From day one when she started two years ago, Emily Tanen was the only employee in the three ACC shelters to take pictures of dogs. In fact, she was routinely criticized and reprimanded for spending her time using her camera to save lives. The shelter preferred they just use the horrific intake pictures instead, wrongly thinking that New Hope staff didn't need to meet the animals they're tasked with placing. Emily was the only New Hope staff member to partner with volunteers to make sure every dog on the list every night had photos, a bio and a beautiful plea to fight for them. She stayed late into the night, refusing to stop working until each death row dog received a fair chance. That level of caring was frowned upon when Emily was there, and is now gone entirely from the New Hope department. Whereas Emily would communicate with volunteers regarding which dogs needed bios and pictures the most, the current New Hope staff has nothing but contempt for volunteers, and would not be caught dead staying after their 8.5-hour day ends or working on placement from home.
Ninety-eight percent of dogs with pictures in Manhattan came from Emily working with volunteers (and by herself) to make sure they all had representation. Now that she has been fired, this herculean task falls to an already overworked single-digit number of volunteers who work desperately just to make sure each dog has fresh water, a walk and a bio before they end up on the euth list.
Aside from being atrociously incorrect English, here is one of the more blatant lies: "There is more than one staff person and volunteers that send out pleas and takes photographs of animals needing placement." NO ONE on staff takes pictures now that Emily is gone. A very small number of volunteers take dog pictures (one person once a week in Brooklyn and 2 people in Manhattan), but these merely supplemented Emily's tireless efforts to photograph every single one. And as for the pleas? We will let Emily's work speak for itself. Below, you will find a typical plea sent by a particularly awful New Hope staff member in Brooklyn. And next to it, you will find one of Emily's pleas. Which do YOU think is effective? Who would YOU have fired?
The conclusion of ACC's 116-word lie invites you to visit the ACC website for proof that there are photos of dogs in the shelter. Well, you better hurry -- because in a few more days, Emily's photos will all have disappeared, as will all too many Manhattan shelter dogs who have lost their most dedicated advocate.
