Montclair communications director Katya Wowk spoke with Interim Animal Shelter manager Celia Trembulak and Health Department Director Sue Portuese about Luke the dog and Midnight the cat for an account of what took place (and is taking place, in the case of Midnight) with the two animals. In addition, some folks have asked about shelter coverage during last night’s storm. Wowk sent Baristanet this joint statement from Trembulak and Portuese:
From the time Luke was brought to the shelter, he was unable to keep his food down. Two veterinarians saw him – one treated him for nausea but his symptoms didn’t subside. One of the shelter ACOs changed Luke’s food to a special formula for his breed. Luke was able to ingest some of the new food and the vet of record recommended staying with this dog food to see if he improves. In the mean time, a wonderful family adopted him.
The interim shelter manager offered to keep Luke at the shelter until his health issue was resolved, assuring the family that he would be theirs. The family wanted to take Luke to their own vet with whom they have a long-standing relationship. X-rays were taken which showed a small plastic item (it turned out to be part of a baby-breathing device) was creating a blockage. Luke underwent surgery and his healing nicely. The shelter will cover the costs of the surgery.
Midnight is going to a rescue in Chester this Thursday, where the cats are permitted indoor and outdoor play time.
Last night the interim shelter manager and a shelter cleaner slept at the shelter. One of the ACOs arrived first thing in the morning (before regular hours) and two cleaners came at their usual start times. All of the animals’ needs have been seen to and the shelter has been cleaned.
But if someone wanted to adopt Midnight, why is he going to a rescue? A home is always the best option.
Good the shelter manager and cleaner stayed at the shelter last night. That is nice to hear. And it sounds like Luke found a great home.
That’s a good question about Midnight. A lovely family that recently lost their cat to illness has filed an application to adopt Midnight. Why would he be sent to a “sanctuary” where he has to compete with ferals? He has been in the shelter for several months, is not feral, and has not grown a winter coat so that he can survive in snow and cold weather.
I personally adopted a few shelter “ferals” who became wonderful companions once they found a loving home. It would not have been fair for them to be denied the oppprtunity.
This is an incredible damning joint statement. I would fire the vets. Where is the vet tech? I’m confused just who is accountable for the medical care of the dogs? Why is the ACO doing trial & error crap – not blaming ACO, but this is amateur hour.
Personally, I’m done with the whole shelter. It is really is a hopeless boondoggle and the 3 Stooges could do a better job than Ms Trembulak, Ms Portuese, the Township Administrator and the Council. Just euthanatize all the shelter animals and have the Township focus fully on redeveloping Montclair Center and stuff like that.
It is just so, so embarrassing to be a Montclair resident tonight. Hopefully, there is something going on at the MAM this weekend to take my mind off this.
I also have to wonder about our Interim Township Manager’s actions in this. I have to believe he previewed any statement to the media from one of his direct reports. If he didn’t, that’s a problem.
If he did preview and approve the release, then his other direct reports like Ms Talley and Mr Smith should tread very, very carefully.
BTW Celia Temulak had originally instructed the ACOs to dump Midnight back on the street after he had been in the shelter for several months because he did not like to be picked up. This does not meet anyone’s definition of a feral cat and shows the lack of knowledge about animal health and behavior that is rampant at the shelter. A letter to prevent Midnight from being returned to the streets was sent to Sue Portuese and several members of the township government – as with Dr. Katz’s request, there was no response. Now they are fumbling and stating that he is going to be released to a sanctuary despite the fact that a very qualified adopter has filed an application.
@Frank Rubacky
The vet tech was pushed out of dog care by management(in other words WAS NOT ALLOWED TO DO HER JOB)- reprimanded for speaking up on behalf of the animals- ordered to dump Midnight out into the cold and blizzard- so she quit.
No Vet tech…hmmm- why was the ACO allowed to change the dogs food- is he a vet tech? I don’t think so.
AND why was Luke not x-rayed earlier- simple cheap procedure- instead of letting him lose MAJOR BODY WEIGHT.
Stop with the lies. Stop with half-truths.
Stop with the lame-ass cover ups that make no sense.
Start admitting you have a problem down at the shelter and giving us a real plan.
Stop attacking the volunteers.
Start disciplining your employees who are verbally abusive to the volunteers and other staff members.
Start the repairs on the shelter that Town Council mandated this Fall.
