Why, she posts LOLcat pictures on the agency’s official Facebook profile:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

And you wonder why LMAS is screwed all to hell.

Jesus H it’s time to shut that place down. Because THIS is what our tax dollars are used for.

P.S. Guess what happened when I offered to pay for the adoption of every single black dog and cat on Black Friday. Absolutely nothing. They literally refused free money and free publicity.

But the communication from LMAS itself proves to us that they have no comprehension of what no-kill means.

Like this:

It’s National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. A campaign designed to acknowledge and promote the role shelters play in our community. An initiative focused on increasing public awareness of animal welfare issues and shelter services.

So what do they do?

They point the finger rather than looking inward. Blaming irresponsible pet owners and overpopulation rather than truly taking another approach to sheltering.

WAVE 3 obtained a Metro Animal Services memo from May 30 stating that Gulbe and a man dropped off a dog in a zipped suitcase claiming she was just bit. The memo says an elderly beagle was inside that suitcase, and its temperature was 104.6 degrees.

WAVE 3 Troubleshooter Eric Flack asked Gulbe about what the memo claims.

• Flack: “When that dog did bit you did you put it in a suitcase?”
• Gulbe: “I did not put it in a suitcase, no.
• Flack: “Did a dog end up in a suitcase?”
• Gulbe: “I don’t know anything about the suitcase.
• Flack: “You dropped it off just like a regular dog?”
• Gulbe: “Actually I didn’t drop it off, someone else did.”
• Flack: “Did they put it in a suitcase?”
• Gulbe: “You know it’s an incident that really has nothing to do with anything. The dog is fine, the dog went home, so I don’t know why this is really a topic for discussion.”

Gulbe says this incident had nothing to do with why she has been on leave for about six weeks. She says that involves a health issue.

Haha. Right. Hilarious. Nothing to do with her “resignation” at all.

And on a more serious note, here’s something everyone needs to recognize about Greg Fischer’s decision to toss No Kill Louisville aside:

jake // Jul 22, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Let’s get one thing straight: No Kill Louisville’s bid was turned down because Patti Swope and Allison Woosley, Greg Fischer’s right-hand, pushed him to nix it. The Kentucky Humane Society is VEHEMENTLY against no-kill goals. It’s fucking ridiculous.

Let’s quit pretending it’s because of lack of experience. That’s most certainly not the case.

Greg will appoint a friend or donor, LMAS will continue to rot, Jim King will never sack up and do anything about it and folks like the Browns will just choose to sit on their hands and ignore the harsh realities surrounding this mess.

In late 2010 I told you folks that Greg Fischer was lying through his teeth about animal advocacy and no-kill promises. He has since proved every single thing I said true. Now do you folks believe me? Or are you going to continue getting taken for a ride? This marks the second time in six months that Fischer had to axe someone because of public embarrassment – despite years of trouble. That is not leadership.

It’s time for Metro Animal Services to shut down. Bulldoze the Manslick property. This city has no business caring for animals because it is incapable of doing so.

Why are we bogged down in silly ordinances that make it nearly impossible for super-clean, innovative and healthy food trucks to do business in this town?

The local food scene is abuzz lately with the myriad ways in which Metro Government is apparently trying to make it impossible for these folks to operate. Lil Cheezers, for instance, has been quite vocal on Facebook about obstacles they face while trying to conduct business in Louisville. And others are beginning to speak up.

Our favorite (we’re invested) Morels Food Truck isn’t really wading into the fray, but they’re encountering city problem after city problem that everyone else faces. As a result, they’ve started selling their products in local retail outlets until things can be ironed out. (How’s that for entrepreneurial spirit?)

The buffalo “chicken” wrap available at places like Rainbow Blossom and Heine Bros blows our mind on the tasty scale. And it’s rather healthy and vegan. (See? Food trucks aren’t just deep-fried pits of awful – they’re healthy and delicious outlets of awesome.)

