The only animals they said at training when I became a volunteer were the sick and ferral . We had a couple mean kitties in the cat room and if they killed healthy ones they would have been killed. They were adopted. It took a special person but they found a forever home too.

"li713
Jan 18, 2013 at 10:54 a.m.
Suggest removal

I really hope more info comes out about this soon. Mounds may not want to deal with RCHS anymore, but allowing animals to be brought in from Dane County when there are animals here that needs homes is wrong, in my opinion."

this is what I meant by "shop local"
I agree!

Jon meerdink on the news today keeps saying "email" it was voicemail. Get it right!

I think if someone put all the facts in one article it would make more sense. Mounds says they are committed to the Animals of the community. RCHS no longer will accept animals from the police of Janesville, Beloit or Edgerton, they have to go to Dane County. So, Mounds is opening the adoption area in Janesville to the Dane County Humane Society, where the stray animals of Janesville, Beloit and Edgerton go. It only makes sense that the local pet store support the the local stray animal population, and that they are doing. It sounds more to me like Mounds is making a more directed effort to help local animals (even if via Dane County) get placed in their "Forever Homes." Really there has to be something else that people are missing, because on the surface it does seem like RCHS has some serious

hooters - I commend you on your helping animals. Most pet owners should be like you and take care of their animals. You would not believe the many times people drop off animals they claim they found (and you know it is their pet, they just do not want to pay the fee). Some turn out to have severe terminal medical problems, and the owner just did not want to deal with it. So the problem is dumped off at a shelter. It is now their problem. A sad state for our society. This also happens with the elderly, dump them off when things get tough. Let someone else deal with it. No one wants responsibility when things go bad...

I believe some just ignore the reality of shelters. As relying on donations, there is only so much money go around for animal care, staff and building costs. A business will not be in business unless it brings in more money than it spends. You would lose your house if you could not make payments because you do not make enough money. Shelters would not be in business if their donations did not cover all costs. There is not an endless money tree. So for those to say that euthanasia is not an option, you are not a realist. Animals humanely put down are those that have pain and suffering that cannot be repaired, or an animal that does not respond to behavioral training and cannot ever be adopted because of the safety of any family. (how much would a lawsuit against a shelter help their pocketbook). The reality is, there are only so much money, space and resources to go to around. Do you spend lots of money trying to save an animal with a painful tumor and a 10% chance of living, or use that money to save many other animals? It is very sad to make those choices, but that is reality folks. I know most shelters go to the end of the world before they consider putting an animal down. That takes courage and love to see the big picture, and not live in a fantasy world.

Years ago there was a stray Australian shepherd type dog living in the gravel pit off W. Court street....behind Accudyne. I first became aware of the critter when I accidently stirred him up from the tall grasses when I was practicing my golf swing on lunch break. Over the next few weeks, was able to earn the dogs trust and he started venturing down to have lunch with the ladies of Accudyn each day. On weekends and holidays, I drove from Milton to Janesville to feed him. RCHS was not happy that I was doing this and wanted me to catch and bring him in to them. Instead, the women of Accudyne took up a collection for the dog and found someone who would adopt him. An appt. was made at a local vet to have him cleaned, clipped and medically treated. When that day arrived, I coaxed "scruppy dog" into my vehicle and drove him to the vet. He had to stay at the vets a couple of days, but when it came time to release him, I went there to see him off with his new owner. A wonderful gal. Kind of hurt to see my scruppy puppy devote his love to someone else, but she gave him a wonderful home and a wonderful life for his last years. Thinking back, no way could I have turned this dog over to RCHS. I saw him go from a sad and pathetic creature just barely existing..to having a new found trust in humans and excitement for life and simply could not trust that RCHS could or would do right by him.

Oh, forgot to mention that the 6yr old dog we took in, was adopted by our daughter from RCHS. They had told her that he was deaf. Ummm...not deaf at all. He just has selective hearing and was ignoring them at RCHS. I guess in all the times that I have dealt with RCHS over the years, I was not fond of their holier than thou and "we know best" attitudes.

