multiple bunnies or kittens regularly. Unfortunately, it's these sensitive folks who get overworked and overlooked time and time again. They are so grateful for volunteers providing enrichment to the pups, but vols are SO grateful to them for cleaning filthy kennels when we call, filling waters, giving pups clean blankets and toys. There are kennel aides who say they are too busy to help, but really they just walk around drinking soda and screaming at dogs and squawking orders their coworkers.

With the pay these kennel aides are given, folks have organized to give special christmas or birthday gifts to show appreciation. There's only so much unpaid volunteers can do to make these people feel valued though. Wish the shelter would pay them living wages at the very least.

Volunteers have felt increasingly scrutinized as possible sources of information, even though most of what has been shared appears to come from internal access. Because volunteers are unpaid and highly visible, they often feel they become the easiest focus of that concern.

Volunteers have repeatedly tried to rebuild a positive working relationship with management, but many feel those conversations have led to limited progress and lingering frustration.

After this incident, I wrote a careful and thoughtful response about my concerns regarding euthanasia policies and the leadership making those decisions. As someone who does not often speak out, I felt it was necessary and important to voice my concerns on this matter. So, I sent this letter to someone who I knew could bring it before key members of the THS board, to which they gave no response. I was told they weren’t ready or willing to hear it and I was dismissed outright. THS has lost sight of its primary mission to provide the best possible care and outcomes for the animals placed in its care, and the board is not holding the leadership accountable to this. 

This organization has no integrity left. They pay their CEO, Dalzell, nearly $200k annually, blow over six figures for their marketing director who misappropriated funds for a personal legal matter. HSTPC have been fleecing the public through their underused SPOT program bus, which sits idle paying rent to park at a grocer while the shelter continues to charge $400 owner surrender fees. Meanwhile, they deny any rise in pet abandonment, despite an undeniable increase in surrenders reported by countless surrounding rescues and other area shelters.

The level of greed, financial mismanagement and abuse of power is absolutely disgraceful. Now they’ve been terminating anyone they suspect is leaking their shady business secrets to the public.

Time to clean house! The city of Tacoma and Pierce County tax payers are being fleeced by this shady shelter.

We should feel appreciated and we do not. We see dogs we love living in horrible conditions, scared, or euthanized just because they are stressed. We spend a lot of time with the dogs and we write behavior reports. They seem to focus on the negative and not the positive reports. The dogs are under a microscope 24/7. One little slip and they are done. It is heartbreaking.... I will say we do have some amazing staff who work hard and are dedicated to the animals. I work closely with the kennel aides and most of them are amazing! Leadership and community come from the top and this is the problem at this time. Please help!

Right now, animals, staff, volunteers, and our community are being failed by leadership. We are seeing rising preventable deaths, animals turned away, overspending, and a workplace culture where concerns are ignored.

We brought our concerns to leadership and to the Board.
When no meaningful change followed, we turned to the community.

We want this shelter to succeed.
We want staff supported.
We want volunteers welcomed.
And most of all, we want animals safe.

Change is how we get there.”

I’ve decided not to return to HSTP. The main reasons are the new Volunteer Guide and the recent changes.

I emailed the volunteer coordinator a short time ago. Too many red flags in that manual.

I’m a volunteer, not an employee.

I love the dogs and will greatly miss them. Oh yeah, I love all of you too!!! I’ve met a lot of wonderful dog walkers. Keep loving those dogs. You all know how many days I came in to help out. And always stayed extra hours to get them all out.

A recent example is the sudden emphasis on staff walking dogs, which is now being portrayed as a regular, ongoing practice. It hasn’t been. Historically, a small number of deeply dedicated kennel staff stepped up to walk dogs that volunteers could not due to stray-hold restrictions. Only in the past week has staff broadly begun walking dogs, and even then, the rollout has raised serious concerns about training and adherence to safety protocols that exist to protect both people and animals.

This pattern feels familiar: a short burst of visible activity that looks good from the outside but lacks the planning, training, and long-term commitment required to create real change.

