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Head of city's pound quits after dog abuse reports
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
January 13, 2005
Amid allegations that dogs at the city pound were lying in their own waste and power-washed while inside their cages, the head of Chicago's Commission on Animal Care and Control quietly resigned her $87,756-a-year job.
The allegations that dogs were mistreated under the watch of newly departed executive director Nikki Proutsos come from volunteers who donate their time at the city pound at 2741 S. Western.
"The conditions there got to be absolutely horrendous. The dogs were living in conditions that were against all the animal laws and codes of the city. They were in their own feces and urine. The place was just a mess," said Carol Gilmore, one of four volunteers who took their case to City Hall and to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin.
"Cages were not cleaned on a regular basis and, when they were cleaned, they were cleaned with the dog in there with a high-powered power hose. You shouldn't do that to anybody, no less a dog who can't get out of the way. A lot of their cleaning methods probably led to the distemper problem. I'm happy she's gone. There are a few others who should also follow suit."
Proutsos said she's aware of the volunteers' complaints, but she denied dogs were mistreated under her watch.
She also denied that she was forced out, even though her title change sounds more like a demotion. Proutsos is now an assistant commissioner overseeing nutrition programs for the city's Department of Aging. Her salary has not changed.
"The protocol for cleaning the cages is either that the animal is removed from the cage or placed on the other side of the cage through a cage divider so the process is done effectively and properly," said Proutsos, 39.
"If ever there were any issues with employee performance as to how they did their job, that was dealt with if it came to our attention. Everybody is entitled to their perspective, but the fact remains we have made incredible changes in the quality of care for the animals at the facility throughout the years."
'Total rewrite' of ordinance
No matter what caused the shakeup, the abrupt change leaves the 37-employee, $4.1 million agency charged with overseeing animal welfare in Chicago without leadership.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported in mid-November that Animal Care and Control has been "inundated with animals" because of a distemper outbreak and the Anti-Cruelty Society's historic change in policy to stop accepting strays last fall.
Ald. Eugene Schulter (47th), chairman of the City Council's License Committee, is engaged in a "total rewrite" of the city's animal control ordinance.
"I thought Nikki was doing a good job under very difficult circumstances," Schulter said. "But now that she's gone, we have to make sure we get a person in there as quickly as possible."
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
January 13, 2005
Amid allegations that dogs at the city pound were lying in their own waste and power-washed while inside their cages, the head of Chicago's Commission on Animal Care and Control quietly resigned her $87,756-a-year job.
The allegations that dogs were mistreated under the watch of newly departed executive director Nikki Proutsos come from volunteers who donate their time at the city pound at 2741 S. Western.
"The conditions there got to be absolutely horrendous. The dogs were living in conditions that were against all the animal laws and codes of the city. They were in their own feces and urine. The place was just a mess," said Carol Gilmore, one of four volunteers who took their case to City Hall and to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin.
"Cages were not cleaned on a regular basis and, when they were cleaned, they were cleaned with the dog in there with a high-powered power hose. You shouldn't do that to anybody, no less a dog who can't get out of the way. A lot of their cleaning methods probably led to the distemper problem. I'm happy she's gone. There are a few others who should also follow suit."
Proutsos said she's aware of the volunteers' complaints, but she denied dogs were mistreated under her watch.
She also denied that she was forced out, even though her title change sounds more like a demotion. Proutsos is now an assistant commissioner overseeing nutrition programs for the city's Department of Aging. Her salary has not changed.
"The protocol for cleaning the cages is either that the animal is removed from the cage or placed on the other side of the cage through a cage divider so the process is done effectively and properly," said Proutsos, 39.
"If ever there were any issues with employee performance as to how they did their job, that was dealt with if it came to our attention. Everybody is entitled to their perspective, but the fact remains we have made incredible changes in the quality of care for the animals at the facility throughout the years."
'Total rewrite' of ordinance
No matter what caused the shakeup, the abrupt change leaves the 37-employee, $4.1 million agency charged with overseeing animal welfare in Chicago without leadership.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported in mid-November that Animal Care and Control has been "inundated with animals" because of a distemper outbreak and the Anti-Cruelty Society's historic change in policy to stop accepting strays last fall.
Ald. Eugene Schulter (47th), chairman of the City Council's License Committee, is engaged in a "total rewrite" of the city's animal control ordinance.
"I thought Nikki was doing a good job under very difficult circumstances," Schulter said. "But now that she's gone, we have to make sure we get a person in there as quickly as possible."
I think my uid says it all