We have a horse (24yrs) and two dogs (15yrs and 6yrs). A year ago we had to euthanize another dog due to her old age and no longer able to stand up. Our elder dog now is proving to be quite a challenge. Life would be so much easier to just put him down...but it's not time. He will tell us when its time. Until then we'll struggle with the accidents he has in the house. The horse is another challenge having gone blind ten years ago. We've been fortunate enough to find a place to board him and he still has a quality of life despite his blindness. Our six year old dog came to us when our daughter got divorced and could no longer provide a home for him. The aging dog came to us when my uncle went into the hospital years ago and never made it out alive. Long story short....animals are part of our family for better or worse.

PHYSICS I sent you a message. Let me know if you got it.

This is a sad situation, but I am not suprised by any means. Too much contoversy and other issues has put the RCHS in a bad light...especially recently.

"You can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time."
A version of an Abraham Lincoln quote.

It is what we do everyday, Euthanasia has decreased and increased adoptions of animals into loving new homes has happened each year since the hiring of Angela Rhodes.

Oh and Chad we moved here from Texas where my wife performed her medical residency. Down there no kill shelters where actually no kill shelters. I'm sorry this isn't the way business is ran up here but it doesn't mean it can't be. If you people are truly sincere about wanting to help you'll contact me or speak up otherwise you're full of it and just blowing smoke.

Brewernut: I used to work at Preferred Pets back then, over 15 years ago. I can think of a couple of reason why the store may have stopped featuring a cat on the weekends. One, the RCHS would come whenever the felt like it to pick up the cat. This was usually on Tuesday or Wednesday. I was never sure of their definition of 'weekend.' And two, the RCHS kept sending sick cats into the store. People would stick their fingers in the cage to pet the cat, then go stick those same fingers into the small animal cages. I think four rabbits died before I saw another cat in the store again.

Well Chad that is what I am proposing and curious about my previously stated questions. Why does everyone on here assume the other person is ignorant? Can we all stop fighting and judging and help these animals. I'm not these other places you're referring to I want to create A NO KILL SHELTER and help.

With all of the negativity surrounding Angela Rhodes and the Rock Co Humane Society, I am not surprised that Mounds has had enough of trying to deal with her. Interesting that it's never her fault - always the victim. I used to donate supplies and money to the Humane Society, but that stopped when Rhodes came. She has been a horrible disappointment and has failed the Rock Co community. Most tragically, she has failed the animals.

PARTY... I AGREE with the first part of your comment. THE SECOND part is ignorant.

Please don't support the RCHS. They are a terrible organizaion. Buy dogs with good breedings and titles and take care of them.

PhysicsM2 - if you really understand shelters, you know that there are really no "No Kill" shelters. There are just shelters who do not accept anything but adoptable animals and call themselves no kill. There are other shelters who will take the time to determine if a sick, injured or one with behavior problems can be helped. Those that can't are humanely put down with a sad heart, as they know they did all they could for the animals and owners best welfare. I prefer shelters that are honest about being "no kill", and have more respect for those with the courage to deal with the harder problems.

Everyone the past few years I've been attempting to drum up money to create a no kill shelter in rock county. I haven't had much luck but still trying. Now that the government keeps hacking into doctors pay the picture is looking more grim but the idea still exists. What do you all think of the idea? I can't stand euthanasia and I think it's never right to take life. It has always been my dream to create a no kill shelter but local land owners are not coming down on prices like I thought and materials are getting more expensive. Would any builders be willing to donate their time?

after donating for 15yrs, my donations have stopped, because of Rhodes, its my way or the highway attitude.

Wow. Nice notice Mounds.

I think if you look back in history far enough (18 or 19 years would be a good guess), the RCHS used to have cats placed at Preferred Pets, and just about the same thing happened there. Abruptly stopped bringing them. I know, my wife and I used to shuttle the animals from RCHS to Preferred Pets.

ORIELLY ~ because RCHS wouldn't be true to form if they weren't playing the innocent 'victim'.. which they never are. It's like the person who has NO FRIENDS and but always says how wonderful they are and how wrong EVERYONE else is... when the majority rules in one favor, it really should be taken serious. NOT everyone can be wrong except ONE.

As a friend of felines who has happily adopted from RCHS, I can only hope that RCHS does whatever it takes to get back on the same page with Mounds. Any mistake can be reversed. Failing that, it has failed its mission.

I hope they don't take away the free candy bar.

Why doesn't this article include an explanation from Mounds? Obviously these actions will have disastrous consequences for pound kitties.

