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Heart of the Matter
Same mission, different place
By CHARY SOUTHMAYD
Article published on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007 |
Rick Chaboudy got a raw deal when he was fired on May 5 of last year after 20 years as director of the Humane Society of Pinellas. Fortunately, like a cat with nine lives, he has landed on his feet.
Having known Rick for many years, I am among those thrilled that he is once again doing what he does best – giving unwanted, abused or neglected animals a second chance at life. One of those animals is very close to my heart.
Chaboudy recently founded a brand new organization, The Suncoast Animal League in Palm Harbor. It’s a far cry from the long-established and well-funded Humane Society of Pinellas.
When Chaboudy and Annette Dettloff, a former HSP volunteer, set up in their modest Suncoast Animal League digs behind Palm Plaza off U.S. 19 late last year, they had $232 in the bank.
But what they lacked in financial backing Rick gained in priceless moral support from many former coworkers and friends disgusted at how he had been so unceremoniously shown the door. Many followed him, including the Humane Society’s former shelter manager and medical supervisor.
Kim Trimmer and Lisa Delong told me that when they broke ties with the HSP they were disillusioned about policy changes, particularly in regards to euthanasia and who would be making those gut-wrenching decisions. Both are now volunteers at the Suncoast Animal League. There’s no money yet to hire staff, but they are devoted to what they do.
Due to limited space, the Suncoast Animal League predominately handles cats, for now. The cats are not in cages, but hang out and play in a couple of rooms where they can be themselves, rather than cowering in the back of a cage in a litter box. Videos of birds, rats and other critters entertain them. It’s a scenario more like a foster home than a shelter. Chaboudy credits “a lot of good, experienced people” for helping him get the Suncoast Animal League up and running. Humbled by current circumstances, he looks forward to expanding and opening low-cost spay and neuter clinics in Pinellas and Pasco counties.
While publicly it was reported that Chaboudy resigned, “I was fired” he told me, allegedly because staff members had complained about being overworked. For months, he was barred from speaking to the media.
Not so coincidentally, a very high-profile lawsuit had resulted from HSP rescue efforts and adoptions after Hurricane Katrina.
Chaboudy is still giving depositions in the Katrina case involving two dogs, a St. Bernard and a shepherd-mix. He admits to being angered about the Katrina litigation, which he calls “so wrong.” Still, he has no regrets.
“We put ourselves out there. We spent a lot of time at Camp Lucky II (in Orleans Parish’s Ninth Ward). Everybody did the best they could. Animals were sick and dying. We’d never seen anything like it … We kept going back. We busted our rear ends caring for them and then getting them into new homes,” he said.
More than 200 animals were brought back to the shelter and adopted out in “good faith,” Chaboudy said. “We (HSP) needed to stand behind the people who adopted them.”
He worries about the negative impact the litigation might have in the future when animal welfare agencies are asked to assist in similarly dire circumstances.
Chaboudy credits those who share his concern for animals with helping him get back on track.
“It has been incredible,” he said, struggling for words. “I had no idea of the emotions and feelings of people who supported me … Sometimes the game playing and red tape keeps you from helping. There are things that need to be done. We can do them now. This is about what’s in the best interest of animals and people in the community.”
Personally, I am grateful for Patches, a shy, sweet chow/spaniel mix who once lived alone on the streets fearful of people and who likely wouldn’t have been given a chance somewhere else. Under Rick’s leadership at the Humane Society of Pinellas, Patches was allowed the time and patience she needed to learn to trust people until I came along to adopt her and bring her home where she is loved. Mine is just one of countless similarly happy endings over Rick’s 20 years at HSP. That fact seems to have been lost in all the uproar over the one Katrina adoption case.
Under his direction at the Suncoast Animal League, more animals will have a fighting chance at a better life. Thank goodness.
No one is more deserving of a successful, fresh start than Rick Chaboudy.
Chary Southmayd is the editor of the Belleair Bee.
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Article published on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007
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