Animal welfare cannot be built on optics. It requires consistency, accountability, and leadership willing to do the hard, unglamorous work every single day. When the focus stays on appearances, the result is a culture that feels performative rather than compassionate — and our animals deserve far better than that.

A similar attitude was expressed regarding kennel cleanliness. In some cases, feces were left in kennels with the reasoning that the dogs would just soil the space again.

These situations reflect a broader problem with standards of care. Regardless of the challenges, access to water and a clean environment are fundamental needs. There is no justification for neglecting them.

In some cases, those dogs were euthanized.

Dogs need time to adjust to new environments. Throwing them into high-stress situations right away sets them up to fail. When that happens, the failure isn’t theirs.

Whether it’s better adopter education, stronger screening, or giving dogs a second chance—something needs to change.

Dogs should not lose their lives because of preventable human mistakes.

Accessing medical care was another challenge. For months, the only option was an app that didn’t function properly, making timely treatment difficult, if not impossible.

Fosters are stepping up to help, but they’re being set up to manage medical issues without the support they need. That’s not sustainable, and it’s not fair to the animals or the people trying to care for them.

Basic medical oversight and reliable access to care should be the standard—not an afterthought.

At the end of one shift, just before 6:30, I tried to quickly take one of these dogs out to relieve himself. I was stopped and told to put the dog back, despite knowing he would hold it and suffer overnight.

This wasn’t a one-time situation—it happened regularly.

Rigid rule enforcement should never come at the expense of an animal’s basic needs. Policies should support welfare, not override it.

First off, there’s no hands-on training provided by staff. Volunteers train each other and do an excellent job. In March 2026, THS implemented a sudden policy change requiring that volunteers no longer enter dog kennels, effective immediately. This change was made without prior notice or input from trainers (volunteers), who were unaware of the new protocol. The lack of communication and training around this decision created confusion, safety concerns, and frustration.

Volunteers are leaving. People I deeply respect, mentors and highly skilled dog handlers, have left or been fired after raising reasonable questions about policies and decisions. These individuals weren’t just volunteers, they were essential to the dogs’ lives. Their experience, patience, and commitment directly improved outcomes for the animals. When those voices are dismissed or pushed out, it impacts not only the volunteer community, but also the quality of care the dogs receive. Morale and animal welfare are suffering. Something needs to change.

·       Wet floors without warning

·       Cluttered hallways and trip hazards

·       Removal of traction rugs and replacement with ineffective materials

·       Lack of signage to prevent unsafe public interactions with kenneled dogs

In 2024’s Annual Report, the Humane Society’s Live Release Rate was reported to be 92%.

The Humane Society never posted a 2025 Annual Report--which means it has not made its Live Release Rate public.  Don’t you wonder what the Live Release Rate is now?

Asilomar Live Release Rate is calculated by (total live outcomes) divided by (total outcomes minus owner requested euthanasia).

·       Medical issues left untreated prior to adoption

·       Dogs and cats kept in unsanitary conditions, including sitting in urine or feces

·       Animals fed in dirty kennels

·       Delayed or absent veterinary care, including serious conditions

·       Medication not being ingested, despite being logged as given (uneaten pills frequently found in kennels)

·       Nails left overgrown to the point of affecting mobility and handler safety

Pets over profit 🐯✊🏽🐶

·       Volunteers lack access to up-to-date and complete behavior reports, limiting their ability to safely handle dogs

·       The kennel communication system is frequently outdated or incomplete, which means volunteers are interacting with animals whose behavior may have changed, for better or worse

·       Dogs may go days without being walked due to tracking failures, increasing their stress

·       Medication uncertainty (pills on ground and not swallowed by dogs) creates additional handling risk

I understand losing livestock is always hard and sad, but what I find even sadder is these dogs have no one advocating for them. They’re voiceless, failed by humans, and have zero second chances. And the public doesn’t even know they ever existed. They’re just another number. The few dedicated kennel aides that take them out have said the dogs are so loving and sweet.

The shelter says they don’t euthanize for space so I guess they gotta find other reasons.

When will these folks be held accountable to bringing much needed change to the shelter and stop supporting a ceo that doesn’t truly support the animals? They continue turning a blind eye to the animals in need while putting a feather in their cap. It’s time these board members stand for something because they stand for nothing right now and it’s a shame.

