While we appreciate your emotionally based opinion Dr. Hendricks, counter claims presented are factual, not emotional. RFP 2940, the HIHS contract specifically states under performance measures “HIHS is expected to euthanize 14,000 animals per year.” Supported by statements from the HIHS director stating every adoption costs HIHS $250 and HIHS is compensated by an undisclosed amount for every euthanasia.
Business-minded or not, anyone can understand the incentive. Your statement “none of us benefit from euthanasia” is wrong. Yes, seriously.
The HIHS board and director were specifically offered the ability to save every adoptable dog, yet chose to euthanize them instead, that is the issue, everything else is a deflection.
We also offered a comprehensive 18 month plan to eliminate euthanasia of all adoptable and treatable animals at minimal cost to HIHS.
There is a distinct line between the staff doing their jobs, and the admin in the office ordering them to euthanize wanted healthy pets, pets the admin knows have homes waiting for them. Unless you are stating that everyone knew that the board and director decided to euthanize pets BIDR had offered families to.
Budgetary surplus of over $1.3 million with no significant increase of spay/neuter and no significant decrease of euthanasia over a 10-year span is shameful, especially when a 4-year-old and her father were able to eliminate the euthanasia of adoptable dogs in two weeks.
How do you euthanize innocent, healthy, wanted pets with any surplus, much less over $1 million?
Again, you should check your 990s before you make statements that are false. The budgetary surplus according to your 990’s are in the general fund, meaning not earmarked for your legacy building. I really expected more of a factual letter from a PhD.
If you are so interested in adopting out animals, please tell me who adopts out more animals than BIDR? With a 100 percent success rate, and with minimal help from you at HIHS could have increased the amount of animals saved this year from the 180 BIDR has saved from you. Yet at every turn you fight us to euthanize rather than do the bare minimum it would take to work with us and save thousands of wanted pets. The community is fed up with your cower down and refuse to answer any substantive questions tactic: The “ignore the 10,000 animals we don’t have to euthanize every year but do anyway.’”
Instead you attempt to shift the focus to the staff, shameful. After the attempts to stop BIDR from saving animals failed HIHS formulated a contract to inhibit progress and growth by BIDR while doing nothing to benefit BIDR. At least with the fabricated contract BIDR was able to get Aloha Ilio rescue free adoptions.
We are not distracted by the smoke and mirrors. You will no longer pull the wool over our eyes. Enough animals have died for your pride and to fill your pockets. Imagine if you would have put in a portion of the effort to save the animals that you have put in to fighting the ones trying to save them.
Gene Kailiuli is a resident of
Kailua-Kona
My Turn opinions are those of the writer and not of West Hawaii Today
