Hempstead Animal Shelter draws ire
An American Staffordshire at the Town of Hempstead animal shelter in Wantagh Credit: J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Thank you Newsday for two excellent stories on the waste of taxpayer money. The Hempstead Town animal shelter ["Pet project," News, Jan. 30] and Nassau County police ["LI's $150,000 cops," News, Jan. 30] are just two examples where there is no accountability for the ever-burdened citizen.
Why is it that residents of this once great place must carry so much weight on their shoulders? If the taxes were fair and in line with reality there would be very little disdain, but a police budget that is 27 percent of the total county budget? This is not a police state, and 27 percent is criminal.
Will someone please have the guts to scrap this system of abuse before everyone leaves this place, or is financially ruined by greed?
William W. Bruner
This shelter, it seems, is not a humanitarian facility at all. It is, conversely, a ruse for extravagant profiteering at the expense of the animals as well as volunteers who work hard to help them, unknowingly being used by these people.
No doubt this will snowball further as those who donate to other shelters will think twice before giving, not really knowing if their hardearned monies will go to the animals or to lavish vacations for the administrators.
Jerry LaForgia
I have lived on Long Island for 30 years and for the first time I can honestly say I am embarrassed to be a Nassau resident ["Look harder at animal shelter," Editorial, Feb. 2]. With a budget of $3.6 million at this shelter, the dogs and cats should be eating steak instead of the un-nutritional kibble they are often given. The fact that there is no veterinarian on staff is clearly a form of abuse.
Many of these animals that are taken in are allegedly abused, abandoned, sick and starving; not to mention how many of them are clearly in distress given their new surroundings. Many of these animals are frightened, confused and depressed.
I don't care how much Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray claims to be an animal lover, if these allegations are true, she should be run out of town on a rail for letting this go on under her watch. And as for the so-called "Fat Cats," they should hang heads in shame for accepting these salaries under these conditions. I say we put them all in a cold cement cage, feed them kibble and let them lie in their own waste and see how they like it!
Kudos to the three volunteers who had the guts to stand up to these employees, and to Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice for handling this investigation.
Lisa Golden
I work for a nonprofit organization in Hempstead, and this summer my co-workers and I attempted to address the problem of stray cats living in three abandoned homes. We were given the runaround by the Hempstead animal shelter, which would not help us with trapping, spaying or neutering, nor would it take in any of the animals or even provide referrals to organizations that could assist us.
In the end, were found assistance from All About Spay Neuter and Pioneers for Animal Welfare Society. None of us earns anywhere near what the Hempstead animal shelter workers make, and yet we laid out our own money to spay these cats and find homes for them, in our spare time, with no help from an agency paid for by taxpayers to serve the public.
Shame on you, Hempstead animal shelter. You have let us down, but worse, you let down the animals.
Lisa Levy
Brooklyn