This was not an isolated incident. It raises serious concerns about standards of care, accountability, and transparency, and calls for a thorough review of practices and oversight.

This is not an agency to be trusted - they never admit mistakes and will never hold themselves accountable. In fact, once called on this type of horror they'll dodge, spin and rewrite the narrative as if any words could make this make sense.

These animals have no voice and as controversial as it is, we must be their voice!

**Know that there is a longer video that shows these poor cats suffering, but it could not be uploaded to the site.

“I am aware and understand that volunteering is a potentially dangerous activity and involves the risk of personal or

psychological injury, pain, suffering, temporary or permanent disability, death, property damage, and/or financial

loss. I acknowledge that any injuries that I sustain may result from or be compounded by the actions, omissions or

negligence of Tacoma Humane, Including negligent emergency response or rescue operation the Humane Society for

Tacoma & Pierce County. Not withstanding the risk, I acknowledge that I am knowingly and voluntarily participating in

the activity with an express understanding of the danger involved and hereby agree to accept and assume any and all

risks of injury, disability, death, and/or property damage arising from my participation in the activity, whether caused by the ordinary negligence of Tacoma Humane or otherwise.”

Here’s one idea: fix the problems, known about by the Humane Society for years and documented, so that volunteers and staff are safer.

We are raising concerns about volunteer and staff safety, animal welfare, and operational practices at the Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County.  These concerns, which appear misaligned with established industry standards including those from the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, have been reported for years to executive leadership and the board.  They know the problems.  They have refused to act.

·       Significant turnover across dog services staff, veterinary staff, and experienced volunteers--resignation of dog services leadership; departure of veterinary staff and experienced kennel staff; multiple highly experienced volunteers and even board members stepping away due to concerns

For a long time, we chose patience over protest. We trusted the system—raising concerns through committees, filing whistleblower reports, meeting with leadership, and reaching out directly to the Board. I believed that if the issues were clearly heard, meaningful change would follow. Instead, nothing improved. In many cases, things got worse: declining care, gaps in safety and services, no real protocols for animals in distress, strained partnerships, and a growing culture of toxicity.

And when concerns are raised, they aren’t addressed—they’re dismissed. The focus shifts to discrediting the messenger rather than confronting the problem. As someone aptly compared, it’s like a doctor diagnosing cancer, only to be blamed instead of the disease itself.

Right now, this organization is in crisis. Leadership decisions are making it harder—not easier—for dogs to experience enrichment, care, and dignity. What’s most frustrating is the absence of effort to build meaningful programs that could actually help.

Until very recently, volunteers carried nearly all of the enrichment work. We walked the dogs. We cleaned the equipment. We organized playgroups, outings, and off-site experiences. We gave these animals the attention and care they deserved. It raises a difficult question: why hasn’t staff been more involved in these vital interactions? Because when you truly know an animal—when you see their personality and potential—it becomes much harder to treat them as disposable.

We are the voice of these discarded and neglected animals—and we are asking for better.

This is a textbook example of how things operate at HSTPC.

A committee was formed to solve a simple, persistent problem: volunteers had no reliable way to communicate dogs’ health concerns to veterinary staff. What existed before—word of mouth—was inconsistent and often ineffective. Concerns were raised, but it was rarely clear whether anything had been seen, noted, or addressed.

After months of meetings and multiple layers of staff approval, the committee introduced a straightforward solution: a medical communication board. Volunteers would log the date, dog’s name, kennel number, observed issue, and their initials. It was simple, transparent, and—most importantly—trackable.

Volunteers embraced it immediately.

For the first time, issues like diarrhea, coughing, sneezing, injuries, mobility problems, infections, and overgrown nails were consistently documented. Volunteers even photographed the board at the end of shifts to ensure continuity and awareness across teams. There was momentum, accountability, and a shared sense that dogs’ needs were finally being clearly communicated.

Three weeks later, it unraveled.

