Recent resignations and terminations at The Humane Society Serving Clark County leave some to wonder what the future holds for this non-profit organization. The recent departure of shelter coordinator Krissi Hawke, office manager Kathy O’Connor and the fact that two kennel employees were terminated brought volunteers and concerned animal advocates to the board meeting last Thursday.

Board members refused to answer questions or comment on the fact that the shelter has gone without a full time executive director since last August and the sudden departure of Hawke and O’Connor this month.

In mid December of last year, the board voted to hire Mark Kumpf of the Animal Resource Center in Montgomery County as interim director following the resignation of Andy Heims who served on the board until September when he took over as interim director.

In May of this year, Kumpf reported to the board that low staffing levels was having an impact on operations. Areas cited in his report to the board which is public information found on their web page indicated that surgery prep tasks and lack of coverage for staff who did not report left concerns for “burn out” as existing staff members were providing coverage six days per week.

At the meeting June 16, 2016 volunteers asked Board President Crystal Aker to explain what the plan was for finding a full time director and how the dogs would be managed if the shelter were to reach capacity. The board did not speak to the concerns raised.

The organization has not named a new director as of press time and with only ten days left in June and no shelter coordinator in place Clark County will need to make a decision on placing strays taken in by the county dog wardens.

The organization depends on the dog and kennel funds from Clark County to operate. If the county elects not to renew their contract for services based on the lack of leadership and other concerns, the organization could lose more than half of their annual funding.