VIERA — Brevard County officials this week will begin advertising for a permanent director to improve operations within the Animal Services and Enforcement Department.
This director will oversee the county-owned, controversy-ridden animal shelters in Melbourne and Titusville, a combined $1.4 million annual taxpayer-funded operation.
Former Director Craig Engelson, whose job performance was roundly criticized in an internal report, was replaced in February. The interim director is Bobby Bowen, the county code enforcement manager.
Today’s job-seeking announcement by interim Brevard County Manager Stockton Whitten comes on the heels of an April 7 tour of the Melbourne animal shelter, attended by Brevard County Commissioner Trudie Infantini and other officials.
According to public accounts, that visit was a debacle: cold, shivering animals; no water bowls in pens; dogs defecating in terror.
In other actions today:
— Commissioners appointed a 10-member animal welfare working group to help guide future shelter policies.
— The commission hired University of Florida veterinary officials to perform an independent, 11-week shelter evaluation. Estimated cost is $4,000 to $5,000.
“We have many balls in the air, with regards to animal services. There have been some improvements,” Whitten said. “And I know the issues are very emotional, but we’ve made progress.”
Commissioners also may elect to privatize the shelters altogether in the coming months.
Animal lovers in attendance applauded the decision to seek a new director.
Melbourne resident Jenny Peterson choked up at the podium, telling commissioners about Apollo, a ferret she adopted from the Melbourne shelter. Apollo later succumbed to the shelter’s distemper outbreak — but not before infecting her other beloved ferrets with the dread disease.
“He died Feb. 22,” Peterson said, fighting back tears. “By (shelter) management not having the proper knowledge that ferrets could catch distemper from dogs, I lost five of my other ferrets. Their names were Sprocket, Kudo, Maggie, Baxter and Jessie.”
Saying she was “devastated,” Peterson said she still owes veterinary bills, and she also lost work wages caring in vain for her ailing pets.
Animal committee created
The Brevard County Commission today appointed members of a new animal welfare working group:
— Fred Abbey, instructor, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Paws and Stripes program
— Mary Bennell, legislative liaison, Brevard Kennel Club
— Anna Brown, former president, Brevard No Kill Coalition
— Theresa Clifton, executive director, Central Brevard Humane Society
— Scott Ellis, Brevard County clerk of courts
— Lorraine Gott, grant writer, city of Satellite Beach
— Clara Mutter, a Titusville dog trainer
— Nicholas Stack, assistant director, Voices for Ella
— Kelli Jo Strabley, member, Brevard County Dangerous Dog Council
— Denise Van Cleef, a Melbourne veterinarian
County officials will schedule a meeting as soon as possible, Assistant County Manager Heidi Denis said.
Call for new shelter manager
Last week, Brevard County Commissioner Trudie Infantini unsuccessfully tried to fire Mary Berley, who manages the Melbourne animal shelter.
Infantini and other officials toured the Eau Gallie Boulevard shelter during the chilly morning of April 7.
During Thursday’s zoning meeting, Infantini announced that she witnessed dogs in pens without water bowls or blankets. She also said some dogs are barred from leaving their pens during the duration of their shelter stay, so they cannot exercise for months.
Infantini worried that these practices may violate Florida Statutes, and “the animal-shelter operator does not have the compassion level to understand that what is being done is not right.”
Infantini’s call to fire Berley did not generate a vote.
Instead, Commissioner Mary Bolin said she wanted to visit the embattled shelter again to investigate — but she believed terminating Berley fell outside the commission’s management boundaries.
Commissioner Robin Fisher agreed. He said the commission directly oversees the county manager and county attorney, not lower-ranking administrators.
“We’ve got to be careful. We’re heading down a slippery slope if we’re firing people from this dais,” Fisher said.
In an e-mail to county leaders, tour attendee Holly Gann, founder of the Merritt Island animal-rights group Voices for Ella, stated she saw cold, shivering dogs without blankets on “Adoption Row.”
Gann also stated that canines were forced to sit in their own feces, and the animals were “being driven crazy” by the primitive conditions.
Berley did not work at the shelter Tuesday, and could not be reached for comment.
Contact Neale at 242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com