A lengthy directive was issued prohibiting volunteers from recording many of the most common and important observations—diarrhea, coughing, sneezing, long nails, and more. Instead, we were told to notify staff directly—the very system that had already proven unreliable. We were also barred from photographing the board, as entries were now considered “medical notes.”

With those changes, the board lost its purpose.

Once again, it became unclear whether concerns were being seen or acted upon. Volunteers were told a kennel tagging system would track issues, but there was no visibility into whether treatment followed. Repeatedly, dogs with ongoing conditions appeared to go untreated for days.

What began as a clear, practical solution was reduced to a fragmented and opaque process—one that ultimately weakened communication instead of improving it.

The result: a well-intentioned effort to help dogs turned into a system that obscures problems rather than solves them.

Volunteers are the ones consistently providing enrichment, comfort, and hands-on care. Yet leadership, rather than supporting these efforts, has increasingly tried to create the appearance of involvement that simply does not reflect reality. At the same time, there has been a shift toward “damage control,” with messaging that suggests unity—“we are one of you”—when the lived experience of volunteers tells a very different story.

The truth is, much of the essential, day-to-day work of animal welfare has been left to volunteers, while some in leadership positions appear unwilling to engage in the same tasks they expect others to perform. This is especially troubling in a field that should be rooted in compassion, humility, and a shared commitment to the well-being of animals.

Volunteers do this work not for recognition or compensation, but out of genuine care. They advocate for animals because those animals cannot advocate for themselves. Labeling that advocacy as “hateful” or dismissing concerned voices with harmful language is not only inaccurate—it creates an environment of intimidation that discourages transparency and accountability. The individuals losing sleep over these animals deserve respect, not dismissal.

Efforts to create change have not been absent. Volunteers have followed formal channels—serving on committees, submitting whistleblower reports, attending meetings, and even engaging with the Board. Despite this, meaningful change has not occurred. Instead, there is a growing perception that leadership’s focus has shifted toward controlling the narrative rather than addressing the underlying issues.

It’s important to be clear: this is not a condemnation of all staff. Many are deeply dedicated, hardworking, and appreciative of volunteer support. But that same commitment is not consistently reflected at the leadership level—and that is where the concern lies.

Volunteers collectively contribute tens of thousands of hours, along with financial support and essential supplies. They show up with one purpose: to improve the lives of the animals in their care. They are not looking for conflict or “gotcha” moments—they are trying to make a difficult environment more humane, more compassionate, and more effective.

When those efforts are dismissed or reframed as a problem, something is fundamentally wrong.

This is a call to listen—truly listen—to the people who are there every day. Not to brief appearances or curated messaging, but to the lived experiences of those who have devoted significant time and energy to this work.

The community deserves transparency.

The volunteers deserve respect. And most importantly, the animals deserve better.

Silence has not led to improvement. That is why these voices are being shared now.

What’s been observed instead is concerning.

In multiple cases, the response appears limited to internal notices and notifying animal control. What hasn’t been clearly visible is an active search effort—no coordinated teams, no broad public alerts, no immediate use of professional recovery services.

The outcomes speak for themselves. Some dogs have gone missing for extended periods. Others have been found injured or killed.

Accidents can happen in any shelter. But when they do, the response matters.

So the question is simple:
Why aren’t stronger recovery efforts standard practice?

At minimum, the community expects:

• Immediate, organized search efforts

• Public alerts that reach beyond the shelter

• Consideration of professional tracking or trapping

• Transparency about what’s being done

This isn’t about blame—it’s about accountability. When a dog goes missing, doing the bare minimum isn’t enough.

This is not leadership. This is a waste of dollars generously provided by the community.

If a dog slipped one, something failed: the fit, the handling, or the training.

This isn’t about blame—it’s about safety. Dogs don’t just “slip out” of properly used equipment.

What’s being done to make sure this doesn’t keep happening?

We’re being told safety protocols were put in place—but where are they in practice? A properly fitted collar should not slip. That’s basic handling, not a complicated fix.

Saying changes have been made doesn’t mean they’re actually happening. If collar checks are required, why are dogs still leaving with loose, unsafe fits?

This isn’t unpredictable. This is preventable. And these dogs depend entirely on people to get it right—every single time.

