Scruffy Tails Human Society held a board meeting on Tuesday, January 28, at Scruffy Tails. The meeting began with a review of December’s meeting minutes, and then the Treasurer’s Report was given. Scruffy Tails board Treasurer Marcia Haglund said there was not much to report as the doors have been closed. She did, however, report that as of the time of the meeting, there was $106 in Scruffy Tails checking account and $7,791 in savings. Due to some bills that need to be paid, she will be transferring about $2,000 of that to checking to cover those bills.
The board turned to Old Business after a brief shelter report. A hot topic, of course, was the vet status. The resignation of staff veterinarian Dr. Leah Faudskar in recent months led to Scruffy Tails having to close its doors. Former board member Joan Darco, who has been in attendance at recent board meetings, says she does not believe that Dr. Leah would consider coming back to Scruffy Tails. “I don’t think she will, with how she was treated, lack of communication, mistrust between her and what happened.”
As reported after the last meeting, without a staff veterinarian, Scruffy Tails cannot be open for operation. The board says they are speaking with a few different vets and are hopeful that they will soon have not just one but two vets on staff. “I question whether or not it’s going to work to have an overseeing vet outside of town,” says Darco. “I think maybe it will work; they did contact two different ones, so that might even be better.” The board explained that paperwork is in the works for both a vet from Bemidji and a vet from Moorhead. The board also agreed that they would like to be able to take animals to Dr. Leah in Crookston if needed in an emergency.
The board has received multiple board member applications since the last board meeting and has currently filled four of the five open seats. The Scruffy Tails board operates with a nine-member board. The new members elected to the board are Emily Ricard, Rachel Thoresen, Ashley Woolever, and Erin Wilson. Erin Wilson was Scruffy Tails’ previous Manager, who resigned before the December board meeting. There was a lot of discussion between the board and community members about Wilson’s appointment to the board, as it is considered a conflict of interest for many reasons. “I don’t think Erin should be involved in Scruffy Tails right now,” says Darco. “She’s not in town; I believe she played a part in Scruffy Tails closing, dealing with Dr. Leah and the public, myself, other board members, people in the community, the staff even, and the way she allowed some of the animals to be mistreated.” Darco says there were times that vet care was denied for animals in Scruffy Tails care. “I even offered, and initially it was denied, but then another board member did approve it, and I got to take an animal to the vet, and it was saved.”
Wilson is both the daughter of a board member and a sister of a board member. She has moved out of town, yet the board explained that they felt they needed to keep Wilson connected in some way as she had knowledge of how to run the facility. “When I got on the board, quite a few of the previous board members were still there for us to answer questions and give us guidance,” says Darco. “I think that if Erin is really needed, she wouldn’t have to be on the board in order to do that. It’s just a phone call away that you could call and ask. I don’t really feel like this is an honest and open decision, and I feel like there is something behind it.” Wilson participated in the board meeting via FaceTime.
The board moved on to new business. The board needed to nominate board seats at Tuesday’s meeting as it needed to be completed by the end of January. The board voted Acting President Theresa Alme President, Melanie Weiland, Vice President, and Marcia Haglund Treasurer. When it came to Secretary, there were the Acting Secretary Erica Perry and Ashley Woolever, who were both nominated and Perry gave up her seat to Woolever, saying she would help get Woolever started in the role. Perry believed that if she were voted into the secretary position, it would create backlash as she has both family and friends on the board. “She did step down from Secretary, but there is still Erin and her Mom; there are still quite a few on the board,” says Darco. “I don’t think you can really be objective, and I don’t think that creates a very well-balanced board.”
The board also chose Committee assignments Tuesday evening. It noted that they have hired from within the Shelter for the new Shelter Supervisor Position, previously Shelter Manager, instead of opening up the position outside of Scruffy Tails. When Scruffy Tails is able to reopen, Lauren Thompson, who has been with Scruffy Tail for approximately six months, will be the Shelter Supervisor. “I have nothing against Lauren personally, I don’t think she has been there long enough, she didn’t work very many days a week, “ says Darco. “I see other people who would be more qualified, and I do think they possibly should have posted the job opening outside of Scruffy Tail.”
The board has decided that upon opening the doors again, the humane society will have new hours. They have not been set in stone yet, but they talked about weekday afternoons and weekends being the most likely times that people would come to check out the animals up for adoption.
The board mentioned that they were looking into applying for grants and putting together a list of fundraisers for 2025. Discussion went on for quite sometime after the official business concluded as the community members on hand, including Darco, are still feeling frustrated with how the board is operating. We asked Darco why she resigned from the Scruffy Tails board. “A number of reasons,” says Darco. “The way the manager treated some of the staff, the way she treated me, the public. She was kind of biased; certain people got privileges, some people got to bring in their pets, some were told they can’t because we were full, and I question whether or not that is true.” Darco says the board was just not headed in a direction she approved of, and she was feeling it was unethical.
Darco wanted to caution anyone who is looking to donate to Scruffy Tails. “I know they are working towards opening again, but I would caution people to keep an eye on what’s going on,” says Darco. “If you are making donations right now and they are not open, I don’t know if that is really something that should be happening.” Part of the reason she feels people should be careful is a lack of trust in how the funds are being spent. “One of the reasons I resigned is that I was questioning Erin’s spending of the money,” says Darco. “Not just me, but other people on the board and in the public were wondering what was going on.”
One of the last things that came up at Tuesday night’s meeting was alarming, and we asked Darco if the accusation was true and if she would comment. A community member brought to the board that she had heard that deceased animals had been disposed of in the trash. Darco offered this information. “One of the board members had told me that they had found out that they had thrown some kittens into the dumpster, and she was very upset about it, and she told Erin not to let that happen again,” says Darco. “Apparently, Erin told the workers not to let anyone else know but to continue to do so.”
Joan Darco decided to do this interview because she cares deeply about animals and the mission of Scruffy Tails Humane Society and wants to make sure that when they are able to open again, that mission is not lost on what she and some others consider a dysfunctional board.
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