While Greg Fischer’s staff are tepidly examining ways in which city codes need to be adjusted, it’s time for the Metro Council to do the same. It’s time for some Democrats and Republicans to come together to make it possible for Louisville to join the 20th century. (We’ll work on the 21st later)

There are lots of crazy pieces of city code floating around and many within Metro Government can’t tell us what is and is not applicable to mobile food trucks. But there are a few that just boggle our mind.

Take, for instance, some code that could apply to mobile vendors that want to serve, say, on a stationary basis in a parking lot somewhere. Look at the craziness that’s involved:

115.356 LICENSE APPLICATION

C) In addition to written application, a stationary vendor on private property shall provide the following:

1. A notarized written authorization from the business owner to conduct the applicant’s business at the place so noted on the application.

2. A drawing of a scale not greater than 50 feet per inch and not less than 10 feet per inch, which drawing shall depict the following information:

a. The portion of the property to be occupied by the vending operation;

b. The portion of the property to be used for automobile parking and the number of automobiles accommodated in said area;

c. The locations of driveways providing ingress and egress to the property;

d. The location of existing building and structures located on the property noting the use of each building or structure so identified.

Mind boggled? There’s more:

115.359 PRIVATE PROPERTY STATIONARY VENDOR STANDARDS

C) No vehicle, other conveyance or temporary stand shall be a closer than four hundred (400) feet from any other vending operation, and there shall be a minimum of four hundred (400) feet separation from any residential use or residential zoning district. The distance shall be measured as the shortest distance between the nearest point of the vending facility to the closest residential property line or district.

D) No vehicle, other conveyance or temporary stand shall be located closer than twenty (20) feet from any building or structure on the licensed property or adjoining property.

-SNIP-

G) Vending operations shall provide a minimum of two parking spaces. Vendor shall not locate in any minimum required parking space for other businesses on the site. Parking spaces may not be shared with other uses on the site. If enough parking cannot be provided, the use may not be located on the site.

I bring this up because some folks in Metro say they apply to food trucks, some say they don’t. No one seems to have solid answers.

And when mobile vending is actually mentioned? Hoo, boy. Just… Well, just take a look:

115.360 MOBILE VENDOR STANDARDS

B) No mobile vendor shall sell or vend from his or her vehicle or conveyance within one thousand (1000) feet of any public or private school grounds during the hours of regular school session, classes, or school related events in said public or private school, except when authorized by said school.

C) No mobile vendor shall sell or vend from his or her vehicle or conveyance within three hundred (300) feet of the entrance to any business establishment offering as a main featured item or items similar products for sale which is open for business.

D) No mobile vendor shall sell or vend from his or her vehicle or conveyance within three hundred (300) feet of any restaurant, cafe, or eating establishment which is open for business.

-SNIP-

F) No mobile vendor shall park, stand, stop or allow a vehicle to remain in any place than is necessary to transact immediate business. In no event shall the operation stand longer than fifteen (15) minutes in any given location. At the exception of the fifteen (15) minutes, a mobile vendor must begin moving to a location at least two hundred fifty (250) feet from the first location.

-SNIP-

H) No mobile vendor shall conduct business within three hundred (300) feet of any hospital, or building used for religious worship when services are being conducted therein.

Vendors can’t park in a fixed location for more than 15 minutes – but it could take them 30 minutes to prepare secured equipment and another 30 minutes to lock things down before moving. Does that make sense? It’s not like these operations are ice cream trucks (which can’t operate after dark, anyway).

The trucks can’t operate on private property – even at the request of the property owner – without a written and notarized application with a hand-drawn rendering of the property. And, according to some, they can’t operate at that location for more than 14 days and then can’t return for up to 30 days.

What the hell?

This can’t be Possibility City when we’re implementing ordinances (as recent as 2009) that kill food options. I mean, what sense does it make to try to nourish the food deserts in the West and South Ends when these folks can’t even get their healthy and affordable options into the hands of the hungry?

Jim King? Kelly Downard? Tina Ward-Pugh? Tom Owen? You awake?