Stop attacking Dr Katz and the Animal Welfare committee that is only trying to help.
Stop attacking the messengers in general, whomever they are.
Concentrate on fixing your problems.
Realize that people are beyond pissed off and angry and frustrated at the way you are and are not handling the problems.
Understand this frustration will boil over soon in a big way unless you get in front of it.
Know that animal abuse — and yes, Luke’s case is animal abuse and neglect — is the absolute last straw.
Know that Halmetta can happen to you.
https://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2015/01/animal_cruelty_charges_filed_against_directors_of.html
pat,
Mostly just curious, but was this ex-employee you speak of the ACO that was promoted into the vet tech role last September by management?
Momma cat, I want to make sure I understand that someone wishes to adopt a cat at the shelter but instead, the shelter management is choosing to put the cat in a sanctuary of feral cats?
Somehow that seems inhumane. As inhumane as Celia Trembulak, the interim shelter manager, ordering the vet tech to dump this same cat outside in the cold (before the vet tech quit).
And regarding the starving dog, Luke — is there any reason why the shelter vet did not perform the x rays the adoptive family’s vet performed to find the real cause of his distress? Instead this poor dog lost tons of weight, has his ribs sticking out and an unqualified ACO is determining his care?
Montclair’s animals deserve better. They deserve Dr. Nancy Katz, and thank goodness she is sticking her neck out to save these creatures.
Perhaps it would be nice to listen to an “outsider” who recently adopted a dog from the shelter. Some of the things I saw and experienced were very disturbing, and they were not the fault of management, town council, or town manager. I applaud Celia Trembulak for stepping into a job which will most likely be a lose-lose for her, no matter how much she tries to change things. Listen to other sides of the story to get the bigger picture from people who have no ax to grind, no favorites or champions to root for. This time of year, I wonder why there isn’t more focus on services and shelter for the homeless human beings out there.
I can only assume lucylou this is what you mean by “the bigger picture” because you were not clear what that was.
https://www.tmz.com/2015/01/27/godaddy-pulls-super-bowl-spot-over-puppy-cruelty-backlash/
“Last night the interim shelter manager and a shelter cleaner slept at the shelter. One of the ACOs arrived first thing in the morning (before regular hours) and two cleaners came at their usual start times. All of the animals’ needs have been seen to and the shelter has been cleaned.”
Two questions: Why wasn’t the dog x-rayed in the first place to rule out a blockage?
And why does it take public outcry to make shelter staff go past the extra mile by sleeping at the shelter and, finally, clean it properly?
It’s the same old same old. Just like in Bloomfield before Bergen County Humane Enforcement took over management. Most staff did just the basics, the volunteers did the rest. When the dog poop hit the fan it was always all blamed on the volunteers and then, suddenly, shelter staff did what they’d been paid to do all along and then some.
What the hell is wrong in these situations? They are all municipal employees and it’s cheaper to keep ’em than to fire them and risk lawsuits. As for the animals, oh well, they’re “just” animals after all. (Sarcasm, of course.)
The movie just never ends…
@frank – yes the vet tech that I spoke of was/is a certified ACO.
AND @arnolds- it IS another Helmetta- OPRA requests for shelter documents have been and will continue to be filed.
“I wonder why there isn’t more focus on services and shelter for the homeless human beings out there.”
—because it’s easier for us to anthropomorphize a cat than it is to truly acknowledge the pain of another person? that is not a criticism of folks here, but rather a sad commentary on us all.
similar to the constant demonization of shelter workers and the lack of energy/emotion applied to the true villains of the piece, the irresponsible pet owners who create this situation. It’s easier to transfer anger to specific people, regardless of the reality.
Well, this guy is clearly conflicted…
https://www.popfotos.com/hunter-rescues-20-abandoned-puppies-from-coyotes-pics/
I didn’t know Celia and Sue were making ads for GoDaddy!
Only thing missing is if the dog was named Midnight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKAiBghf-78
jcunningham,
Why is it when people complain about or support animal rescue/welfare/shelters someone always questions why the same outrage doesn’t apply to homeless humans.
How the hell do you know we’re just as adamant about proper care and concern for the homeless? Just because we love animals doesn’t mean we don’t care about humans. In fact, most of the people I know from animal shelters or rescues also donate time, money and effort to helping the homeless.
Here’s what you don’t get: we love and cherish all life, animal and human.