In a nutshell, the ones suffering in all this are the animals. They are like the innocent children in a horrible divorce...stuck in the middle.

They have treated people like CRIMINALS for over 20 years!! That try to adopt. You get kicked out for touching a cage for crying out loud!! I say GOOD FOR YOU MOUNDS!! And I can't remember the proposed taxes for the RCHS last year but didn't it exceed 100,000? They treat society like THEY OWE the HS... it is sickening.

BTW, I do want to add, I worked at a humane society for 7 years, and it was sadly a kill shelter. But, I WAS happy at the end of the day, because I DID MY BEST for those animals and went home knowing I did. That was why I had a job, to help the animals. What would have made me sad was if there were no humane society services and animals were left to fend for themselves like so many RURAL Rock County Townships because the ROCK COUNTY HS will NOT service without a 150.00 fee per pick up. And those townships can NOT afford it, so they HS allows the animals to be just left to freeze to death. AND I AM TALKING from recent experience. This IS a proven FACT! Thank GOD myself and others took it into our own hands to take care of the animals until their home was found.

With constant problems with the RCHS, I am positive that there is FAR MORE TO THIS STORY that is NOT in the HS's favor. They are a rude bunch of people, and Mounds probably got sick of complaints and didn't want to be connected with the place anymore. That is MY first thought... they are NOT going to stop with ONE individual place without merit! They help many HS's and I am SURE they want to continue to give animals a chance and not let Rock County's give them a bad name... we all KNOW that the RCHS is horrible. Even the police hate dealing with them. Take a look in the mirror... and make it about the animals RCHS NOT your egos!! I feel horrible that yet again, animals are going without homes because of attitude issues. AND I AGREE... the FLIP side of this story NEEDS to be researched, and I feel it necessary on behalf of the animals to contact Mounds and give them the chance to tell their story. And I encourage others to do the same, including the Gazette.

You go and work for an animal shelter for any amount of time and see how cheerful and happy you are at the end of a day. Would break my heart to know that adorable tiger kitty in that cage was being put down the next day... I respect anyone who has the strength to work for one and feel sorry for human battles that affect the welfare of the animals.

I suggest we solve the pet overcrowding problem with a program of spaying and neutering irresponsible pet owners.

That is irresponsible to publish only one half of the story. Get the whole thing then publish it.

What this article does not mention, is the fact that a few months ago RCHS made some big policy changes which has created a lot of anger between the Cities and Towns in Rock County. Cities and Towns were charged a minimum fee to drop off stray animals, but now that fee has tripled and has become too expensive. Cities and Towns in Rock County are now starting to take stray animals to other privately owned shelters that charge less, rather than using RCHS. I would also assume that whatever other policy changes that RCHS have made also affected Mounds. Yes there is always 2 sides of every story and it seems that RCHS is the problem, not Mounds.

Get all animals fixed! Adopt whenever you can and always try to give donations to these shelters.

I am in the same boat as Wislady, the way the shelter is run does not make me want to donate.

As far as Mounds, they are a wonderful business partner for many shelters. While the decision may have been quick, I feel that this was not such a "sudden" decision but one caused by RCHS mismanaging it's relationship with them.

With the many shelters in this state, can one NOT see why ONE shelter has such a big problem with everybody? There are probably many great people who work or volunteer there, but the attitude by management towards contributors and the county seem to have caused many fallout's.

But to those who question the need to make sure that the adopted animal goes to the correct home, they have not seen animals returned because of a bad fit. You don't want to put more stress on the animals or the families that adopt, or place the animal in a bad situation. That is why questions are needed to be asked. But possibly the way it is being done is bad there.

Agree with garyprimer, I also would like to know that side of the story. Considering the nature of their business, such a statement might be good to retain customers listening to heresy based on the action(s) rather than the reason(s). I am sure something was the catalyst for such a drastic decision. It was great exposure and help for RCHS and a big loss for them. Something had to transpire or change.

BeenThereDoneThat

The point is...people can DONATE to whichever shelter they chose. Since RCHS does not operate in my view, I can chose NOT to donate to them, but to other private rescues that actually do find homes for animals. If you chose to support their method of operation, that is your choice.

janesvillean, without doing a survey of every rescue or shelter's adoption practices, it's impossible to describe RCHS as more or less strict. There are a number of rescues and shelters that require home visits by someone from the rescue before they will place an animal, and I doubt RCHS had that requirement. The point is that the policies, whatever they are, are intended to ensure that animals are placed in homes where they will be cared for.