Couldn’t find the letter anywhere on the paper’s website, so let’s just dig in:

In light of the recent announcement concerning the agreement reached between Mayor Greg Fischer and Todd Blue as to the future for the Iron Quarter Buildings located between 105 and 119 West Main Street, the Main Street Association (“MSA”) feels compelled to reaffirm its position on the importance of saving the facades of the buildings. On May 11, 2010, the MSA approved a motion stating that, at a minimum, the facades of the buildings located along the 100 block of West Main Street be preserved with continuing development to follow. The motion was made in an effort to abide by our mission statement which is to promote and advocate for the uniqueness of the neighborhood and the diverse historic, commercial, architectural, cultural, residential and educational assets of Main Street.

-SNIP-

In order for the City to continue to grow and become an ever more vibrant community, its leaders, developers and citizens must work together to protect our treasured architectural and historic assets while, at the same time, supporting opportunities to redevelop properties in a financially responsible manner.

The Iron Quarter presents a real and significant opportunity to move this community forward and to take advantage of the extraordinary business development currently occurring near the KFC YUM! Center. Ensuring that the Iron Quarter is not turned into a parking lot should go without saying. Louisville’s downtown maintains some of the most beautiful architecture in the United States, but year after year we see this architecture being turned into surface parking lots so as to avoid the hard work and effort that goes into bringing landmark properties back to life.

Developing a downtown is not like developing a suburban area – people want density and continuity in a downtown; turning the Iron Quarter into a surface parking lot stands in direct contrast to this notion.

-SNIP-

Unfortunately, the citizens in this community find themselves again scratching their heads at the decision made by its leadership.

-SNIP-

We implore Todd Blue and Mayor Fischer to reconsider their agreement and try everything in their power to think for the community – either preserve these beautiful buildings, or at the very least the facades, or sell the buildings to someone who is interested in doing so for Louisville and its future!

Click here (Warning: PDF File) to read the letter in its entirety.

And then ask yourself what the heck kind of jacked up situation this city has gotten itself into the past few years.

These secretive, non-transparent backroom deals are everything Greg Fischer campaigned against. They’re everything that’s wrong with this city. It’s a real shame we can’t move forward when we need to. A real shame the self-professed change agents are just as misguided and ridiculous as the folks we wanted to get rid of.

What was that, again, about me being wrong about Greg the past few years? Yeah, about that…

Fischer confirmed the extra-governmental business, Derby City VIP, was the topic of a conversation he had with Zelinsky that led to the outgoing director’s resignation less than 24 hours after news of it first appeared on The Ville Voice blog.

“We advised Wayne … that we were aware of a website that he had up and running, and we discussed that with him, and he came in this morning and resigned,” Fischer said on Feb. 2. “The point is that he is running an operation outside of what his normal, day-to-day operation is. We just brought it to his attention, and we told him we need to discuss it with him, and he decided to resign.”

-SNIP-

“The most important thing is to help these animals and keep the public safe,” she says. “To me, it was asinine to just cut (us) off like that” after speaking publicly about the agency’s mismanagement, which she feels should have been the cause for Zelinsky’s resignation, as opposed to “a little T&A”

“All of these other things — mismanagement, employee intimidation, killing animals — that Zelinsky did don’t matter,” Reid says. “But a website testing our moral fiber? It’d be funny if it weren’t so sad.”

Click here to read the rest.

Funny how that works, isn’t it? No one takes action until there’s a little adult business egg on their faces.

But that doesn’t mean the situation will immediately improve at LMAS. It’s important to continue to talk about the problems that exist with hope that Fox will eventually force change and clean house when it comes to the bad apples. So let’s keep on keepin on. Deal?

Over the past few weeks I have reviewed hundreds (thousands?) of medical records from LMAS. The information I’ve gathered is offensive and inappropriate for any sort of governmental agency. Upward of 70% of cats that LMAS euthanizes are not vaccinated upon intake and many aren’t examined upon arrival. About 90% (these percentages are just estimates based on all the reading and research I’ve done so far – I could be a bit off) are never treated at all for anything during their stay. That’s despite exams that determine the existence health issues and problems that could be treated. For the most part, cats sit for a couple weeks in a cage – which isn’t cleaned and the litter box isn’t changed until the cage gets a new cat – until their eventual death.

