Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Disclosure

We are not associated in any way with the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley [HSSBV] other than we live in the area and some of us are former clients and donors.

The information stated herein is based on the beliefs and opinions of the witnesses quoted. Only a court of law can determine if there has been a violation of any laws by HSSBV or any of the individuals named.

This site was created to protect animals and animal caretakers.

Contact us at: hssbvInquiry@gmail.com

Monday, February 15, 2010

New Witness! Animals Suffered Agonizing Deaths!

A reliable source submitted a statement February 15, 2010, under penalty of perjury, stating that HSSBV's 'humane educator' Lynn Hildebrand killed thousands of animals in their presence over a period of years and that many of the animals died a long agonizing death, screaming in pain, because of the way they were killed. Hildebrand even allowed others that she brought in afterhours to kill with her.

The testimony is rivoting, heartbreaking and shocking and will be submitted to the appropriate authorities.

The witness swore that Hildebrand repeatedly represented to owners and others that she would find good homes for their animals but she killed them instead. Further, it was stated that Hildebrand worked hard at building herself up as someone who could find homes for animals. Her sources included placing ads and answering 'free to good home' ads, teachers, students, vet offices, local and national organizations, shelters, animal control agencies, rescues and more.

Please help stop the mass killings at HSSBV that Sue Dawson, head of HSSBV, has admitted to and that witnesses say has occurred over two decades.

If you know anything about these killings and misrepresentations made to owners, or you gave an animal to Hildbrand or HSSBV or you know someone who worked or volunteered there email us! Every single witness will be necessary to end the practices of this well-funded institution! They are already formulating their excuses and attacks on the whistleblowers. Help save animals who have no voice!

EMAIL: hssbvInquiry@gmail.com

CONTACT US regarding your experience with HSSBV!

We are the clearinghouse for gathering information about the killings of thousands of animals at the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley, the alleged abuse of animals and the alleged misrepresentations made to owners that their animals would be rehomed but were killed instead.

**If you have worked or volunteered for them PLEASE CONTACT US.

**If you gave an animal to HSSBV or any of the following PLEASE CONTACT US:
Lynn Hildebrand, Cindy Morgan, Linda Sheehan, Barbara Zolle, Shirley Shuster, Carol Murphy.

**If you believe your animal was lured into any of the baited traps set around the City by a HSSBV employee, PLEASE CONTACT US.

**If you know of someone who has worked or volunteered for them PLEASE CONTACT US.

**If you have any information that you think would be helpful for the authorities to know about PLEASE CONTACT US.

**If you donated money to the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley and believe you were misled about their activities and use of your funds, PLEASE CONTACT US.

**If you feel you have legal damages due you from them PLEASE CONTACT US.

EMAIL: hssbvInquiry@gmail.com

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Lynn Hildebrand Named as Primary Killer

Every witness that has come forward to speak about the afterhours killing of animals at the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley has named Lynn Hildebrand as the primary person arranging for and committing the killings with her own hands.

A former co-worker insisted she personally saw Hildebrand kill thousands of healthy adoptable puppies, kittens, cats and dogs over a period of years. Several others said they witnessed Hildebrand late at night or on weekends unpacking her truck with cages and traps filled with moaning, crying and terrified animals, where she brought them into the 'kill room' and in short speed carried out the same containers, now empty, which she reloaded into her truck. The huge freezer, which can be seen at the back of the building, was often packed full of dead bodies until D&D Rendering came to pick them up.

Others have seen Hildedbrand's feeding stations throughout the County where she sets traps for animals. A shelter worker told how Hildebrand bragged that she answers 'free to good home' ads pretending to be an adopter but she kills the animals because, in her own words, "if I don't deal with them now, I will deal with their offspring later".

Hildebrand, 62, is not a vet nor a vet tech nor an animal control officer. Infact, her job description doesn't have anything to do with medically treating animals. Rather, Hildebrand's job title at HSSBV for the last nearly 20 years has been "humane educator" where she teaches young children in public school classrooms about the humane treatment of animals. She also runs their program called Critter Camp. Hildebrand is a resident of Corona, California.

Contact us at: hssbvInquiry@gmail.com

2 Top Executives Blow the Whistle on HSSBV

JIM RUESTER, Former Executive Director
Jim Ruester held the highest ranked position an employee could hold at the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley, the Executive Director. He held that position between approximately January 2007 and August, 2007.

He was concerned about seeing Lynn Hildebrand after hours on a number of occasions at the facility when he stayed late trying to catch up on his work. He frequently saw Hildebrand with a group of women, and occasionally a man, none of which were associated with HSSBV.