If everyone here dissing RCHS and saying they wouldn't adopt there would commit to never dumping an animal there or anywhere else, that would be a step forward. In fact, imagine the different world it would be if the people who like to trash rescues and shelters would instead work to make sure there are no homeless animals -- starting with taking responsibility for their own animals, or not getting them, if they can't be responsible -- so that rescues and shelters wouldn't have to exist. That would be far more productive than throwing stones at RCHS.

It's possible that the RCHS has adoption policies that are a little more strict than other organizations. (It doesn't have to be limited to the things jvilledr listed -- for instance, income and permanence of living situation are factors.) That's their prerogative, though, and it's not clear that has anything to do with the decision by Mounds. I feel this change is just letting people come out of the woodwork with their complaints about either side.
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The amount of notice seems fairly limited. You can see Mounds believing it was no longer drawing traffic or driving sales, but it certainly was a way to generate goodwill and that seems like plenty of reason to have taken a less urgent approach.

wislady, the Rock County Humane Society IS a private shelter.

dg468: The reason there are so many homeless animals in the first place is that people sell and give animals to people who don't make any commitment to actually provide for the animal once they get it. People are refused for adoption when they are criminals, or are on parole, or they have demonstrated that they have not cared properly for animals in the past or are not willing to do so in the future. Any responsible rescue or shelter has to do basic due diligence before placing an animal into someone's care.

"food donations"

If the RCHS has a different ideology than the owners of Mounds, the store has a RIGHT to donate, or not.

Thank you, Mounds, for all the donations you have given in the past. Along with the numerous fund raising events that you have held.

Perhaps they want to give to private shelters/rescues...that is what I prefer.

Ask local communities, law enforcement, and others. The current leader of this organization does not play well with others. The animals will suffer until the board makes a change.

This is very sad to hear. I adopted our Aussie mix Ginger from them back in 02 or 03 and they were great to deal with back then and we loved the experience we had adopting her, she is still with us, but is going blind and now has diabetes, so I was looking at the prospect of adopting from them again not too long from now, hope whatever is going on gets rectified, or I will adopt from another shelter, and I guess I now know where NOT to go for pet supplies and food, that would be Mounds.

I believe that the problems do lie with the Rock Couny Humane Society. I went in to look for a puppy. I asked the girl behind the desk if they had any puppies and she said "yes." I said, "Good. I'm looking for a puppy instead of a full-grown dog. I live in a small house. so I'm looking for a puppy that will grow into a small adult dog." She said "OK." She just stood behind the desk, doing nothing. I finally said, "Can we look at them?" She very hesitatingly said, "OK. This way." She took me behind a door into a roomful of kennels which all housed VERY large, full-grown dogs." I said, "Where are the puppies?" She kind of sheepishly said, "We don't have any puppies right now." I said, "You just told me that you did." She started in with her You-Should Feel-Guilty spiel. She said, "Well, these dogs are all great dogs. They're all house broken, so you won't have to worry about that. They all need a good home. Everybody wants puppies, and they ignore all these nice dogs." I said, "I told you I wanted a puppy, and that I want a breed that will only grow to be a small adult. These dogs are all very, very big...exactly what I don't want." "Well," she said in a not vey nice manner, "they're all we have right now." I said, "Lying to me when I came in was NOT the way to get me to adopt a dog." And I left. I can see why nobody wants to deal with the people at the RCHS.

I really hope more info comes out about this soon. Mounds may not want to deal with RCHS anymore, but allowing animals to be brought in from Dane County when there are animals here that needs homes is wrong, in my opinion. Also, assuming what RCHS said about this all being very sudden is true, cutting off food donations with no notice is a horrible thing to do to those animals.

Have you tried to adopt from them lately? They treat you like a criminal applying for parole.

They but heads a lot and don't like how RCHS is running now a days and cut all ties.

I would like to hear Mounds' side of the story.
RCHS seems to have a hard time getting along
with anyone these days.

This is sad. I have volunteered for a couple years and this was a shock. "in a voice mail". Cowards and UNPROFESSIONAL! I will miss the kitties :(