Update on Midnight: contrary to what Sue and Celia said about sending him to a sanctuary, he was adopted by a loving family and is on his way to his forever home. Thanks to the ACO who reluctantly left her job at the shelter because she was not allowed to speak up about shelter conditions and to the cat volunteers for making this happen. When people work together for the good of the animals and have no hidden agendas, good things happen.
Midnight has left the building- she was allowed to go home with the family who put in the adoption application. My comment
Feral CAT – BS – more lies from someone in charge
“Midnight is going to a rescue in Chester this Thursday, where the cats are permitted indoor and outdoor play time.”
Thank you to the former ACO and then Vet Tech who reached out to people via social media rather than follow the directions to dump this poor cat out in the cold
Amen to that…not sure what is going to happen at the shelter now that this vet tech is gone. Have expressed detailed concerns and am hoping that Montclair Times has the backbone to print them.
“Why is it when people complain about or support animal rescue/welfare/shelters someone always questions why the same outrage doesn’t apply to homeless humans.”
—because it’s a reasonable question. and because it’s fun to watch this old warhorse of an argument trot out every time this reasonable question is asked.
“How the hell do you know we’re just as adamant about proper care and concern for the homeless?”
—i don’t and didn’t say that you specifically did. In fact, I used the word “us” in an obviously collective sense. your over-emotional leap to personalizie this is perverse but interesting and will be so engaged. please, continue…
“we love and cherish all life, animal and human”
—except for shelter directors. given the invective and innuendo and malicious gossip that you and your amen corner have spewed here over the years about specific individuals you personally choose to publicly demonize, please explain how “we” aren’t supposed to laugh heartily at that last statement.
Declaring your reasonableness when no one had yet to question it and then reaffirming the reasonableness within the same paragraph is a neat, understated bit of wordplay. Just wanted to give you your due for how you set the figurative bait.
Is it Fordham or BC?
Great news about Midnight.
—except for shelter directors. given the invective and innuendo and malicious gossip that you and your amen corner have spewed here over the years about specific individuals you personally choose to publicly demonize, please explain how “we” aren’t supposed to laugh heartily at that last statement.
Innuendo and malicious gossip? It’s not either of those if it’s the truth and that’s all I have ever “spewed” here. I’m not responsible for anything anyone else posts. As for invective, as a volunteer when you are constantly harassed and threatened and held up for public ridicule as many of us in Bloomfield were you can only take so much and turn the other cheek. Eventually you fight back and call the abusers out publicly. Sorry if you can’t see or accept that.
Walk a mile in my shoes first. Otherwise you have no standing to accuse me or any of those things. Were you there in the trenches at the Bloomfield shelter over the past 20 years? I doubt it.
Laugh all you like. Every village has its idiot.
if someone would like to stop by our store, we have several bags of dog food to donate to them.
Montclair Feed & Pet
204 Bellevue Ave
U. Montclair NJ 07043
Round of applause for doing what should have been done a long time ago Everyone that frequents that place knows how toxic that place is due to management and a out of control aco.
As a volunteer i see alot of inhumane things go on there. The staff is new and wonderful they go above and beyond for the Animals. I don’t see how they do it with no real management and a controling dictator
Aco
The dictator ACO crossed the line when he took over the duties of the vet tech – he has no experience …but I guess that doesn’t matter to him (or management)
Frank, you say fire the veterinarians? I say fire the Health Department…I was one of the former vets. who saved the Montclair dog that was hit by a train several years ago near Christmas. Baristanet covered the story as “A dog and a Train.” The dog was a German Shepherd that was struck by a train and left paralyzed in the hind limbs. I was not allowed to do much testing or even get help from a rescue to try and save this dog. In fact, when a rescue coming to my office regarding another dog saw “Monty” as I called him, Melissa Neiss and Celia would not allow him to be adopted out since Neiss did not believe that a dog should be placed in a cart. I was not allowed to even do a simple heartworm test…The reason I say that is because Monty turned up to be heartworm positive. This was found out when a rescue did manage to take Monty home. The only reason Monty found a rescue was because when I was called by Baristanet and told that Neiss had said that I was the one who wanted to have Monty killed since he would never walk again, I told them that Neiss did not believe that the dog should be in a cart. In other words, it was Neiss who wanted the dog killed. When it got out that the dog lived, all of a sudden Neiss and