Ruester witnessed Hildebrand and her crew take carriers filled with live animals from their vehicles and stack them in the hallways and into the 'euthanasia' room. He heard the animals crying. He said many appeared to be young and adoptable.

Ruester said Hildebrand killed the animals, then he saw her and her crew reload their vehicles with empty carriers. He noticed that the freezer was then filled with dead animals.

He stated his concerns to President Sue Dawson about the constant late night killings, which he said seemed 'excessive'. He also expressed concerns there was no vet present and that strangers were allowed on the premises with controlled drugs after close. He questioned why Hildebrand had access to the building, the drugs and more particularly why so many animals were being killed.

Dawson told him these matters were not his concern and not to worry about it.

But he was concerned and complained again. He was then terminated. He attributes his complaints as the reason why.

Ruester said there is a "killing culture at the Humane Society". He said they know the rescuers and no-kill advocates by name and they think they are fools because they think they can save all the animals. He said that Dawson and Hildebrand believe the only solution to overpopulation is to kill lots of animals. He added that Sue Dawson runs the place with an ironhand and no one is going to change her mind about the killings. He said that the Board is 'inbred', has been there too long, and that there should be fresh blood and a change of the guard.

MARY SHEETS, Former Executive Director
Mary Sheets held the same Executive Director position some time after Ruester left. She stayed for about one year and left approximately 6 months ago. She, like Ruester, expressed grave concern that Lynn Hildebrand was given free access to the building when it was closed in order to bring in truckloads of animals to kill them.
Sheets questioned why so many animals were being killed. She also stated that the animals looked healthy and adoptable.

Sheets addressed her concerns to Sue Dawson, but was told the same thing as Ruester, not to worry about it. When Sheets continued to question the practice, she was fired like Ruester.

Contact us at: hssbvInquiry@gmail.com

Local Newspaper Breaks 2 Decades of Silence

The following article was published late February 7, 2010, finally reporting what many volunteers and staff had known for years- that truckloads of animals were being brought to the Society afterhours, where they were killed. This allegedly was a regular occurrence over the past twenty years.


Questions are raised about the Humane Society's longtime practice of euthanizing hundreds of animals a month

Download story podcast
10:46 PM PST on Sunday, February 7, 2010
By MARK MUCKENFUSSThe Press-Enterprise

Volunteers and donors to the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley said they were surprised to learn that the organization had been euthanizing close to 10,000 animals per year. Most of the euthanasias were performed after hours by a small group of people. Former employees said even some who worked at the Humane Society were unaware of the activity, which has gone on for years.

Those contacted for this story said that if they questioned the practice, they were told not to worry about it. If they persisted, they said, they were fired. A letter by a former veterinarian for the agency complained of "truckloads" of healthy animals being euthanized.

A video purportedly showing dogs and cats being brought to the organization's San Bernardino clinic after hours for euthanasia surfaced on You Tube in November.

Sue Dawson, then the Humane Society's president, said the agency became concerned about the safety of its employees because of the video and stopped the nighttime euthanasias. She defended the practice as a necessary service to prevent animals from wandering the streets.
Other longtime supporters of the Humane Society felt differently.

"I find this disturbing," said Sue Herbert, of San Bernardino. Herbert volunteers for the organization as head of a committee that addresses legislative issues involving animal care and control. She has worked with the Humane Society for three years.

Like many supporters contacted for this story, Herbert said she was aware the agency provided euthanasia but had no idea how many dogs and cats were killed there each month.

The 30-year-old nonprofit organization provides public education, low-cost spay and neuter surgeries and vaccines, in addition to euthanasia for unadoptable or owner-surrendered animals. Its $3.5 million annual budget is controlled by a board of directors. It does not operate an animal shelter.

The video on You Tube was produced by Last Chance for Animals, a Los Angeles-based animal advocacy group that has national reach. It was posted by another animal rights group, then taken down later the same day at the request of Last Chance for Animals.

"I don't feel what they're doing is wrong," said Chris DeRose, president and founder of Last Chance for Animals.

The video has brought attention to what had been a little-known practice at the San Bernardino clinic.

"I suspect a lot of people don't have any idea what goes on," former Humane Society board member Cliff Alexander said recently.

He left the board three years ago and expressed concern at the time over the large volume of after-hours euthanasia, he said.

Unwanted Pets
Dawson said the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley last year euthanized about 800 animals a month, 500 of which are brought in after hours by staff and animal welfare organizations. That rate, about 9,600 a year, is nearly equivalent to the number of euthanasias performed by San Bernardino County's two animal shelters, which euthanized a combined total of just over 10,000 animals last year. The San Bernardino city shelter euthanized 12,400.

