TX-RPOA E-News
>From RPOA Texas Outreach and
Responsible Pet Owners Alliance
"Animal welfare, not animal 'rights'
and, yes, there is a difference."
Permission granted to crosspost.
October 28, 2009
Dr. Giles Meloche, director of Animal Services, was the mastermind behind the Louisville, KY, Animal Ordinance which resulted in the Louisville Kennel Club lawsuit. We recently reported on the judge's decision in favor of LKC on certain issues.
The longer link no longer works but the article can be found with a search at www.courier-journal.com
:
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091027/NEWS01/910270349/Meloche+resigns+as+head+of+Animal+Services
Meloche resigns as head of Animal Services By Dan Klepal . dklepal@courier-journal.com . October 27, 2009
Dr. Gilles Meloche, the embattled director of the Louisville Metro Department of Animal Services, resigned Tuesday under pressure from a sexual harassment complaint, an internal audit that found mismanagement of an arrangement between his department and a non-profit adoption agency and the allegedly improper seizure of animals.
Meloche led the department over the past four years and will officially step down Dec. 31. Assistant Director Wayne Zelinsky will lead the department as interim director, working with Meloche over the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition, according to a press release from Mayor Jerry Abramson's office.
In an interview Tuesday morning, Meloche said he was "reflecting" on the possibility of his resignation. The official news came three hours later.
"Everything that is going on now is putting too much pressure on me and is distracting and is making it very difficult to work," Meloche said in the interview. "We can't work like that all the time."
When asked again if he would resign, he said: "I can not answer that. I tell you, it's big, big pressure on me. I'm reflecting on it. It's a question I will discuss with the mayor. But it's way too much on a personal level."
Most recently, an internal audit of a "pilot project" between Animal Services and the non-profit Animal Adoption Agency found that many animals under the care of metro government had been given to the non-profit. The Jefferson County Attorney's Office has said an internal review is being conducted on the possibility of the "apparent intentional misplacement, concealment and/or destruction of public records."
The audit could not verify how many animals were turned over to the Animal Adoption Agency or how much money was collected from their adoptions.
Reporter Dan Klepal can be reached at (502) 582-4475.
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