Just alarming. It’s like Zelinsky and his right-hand, Jackie Gulbe, have worked super-hard to make sure the animals either die from preventable illnesses or get euthanized for a simple infection. Blows my mind why anyone in the Abramson or Fischer Administrations would think it’s okay. I won’t even try to be objective, here, and I readily admit it makes me ache deep down.

Back to my point. The medical records.

For the purposes of my head not spinning (please), I randomly selected a small group of medical records to examine and summarily compile in a database. To do so, I highlighted the number of files on my screen (about a hundred files for 46 total dogs and cats). Random amount, sure, but there was just too much damn material for me to dig in any deeper for this story.

The spreadsheet, which you may download by at the end of this story, covers animals that were received by LMAS December 28, 2010 through January 17, 2011 and covered euthanasias from January 10, 2011 through January 26, 2011. Of those 46 animals, ten were dogs, 36 were cats.

Find out what really happens at Louisville Metro Animal Services after the jump – with details of unbelievably heartbreaking numbers that should wake Metro Government up a little more…

Here are the highlights:

• 13 received absolutely no examination upon intake
• 23 animals that were considered “normal” upon their initial intake exam (those animals that actually received the exam) were euthanized ten to 14 days later because they had contracted “contagious diseases”
• Three were euthanized because they were “fearful”
• Five dogs were euthanized because they had Parvo or were exposed to Parvo. They either did not have Parvo upon entering the LMAS facility or were not examined in a couple instances, thereby putting hundreds of other dogs at risk
• Of the 20 cats that were euthanized for URI or “severe URI,” only two of them had URIs when they arrived at LMAS. The rest developed URI or “severe URI” over the course of roughly two weeks.
• When an animal is listed as being euthanized for having a “contagious disease,” there’s almost never evidence or information to back those claims up. Only in the instances of tape worm and Parvo was there proof.
• On numerous occasions the same notes seem to be copy & pasted for multiple animals. I.E., “et for medical, severe URI, won’t survive 24 hours” for five different cats on January 19. Three cats on January 25 were all noted to have severe URIs and congestion, same copy & paste job.
• In one instance, a dog was examined and found to be “normal” on January 11. Eight days later an individual was interested in fostering the dog if it were in danger of euthanasia. Three days after that, on January 22, the dog was euthanized because it had been exposed to Parvo while at LMAS. It was fine for two weeks prior.
• Another instance involves a cat that entered the LMAS facility on January 16 and was examined as “normal.” On January 18 an employee recommended the cat for euthanasia because it was feral. That same day, here’s what other employees had to say the reasoning for euthanasia: “This cat is not feral at all. Wearing a red collar and very very loving. Loves to be held and gives kisses. Good candidate for Animal House. Would like to work up once off stray wait.” and “cat is neutered. Obviously someones pet.” Finally, yet another employee added, “Cat also received all intake vaccinations – wouldn’t be able to vaccinate if cat was feral.” A week later, on January 25, the cat was euthanized for a severe URI and for not eating.

Problems like that have to be rampant if they’re popping up frequently in such a small, random sample. They’re backed up by comments left on this very website and by dozens of LMAS employees and volunteers I’ve interviewed over the past few years. Beyond that? You’ve all seen the photographs of countless animals destroyed for ridiculous reasons. You know it’s happening.

Blatant. Sickening. Disheartening.

This is just scratching the surface. It’s why I have repeatedly called on Greg Fischer to do the right thing. It’s why my work will continue.

Should be quite clear by now that I’m not merely writing about LMAS just to harp on Fischer. He said he wanted transparency and I am bringing all the transparency he can stomach.

NOT TODAY – HOPEFULLY SOME DAY

Reality is often difficult to accept but we all must do so with regard to Metro Animal Services. Reality is that place needs to be cleaned up. When the LMAS staff and volunteers repeatedly tell the mayor’s office – for multiple years in a row, no less – and Metro Council there’s a problem? Believe me when I say there’s a big problem. When LMAS insiders have to repeatedly rely on the media to do what Metro Government refuses to do? There’s a problem. When someone like me has to start digging and pulling out all the stops? There is a huge damn problem. It’s not going away. I’m not going away. We’re not going away.