At what point do policies stop being statements and start being enforced?

We have always been told to check fit of collar before leaving the kennel because we had dogs get out of their collars and run away and get hit by cars.

Tacoma Humane gave no information about how to check fit of collar since there is no safe way to do that now.

The new policy they gave us (with a day of notice and no training) is to never go into kennels. Now volunteers have to slip dogs while holding kennel closed from outside the kennel and then keep the slip tight until they get down the hallway and then reach around the high-energy dog while it’s frantic to get outside BUT HOLD ONTO THE SLIP and then clip the leash to their collar which might not even fit well. Ans volunteers do all this while in a busy and loud area.

I don’t volunteer there anymore and I wonder how many dogs are getting loose because of this policy.

Two weeks later, little has changed. The responsibility has largely fallen back on volunteers with limited staff involvement (mainly kennel aides and adoption services).

The result is predictable: dogs are not receiving adequate exercise or enrichment, volunteers have left in significant numbers due to ongoing treatment and policies, and the burden on remaining staff continues to grow.

It is increasingly common for dogs to spend nearly all day in their kennels, sometimes receiving only a single short walk. That is not a standard of care this community should accept.

As long as current leadership remains in place without accountability, these conditions will persist—and both the animals and the community will continue to be underserved.

These concerns have also been raised with the Board. To date, there has been no meaningful or visible response.

If leadership won’t show up for the animals, they shouldn’t be leading.

Consider the typical experience: a dog may have been roaming, hungry and exhausted, then captured by a stranger, transported in unfamiliar conditions, and placed into a loud, overstimulating shelter environment. Within a very short time, that dog is handled repeatedly by unfamiliar people, moved through crowded kennels, and expected to remain calm and compliant.

In that context, even a momentary reaction—a growl, a snap, or what is often described as a “hard stare”—can be interpreted as a behavioral failure.

The concern is that these are not necessarily indicators of an unadoptable dog, but rather normal stress responses to an overwhelming situation. When those responses are used to justify euthanasia, the line between assessment and outcome becomes deeply troubling.

Volunteers and observers question whether current practices adequately account for stress, decompression time, and the insights of those who spend the most time working directly with these animals.

At its core, this raises a fundamental question: Are we evaluating who these dogs truly are—or how they react in their worst, most fearful moments?

These patterns raise serious concerns about whether the individuals making these decisions truly understand canine behavior—especially in a high-stress shelter environment. Fear, confusion, and overstimulation are predictable responses under these conditions, yet they appear to be interpreted as definitive behavioral flaws. When decisions carry irreversible consequences, they must be grounded in demonstrated expertise and a thorough understanding of stress and decompression—not snap judgments based on isolated reactions. Without that level of knowledge and discipline, there is a real risk that dogs are being misread, misclassified, and ultimately lost for behaviors that are entirely situational—not indicative of who they are.

If you can't afford a vet to euthanize your pet, Kitsap Humane Society in Silverdale will let you be with them, and their prices are comparable. If your pet is suffering, please take it to an emergency vet. Most of them will perform the procedure in better conditions and reduce their fees because they cannot in knowingly and willfully let an animal suffer.

Supporting animal welfare should always be transparent and voluntary — never buried in the checkout process.

A shady way to get donations. What else might be shady? Keep reading.

Had shelter leadership truly prioritized animal welfare and truly valued  volunteers who spend countless hours caring for these animals, this incident likely never would have occurred. Instead, repeated warnings, concerns, and dissenting voices have too often been dismissed or ignored.

The deeper issue is a longstanding failure of accountability. Leadership decisions continue to produce chaos, preventable harm, and heartbreak, yet meaningful oversight has been absent. The board’s failure to fully exercise its duty to the community has only enabled a culture where poor judgment is repeated without consequence.

Every day, animals enter the shelter during the most vulnerable and stressful moments of their lives. They deserve thoughtful rehabilitation, individualized care, patience, and advocacy. Instead, what has emerged is an increasingly industrialized approach to animal management — one where efficiency and control appear to outweigh compassion, collaboration, and humane care. Animals are treated as though they should simply endure trauma quietly, without regard for their emotional and behavioral needs.

