LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas City Councilwoman Victoria Seaman toured the non-profit Animal Foundation Monday morning in what she called a surprise inspection after receiving reports of animals being kept in poor conditions from animal advocates.
"I was appalled by what I saw," she said.
Pictures Seaman took showed feces smeared on floors and walls, soiled blankets on the floor in pins with pets, and food bowls tipped over.
In all, Seaman said more than 30 dogs in two rooms were being tended to by one employee.
"There's no way he could have gotten to all of them and cleaned those cages," she said.
Seaman was furious and said she was looking into how to make changes at the publicly funded animal shelter that has been the focus of multiple 13 Action News investigations.
"It got brought to my attention through Darcy's work back in November," Seaman said, referring to KTNV investigative reporter Darcy Spears.
FULL INVESTIGATION: 13 Investigates allegations of pets in peril at The Animal Foundation
Animal Foundation representatives turned down an on-camera interview request, but on the phone, chief development and marketing officer Daryl Sprague called the situation "unfortunate."
Sprague said cleaning crews hadn't had time to reach that section of the shelter before Seaman's arrival.
Seaman said that's why she went unannounced.
"When the inspections are scheduled, everything seems to run OK," she said, "but when you go in there unexpectedly, it's a nightmare. It's so awful that it just breaks your heart."
Animal advocacy group Nevada Voters for Animals didn't buy the official's explanation, either, with president Gina Greison saying she'd received similar images from whistleblowers inside the shelter before.
"I get images like that every week," Greisen said. "This is not something that is new. So to say, 'oh, gosh, we just didn't get to that cage' — that is not true, and I hope the community doesn't buy this."
Greisen and Seaman both believed there weren't enough workers interacting with animals and cleaning cages at the facility.
Seaman called the organization "top-heavy," with too many directors and not enough employees.
"If it's too big to handle, then maybe they shouldn't be handling it," she said, "because this isn't working and it hasn't been working for decades."
FOLLOW-UP: Chief operating officer of The Animal Foundation terminated after 4 months on the job
Sprague acknowledged a worker retention problem at the shelter, but disputed the idea they were short-staffed. He said they regularly have 140 to 180 employees on site and have hired aggressively over the summer.
Seaman scheduled an item for discussion on the Las Vegas City Council's Oct. 19 meeting agenda to address her findings at the shelter.
