Animal wrongs

[Gob]

Several young girls attended a public meeting recently to express their concern about the treatment of animals in Cecil County, Maryland. Adults responded to their participation by shouting racial insults at the girls.



The girls were members of the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Troop 176. During the public meeting, they expressed their concerns about the treatment of animals who were housed at the county’s animal control facility — an issue that was covered by local media. “I felt really bad for the animals because that wasn’t a really good home for them,” said Amaya Spurlock, 10. “They were saying, ‘Go back to Baltimore, where you belong,’ and they started pointing out me and my sisters,” said Arianna Spurlock, who is 13. None of the girls live in Baltimore, which is more than an hour away from Cecil County.

The girls also allege they were called “animals.” The aftermath of the incident was captured on video, with the co-leader of the troop telling a group of adults, “You guys, no racial comments, okay?”



The racial comments were allegedly made by “supporters” of the county’s animal control vendor, A Buddy For Life. The company denies any of their employees were responsible. But in an interview with ThinkProgress, Scout Leader Jayne Mitchell-Werbrich said that the comments were made by A Buddy For Life volunteers. (The facility has few paid employees.) Mitchell-Werbrich said that she went with a group of parents to file a police report but were told it was not possible because the individuals did not “use the n-word.”

During the meeting, the co-director of A Buddy For Life asked the commission to ignore the Girl Scout’s comments.

The county pays ‘A Buddy For Life’ $60,000 a month to manage their animal control facilities. The Cecil Times reported that a surprise visit to the facility “found unremoved feces, odors and many dogs with serious ‘mange’ and other skin conditions.” There were also allegations of “overstaffing at the Buddy operation at taxpayer expense.” The company has been repeatedly fined for violating state and federal law.
Mitchell-Werbrich explained that the dispute started in October when she called the Buddy For Life facility about two dogs at a residence who appeared emaciated and mistreated. Despite repeated inquiries, Mitchell-Werbrich said the company refused to address the situation. On certain occasions, someone at the facility would tell Mitchell-Werbrich that they had addressed the abuse of the dogs but it turned out not to be true. She came to believe that the company was “untruthful.” She shared her experience with the girls in her troop, which prompted their interest.

Despite their large monthly budget, A Buddy For Life spent just $877 over a three-month period for food.

Mitchell-Werbrich said she and the girls’ parents requested a meeting with Cecil County Executive Tari Moore to discuss the incident but she did not respond to their request.

[oldr_n_wsr]

With "Buddy's" like that who needs enemies, for both the animals and the humans.

[Guinevere]

Yay for those girls for standing up for what they believe in!

Those so-called adults should be chopped up and rendered into dog and cat food -- and still they would be poison.

[MajGenl.Meade]

A bit drastic there, Guin. Maybe the bastinado? They could wash 'em for each other afterward.

[Sue U]

Hooray for the Girl Scouts, both the organization and the troop members; a true force for good in the world. I will send them even more money this year, and encourage my daughters to continue their memberships.

The "adults" who disparaged the Girl Scouts should be truly ashamed of their behavior. Those little girls were by far more adult and a better example of civic engagement.

[Long Run]

Now, if we could just get them to sell cookies without any trans-fat.

https://eatingrules.com/girl-scout-trans-fat-cookies/

[rubato]

$60,000 per month? !!! $720,000 / year

That buys a lot of legal representation.

Now, if we could just get them to sell cookies without any trans-fat.

https://eatingrules.com/girl-scout-trans-fat-cookies/

You actually buy the cookies? Yuck. I just give them the money and tell them to keep the cookies. They're nasty w/ or w/o trans fats.

See, he has the right idea:

(from the link)

Matty and I gave them a donation instead of buying a box.

yrs,
rubato

[oldr_n_wsr]

Now, if we could just get them to sell cookies without any trans-fat that taste good.

https://eatingrules.com/girl-scout-trans-fat-cookies/

FTFY

[Lord Jim]

I like the Thin Mints...

[Guinevere]

A bit drastic there, Guin. Maybe the bastinado? They could wash 'em for each other afterward.

Nope. Don't mess with the Girl Scouts, or animals -- especially those already in pain by being abandoned or abused. Cutting 'em into pieces is too good for them.

[Guinevere]

I like the Thin Mints...

I do too. I usually give them a $20 and then just take one box of thin mints with me. Tucked into the freezer, they are especially good. One box a year (that is usually shared) won't kill me