The former operator of the Clearlake animal shelter is hitting back against claims that his team abandoned the facility during a chaotic handover earlier this month.
The Press Democrat reports Mark Scott of North Bay Animal Services says the shelter was simply overwhelmed by a population that skyrocketed to over 100 dogs, a crisis he claims was frequently reported to city officials.
The new operators, Clearlake Animal Association, say they’ve been in “crisis mode” dealing with sick animals and poor records, though they’ve managed to cut the population in half with help from neighboring humane societies.
Meanwhile, the fallout has several North Bay cities, including Windsor and Sebastopol, re-evaluating their own contracts with the animal service provider.