LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Councilwoman Victoria Seaman said she was appalled by what she found inside of the Animal Foundation shelter on Sept. 12 and vowed to change operations at the facility or urge city officials to make drastic changes outside the shelter's walls.
After releasing pictures she took during her surprise inspection, Las Vegas City Manager Jorge Cervantes, on Sept. 19, sent a letter to Animal Foundation CEO Hillarie Grey saying the shelter violated their Agreement with the city and had 48 hours to send a written response containing plans to correct issues within the shelter.
"I think it's time that the city takes this serious," Seaman said. "What I saw was so pathetic, disgusting, horrific, that we would have these animals living in those conditions of dried feces, feces mixed with food and water, to go in it was so heartbreaking."
City officials said the shelter requested an extension to submit their plan, and the city agreed.
"I would have loved for them to come out and say, yes, we have issues, we have problems, you can help us," Seaman said, "Give us some time, here's what we're going to do."
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Animal Foundation Marketing Manager Daryl Sprague issued a statement in response to a request for an interview with Grey.
"The Animal Foundation will not be providing additional comment on this issue outside of our pending formal response to the City of Las Vegas," the statement read.
Sprague did point to a Sept. 14 city inspection of the facility that revealed no glaring issues.
Seaman, however, wasn't impressed by the foundation's response.
"I'm not happy," she said, "and I will not stop until our animals are taken care of."
Seaman said she's considering bringing proposals before City Council to cut ties with the Animal Foundation and either find another partner or have the city start their own shelter.
The Animal Foundation's new deadline to submit a plan to the city is next week.
Seaman has placed her concerns about the shelter up for conversation on the October 19th meeting agenda.