Tacoma deserves better. More importantly, the animals deserve better. These are sentient beings that rely entirely on humans for protection, healing, and responsible stewardship. A humane society should embody those values — not repeatedly fall short of them.

Negligent leadership has been allowed to operate without accountability, and repeated poor judgment has created a well-funded machine falling short where it matters most.

Dallas should never have been selected for that event. He had recently been returned, needed time to decompress, and had spent two days in a kennel before being taken to a chaotic public event. He had done well on a walk on property that morning, but dogs often behave very differently under stress. A crowded, noisy marathon finish line was not an appropriate setting.

Volunteers have logged thousands of successful offsite experiences, providing enrichment and behavioral insight. To now suggest this tragedy was simply due to “insufficient training” is deflection. What THS has not shared, despite claims of transparency, is that this volunteer may not have been appropriately matched for this dog and situation. That is not a training failure. That is a leadership failure.

A properly managed volunteer program requires understanding volunteer capabilities and making responsible placements. Had that happened here, this tragedy may have been avoided.

True transparency would sound like this: We placed a stressed dog into an inappropriate high-stimulation environment with a handler unable to safely manage the situation. Our decisions contributed to a catastrophic outcome.

Instead, Tacoma Humane appears to follow a familiar pattern: control the narrative, minimize responsibility, and shift blame outward. Their message is always, “We are sorry this happened.” What the public has yet to hear is: “Our failures in judgment and leadership allowed this to happen.”

Now, only after mounting public pressure and a tragic, highly visible incident in which a dog lost its life, action has finally been taken. While removing the CEO may be a necessary step, it should not be mistaken for exemplary governance. Acting only after a public crisis is not leadership—it is damage control.

The reality is this: the Board’s prolonged inaction enabled the very conditions that allowed these failures to continue. By ignoring repeated warnings, dismissing concerns, or failing to exercise proper oversight, this Board allowed ineffective leadership to remain in place while shelter conditions, volunteer relationships, staff morale, and public trust steadily eroded.

Accountability cannot begin and end with the CEO. Governance matters. Oversight matters. Stewardship matters. A Board’s responsibility is not simply to react when public outrage becomes impossible to ignore; it is to act when credible concerns first emerge.

The community deserves more than a symbolic leadership change. It deserves honest reflection from the Board about its own role in allowing this situation to persist, and a demonstrated commitment to rebuilding this organization with transparency, competence, and accountability at every level.

Today, that volunteer corps has been dramatically reduced. Many experienced volunteers have left after expressing concerns about leadership, policies, and the volunteer environment. As a result, the organization is now relying on paid staff working overtime to provide services that were once performed by dedicated volunteers.

This raises two important questions:

1. Why isn't dog care, including walking and enrichment, a routine part of every animal care employee's day? Many people choose careers in animal welfare because they want to work directly with animals. Shouldn't regular interaction with the dogs be a core responsibility rather than an overtime assignment?

2. Is paying overtime the best use of donor funds? Or would rebuilding a strong, well-supported volunteer program provide better care for the animals while using charitable resources more effectively?

A healthy volunteer program benefits everyone. Dogs receive more exercise, enrichment, and socialization. Staff can focus on specialized responsibilities. Donor dollars stretch further. Most importantly, the animals receive the consistent care they deserve.

If an organization has lost the trust and support of the very volunteers who once donated thousands of hours of their time, that isn't simply a staffing issue—it's a leadership issue that deserves thoughtful attention.

So the obvious question is: Why isn't Tacoma Humane focused on rebuilding its volunteer program?

From my perspective, the answer is deeply concerning. After watching so many experienced volunteers leave, it appears there is little interest in welcoming them back. I believe one reason may be that a smaller volunteer presence means fewer independent witnesses to daily operations and fewer people able to speak publicly about practices they believe fall short of the level of care the community expects.

Whether or not others share that conclusion, the result is clear: fewer volunteers, fewer eyes on animal care, higher staffing costs, and ultimately fewer resources directed to the animals themselves.