Celia were seen as the people that were trying to save this dog…Saving Monty cost me the shelter veterinarian position that they promised me. Montclair also refused to pay the last set of veterinary bills at my office to a tune of about $2,000. I had hand delivered a copy of the bill to Celia and she refused to meet with me. She never called me…HEY PEOPLE WHO RUN MONTCLAIR, WHY DON’T YOU TALK TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE PREVIOUSLY WORKED WITH YOUR MUNICIPALITY TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU HIRE. I am a professional, not just some flunky employee that you may have hired that might lie. I have no reason to lie. I own a business and really don’t need Montclair for work… Most shelter veterinarians do the work because they want to donate some time to animals in need. I say donate because we do the work for very little pay, often for just enough to cover our costs. It is for the love of animals that we do it, not for the pay. So trust me, it is Celia that needs to be fired or at least minimally investigated for what she is doing. Also, many of these positions are filled because someone knows someone or is related to some one. If it is found out that they did something wrong, don’t worry, they will be moved to another township and become someone else’s problem. Trust me, I know from what I speak. I have reported many a shelter that has been doing things that were not proper. I actually turned in an animal control officer from another municipality that was doing illegal acts (which I won’t go into details here because the State elected not to prosecute him); it turned out that he had a previous drug conviction and still managed to get a badge to harass and otherwise file false charges against the innocent residents of the township that he worked for. In that case, the Health officer also was allowing health code violations…He retired after I got a paper to expose that fact.
I heard last night that the MOntclair Animal Shelter HAS NO VET OF RECORD- SEEMS TO BE A VIOLATION OF NJ STATE ANIMAL LAWS
drnegrin6,
“some flunky employee”?
pat,
The Montclair Times coverage in December indicated Dr Wellington was hired as the new consulting veterinarian. I don’t know if that means if he has started or if he is our vet of record.
I would be beyond disappointed if he was one of the vets that evaluated the dog Luke. It would suggest to me that there was also a continuity of care issue. If so, poor record keeping would seem to be an important component to address. I hope it is an isolated occurrence because I can’t wrap my brain around how this can occur, based on what has been reported. Furthermore, the MT is saying that, as of 3 weeks ago, there were only 4 dogs and just over a 100 cats at the shelter…with a staff of 10 full and part-time workers. To me, this is actually quite a tribute to the volunteers driving the turnaround in adoption rates and lowering the shelter population in a very short period of time.
I hope the town can have the three positions filled and in employees in place by April. This would allow the shelter to be effectively up to full speed by next Fall. If so, by this time next year, we will hopefully see measurable results that we can all be happy with.
@Frank
A consulting vet is not necessarily the Vet of record who supervises programs require by the State of NJ
I’ve submitted several OPRA requests – will share when they are responded to – or if they are not- including this request
Records requested:certificate(s) of veterinary supervision for 2013, 2014, 2015 for the Montclair Animal Shelter.
IZDP forms (signed by supervising veternarian) filed with the State of NJ for 2013,2014, 2015 for the Montclair Animal Shelter (required by 8:23A-1.9 Disease control) .
Certificate(s) of Inspection by the local health authority for the Montclair Animal Shelter for 2013, 2014, 2015.
Yearly inspection of the Montclair Animal Shelter by Fire officials for 2013, 2014, 2015.
From Cecelia Pollacks letter to the Montclair times (this is current)
For example, the shelter’s vet left months ago with no replacement or communication to those who should have been informed, which resulted either in the loss of vaccines or out-of-date ones; reported reductions in food for dogs, litter for cats, and visits to cooperating vets in the absence of a shelter vet of record because of budget issues; subpar medical records; misinformation to residents about animal issues.
https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/the-montclair-times-letter-by-cecilia-pollack-shelter-shakeup-is-needed-1.1265059
Luke the dog was seen by Dr. Wellington twice – I have OPRA’d the medical records but from the information that I am receiving Luke was not x-rayed and there were no instructions to follow up on why he was losing weight.
This concerns me since Dr. Wellington is OUR Vet and I have been recommending him all over.
“This concerns me since Dr. Wellington is OUR Vet and I have been recommending him all over.”
—so you are willing to discard years of personal experience on the basis of this nonsense? fantastic!!
I work for a veterinarian and tried to adopt a kitty I fell in love with and got the run around. Then no one called me back and it was a different story every time I called. Terrible service.