Saturday, February 20, 2010

New Executive Director at Toronto Humane Society being examined...

...by a February 20th article in the National Post. A brief job history is given. Toronto Humane still hasn't answered the question...is Garth Jerome interim or permanent?

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Decision is out on two THS matters

One is a decision on the report of the independent financial monitor, read it here. Look at paragraph 7.

The other is on the application of Linda MacKinnon to be an interventor, read it here.

Hat tip to Theoria for posting the links to these decisions.

Monday, February 15, 2010

RALLY FOR CALEIGH!! KINGSTON, ON!


Yet another innocent, unoffending dog has been targeted by breed-specific legislation in Ontario.


KINGSTON RALLY TO PROTEST PERSECUTION
OF RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS

Join your voices with ours to speak out against breed specific language in Ontario's Dog Owners' Liability Act.


Date: Saturday, February 27, 2010
Time: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: In front of City Hall, Kingston, Ontario
216 Ontario Street, Kingston, ON K7L 2Z3 CANADA

The McGuinty Liberals' breed-specific legislation is unfounded, unjust, inhumane, vague, shoddy, proven ineffective and proven fiscally irresponsible. It targets responsible dog owners, while irresponsible dog owners just change breed/type of dog and continue to create dangerous dogs.

Write your MPP and tell him/her to vote in favour of MPP Cheri DiNovo's Bill 222 to remove the breed-specific language from Ontario's Dog Owners' Liability Act.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Behaviour of Toronto Humane Society board baffles again.

In a press release dated November 28, 2009, THS said:

"When the Toronto Humane Society and Hospital reopens we will immediately undertake the following actions.
- Hire a well-respected expert in the field of animal care as the Society's Interim Executive Director. This person will conduct a thorough review of Society operational practices including staffing levels, the number of animals taken in, and assist in the hiring of a
new Executive Director.
- Install a well-respected veterinarian to head our clinical team to ensure the best possible care is being provided to the animals and ensure the Society follows a responsible policy of euthanasia.
"

The THS website as of February 14, 2009 states:
"The Toronto Humane Society is pleased to announce that Garth Jerome has been appointed to the position of Executive Director of the Toronto Humane Society.
Mr. Jerome joined the Society early in 2008.
In addition to his medical and animal-related experience, over the past several weeks Garth has led the shelter operations through a very challenging period.
"

Why so little information, THS? Is Mr. Jerome the interim execdir or the permanent execdir? What exactly is Mr. Jerome's vaguely-referenced medical and animal-related experience? How many years' experience? What medical experience? Digging through the THS website, it says he's a microbiologist; doesn't say where he got his designation or how long he has been a microbiologist. What animal-related experience? What project management and financial management experience does Mr. Jerome have? Does he have any other professional designations - LLB, CA, DVM, CGA, CMA, PMP, CAPM, AHT or TVT? Googling Garth Jerome turns up only the THS announcement and a one-sentence quote in a THS website article. No on-line resume, no authorship of scientific papers.

You'da thunk that THS would have written a more glowing and informative announcement. The way it's written, this announcement raises more questions than it answers. I've seen better announcements for new clerical assistants. If I were Mr. Jerome and taking on this massive job, I'd be quite offended by this offhand announcement.

What happened to hiring a vet, which the animals need more than another administrator (or lawyer, for that matter)?

I'll point you to the Wikipedia definition of an executive director, which is a paid position, so you can understand how broad and powerful the position can be.