Two of the few things I’m proud of in this life are the tiny bit of credibility I’ve gained in rooting out corruption and my reputation for persistence. I hope that I have after four years proved to you that I put my money where my mouth is on those fronts. I will continue to use what little credibility I have to bring issues to light. And I’m nothing if not persistent.

Hope you’ll stick around for what’s to come.

Click here (Warning: PDF Link) to download the medical records spreadsheet.

Not only will the legislation make it more difficult for you to buy some allergy medications for your kid in the middle of the night – if you don’t have access to a 24-hour physician – as this letter writing initiative from the Consumer Health Products Association points out:

CLICK TO SEND YOUR OWN LETTER

Full Disclosure: They’re an advertiser on our sites, which only came about on Friday, well after we’d made our editorial position known.

The legislation could also make it more difficult for law enforcement to track and pinpoint producers of meth.

And is that really progress? I don’t think so.

Seriously – click here to send a letter to your state legislator urging them to oppose these junk bills. It’s quick and easy to do. Should also probably have your Facebook and Twitter pals do the same.

Several LMAS employees have come forward to say that they were directed by Allison Woosley and Sadiqa Reynolds to utilize the chain of command if they have concerns. And, of course, to stop talking to the press. (All right for bad damage control.)

Why? Because they say they’re not going to be able to find another job for Wayne Zelinsky if any additional dirt hits the media. They made it clear that while they don’t want to maintain Zelinsky in a management capacity, they want him to remain on staff at LMAS.

Fischer’s people want LMAS employees to go directly to Zelinsky – of all people – to make any concerns they’ve got known. The very guy the complaints are about. Because that will obviously improve the situation.

How’s that for change you can believe in? That’s on top of the “review committees” Fischer has pieced together that consist of friends of both Meloche and Zelinsky. And on top of Zelinsky threatening staff members during a meeting yesterday to discuss the photos leaked to FOX 41 – meaning he’s a terrific leader.

I’ve got a pro-tip for those folks: You’re turning into something that’s worse than Gilles Meloche and Jerry Abramson. This mess isn’t going away. Things like THIS and THIS are going to continue hitting the media until something positive happens.

It’s time for the Christie Browns of the world to step up to the plate and tell Greg Fischer to get off his bureaucratic butt to resolve this embarrassing matter. It’s not a simple disagreement among warring factions. It’s nearly all LMAS employees coming forward on a regular basis – in tears – unable to function because of the way that branch of Metro Government is handled. These are people who – gasp – want to do their jobs (or they wouldn’t be in that excrement hole).

It’s also time for Metro Council President Jim King to step in. And anyone else on Council who gives two flips out this city. Tina? Dan? Kelly?

It is my opinion that both Wayne Zelinsky and Jackie Gulbe need to be fired immediately. Then any of the staffers who are problematic? Fire them, as well. It won’t be tough to weed them out.

This is a simple department of a mid-sized metro government. Why can’t we fix this? Jesus H. There’s no time like the present.

But why go to the trouble of writing about it when it’s already presented in a nice little video?

There are no words for this disgusting treatment of animals.

From what LMAS sources tell us, the Animal Care Specialist who was scheduled to work second shift was scheduled alone – with no way to clean kennels in the dark while completing other tasks. Based on what I’ve been able to gather, those tasks include gathering all the bowls from kennels, washing them and feeding three buildings filled with dogs. Unfortunately, there were several Specialists on first shift. None of them bothered to clean up the messes.

And on an alarming note… Pit Bull-type breeds aren’t supposed to be housed with smaller breeds. Obviously, if a fight breaks out, the bigger dog can kill or injure the smaller one. This issue has been addressed literally dozens of times. But guess what?

Here’s what was witnessed on Sunday:

Yup. Still going on.

Greg Fischer has no excuse not to act now. Today. If he does not, he is as complicit as the disgusting couple of people giving Metro Animal Services a horrible name.

Maybe Greg should take a good look at some of the animals being euthanized for ridiculous reasons. If he doesn’t like what he sees, he can wait til we publish even more photos tomorrow.