The Colorado attorney general’s office is investigating the Colorado Humane Society over allegations of mismanagement and improper dumping of euthanized animals.
The society closed its veterinary clinic in Lakewood this week after donations dropped in the wake of allegations, and Arapahoe County has terminated a contract for the society to house stray animals.
Bob Warren, the society’s development director, blames the situation on “false information” supplied “by a cabal of terminated employees.”
“If we had done something wrong, I could get my head around it,” Warren said. “We spend more on animal care than any other shelter in the state. We are the most efficient, most thorough and most successful in adopting animals. A bunch of former employees want to take the job of management.”
Warren said the organization is weighing litigation since “the damage is huge,” with its $1 million-a-year budget running about $100,000 behind.
Allegations about the Colorado Humane Society include misappropriation of funds donated to assist animals affected by Hurricane Katrina and placing euthanized animals in a Dumpster outside its shelter at 2760 S. Platte River Drive in Englewood.
Warren said the society received $66,154 in Katrina donations and expended $73,193 in food, medicine and temporary shelter for hurricane-affected animals.
Two dogs were put in the society’s Dumpster, Warren said, adding that both had shown vicious behavior and were euthanized as a safety measure.
Warren said the organization’s policy is to refrigerate euthanized animals until they can be picked up by a crematory service but that the refrigerator was full and the crematory service wasn’t available for several days.
The dogs’ bodies were placed in the Dumpster, with items piled on top so nothing could get to them, Warren said. The trash hauler was notified.
“We totally satisfied the law,” he said.
Arapahoe County announced Wednesday it ended its $4,125-per-month contract with the agency after getting information from the Tri-County Health Department, the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s division of animal industry and television news reports.
On Oct. 5, Arapahoe County notified the society it was in breach of contract and asked for proof of a crematory-services contract and financial records that demonstrate it can comply with the law. The information was not received, county officials said, and an Oct. 17 letter gave the society a 30-day notice of ending its agreement.
Stray animals from Arapahoe County are being housed at Tenaker Pet Care Services in Aurora.
Ann Schrader: 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com