Animal rights advocates, who initiated the investigation by Last Chance for Animals, as well as former Humane Society employees have expressed concern about the after-hours euthanasias and the fact many of the animals were being brought from outside San Bernardino County by independent animal welfare operations.

The volunteers bring the animals they cannot place to the Humane Society to be euthanized at no cost, Dawson said.

Those involved in the work could not provide figures for the percentage of animals adopted vs. those euthanized. People familiar with the operations say the majority of the animals surrendered are destroyed.

Supporters of the practice say it's a needed service to help control animal populations. "I know that it goes on," Dawson said. "I know the reasons why it goes on. Many of these individuals work. They do this animal-welfare rescue work in their off times." Even Dawson seemed surprised by the number of animals being put down. She initially estimated 500 animals a month but, after a review of records, said the number was 800.

Questions Raised
Mary Sheets, a former executive director of the organization, was among those who said the killings struck her as clandestine and unusual.

"I was concerned about the amount of euthanasias we were doing after hours," Sheets said. "It seemed a little suspicious to me. It seemed very secretive. My question was, are we doing the right thing?"

At the same time Sheets was asking questions, she received a letter from Janet Troxel, a veterinarian then working for the Humane Society.

"Over the past two years," Troxel wrote, "several employees, including myself, have witnessed truckloads of healthy, young, well-adapted puppies, dogs and cats being brought in after hours by so-called 'no kill' shelters and 'no kill' rescues, only to be killed." In a phone call, Troxel confirmed she had written the letter but said she did not want to comment further.

When Sheets asked Dawson about the practice, she said she was told not to worry about it.
"If you ask too many questions you get let go," Sheets said. Jill Willoughby, who worked as a recovery nurse for animals being spayed and neutered, said that happened to her.

"I was fired because I didn't agree with their euthanasia policy," Willoughby said. "They didn't attempt to find homes for the animals that were brought in."

She frequently saw healthy, socialized animals being put down, she said. In one case, an animal hoarder brought in about 75 dogs during regular hours, many of which were in poor condition but some of which seemed fine.

"There were dogs that were really friendly and people were interested in adopting," she said. "And they wouldn't let them. They euthanized the whole lot of them."

Willoughby said she was reprimanded for rescuing a dog that had come in with a broken leg and was treated by a staff veterinarian. When she took home a Rottweiler that had been abandoned and undergone emergency surgery, she was told to return it. Instead, she said, she took the animal directly to a rescue group.

"I knew if I returned it, they would want to euthanize it," she said.

She was fired a week later. Her severance letter said her vision for the Human Society was different than that of the administration, she said.

Dawson declined comment on Willoughby's claim.

PERCEIVED AS RESCUERS
Willoughby said she believes the public perception is that the Human Society helps rescue and find homes for animals. That idea was even promoted, she said, when funds were being raised for the current building, which opened in 2006.

Potential donors were told the Human Society would create rehab kennels for injured or abused animals. But the kennels are rarely used, Willoughby said.

Jeanne Terwilliger, marketing director for Arrowhead Credit Union, took the helm as president of the Humane Society in recent days. She said the eight cages are often empty. "They were never meant to be for full usage," Terwilliger said. The cages, she said, are primarily for holding animals recovered in cruelty cases until the case is resolved. "They are designed to be a comforting location for animals that have gone through a traumatic experience," she said. Terwilliger said the Humane Society is "not in the adoption business." Some donors said they had a different view of the organization. Betty Cowan, of San Bernardino, said she has donated occasionally over the years and was under the impression that part of the money was going toward animal rescue.

"I wasn't aware they put that many dogs and cats down," Cowan said. "That's a lot. ... If this is what they're doing, they're going to lose support from people."

Sheets said that when she was executive director she was concerned about the money being spent on drugs to euthanize animals from out of the region. "Why would the Humane Society of San Bernardino be using their controlled substances for animals coming from out of county?" Sheets asked. "People donate so the funds can be used in the San Bernardino area and hopefully for spay and neuter services. That was the primary focus."

Dawson defended the need for keeping potential stray animals off the street. "I would like to think we are all in this because we have a deep concern for animal welfare," she said. Rescuing an animal "means a lot of things to a lot of people. It means getting an animal out of a bad situation. That can take many forms."

Volunteer Herbert said that even though she was concerned about the number of euthanasias, she also recognizes there are too many animals and not enough homes. "It's a very sad situation," Herbert said. "This is really why we have to have mandatory spay and neuter laws."

Reach Mark Muckenfuss at 951-368-9595 or mmuckenfuss@PE.com

Contact us at: hssbvInquiry@gmail.com