Citizens Call for Removal of Wenatchee Valley Humane Society Director
Citing a pattern of "bullying," mismanagement and inhumane treatment of animals, some are calling for the WVHS board of directors to remove Director James Pumphrey
*Names marked with an asterisk have been changed at the sources’ request.
When Char Marriner left to check into the emergency room at Harborview Medical Center on April 27 she was worried about her elderly cat, Nekko, who had just gone missing.
That evening, Nekko was dropped off at the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society and her photo was posted on its website. Soon after that a friend noticed Nekko’s photo on the site and the next morning, from the ER, Marriner tried to organize a group of friends to help her husband Rob go get Nekko.
“Rob called the Humane Society but they had killed her already,” she said. “April 28th, she was killed first thing in the morning. Nekko or us never had a chance to get her while she was alive.”
In an email, WVHS Executive Director James Pumphrey said they made the right call.
“This cat came into our care in grave condition. She was unable to eat, drink, or stand without falling over. She was severely emaciated with her eyes sunken in. She had a Body Condition Score of 1 out of 9, with generalized muscle atrophy, severe muscle atrophy in hind limbs and hips, hunched body posture, instability when moving, hind end sinking and falling to one side when attempting to move. She was unable to steady herself to drink or eat,” he wrote. “She was 20 years old, only weighed 3.7lbs and clearly exhibited signs that she was in the process of dying. Our veterinary team evaluated her on intake and determined that she was suffering and the medical intervention could not make her comfortable or prevent her from passing away. We did not receive a lost report from the owner until a day after she had been humanely euthanized. I spoke with the owner's husband who indicated that the cat had been declining for many months and that he assumed she had wandered off to die. He was apologetic that his wife had posted harmful things about WVHS and indicated he was relieved that their cat was no longer suffering.”
Pumphrey wrote that they have great sympathy for anyone who is grieving their pet.
Marriner and her husband don’t deny that Nekko was nearing the end of her life. But they don’t think she would have died that day.
“She didn’t need to die,” Marriner said.
After that, Marriner became vocal about the situation on Facebook and faced backlash in the form of what she perceived as threats of legal action from WVHS Director Pumphrey.
It’s an experience shared by others who have lodged complaints about the decisions of WVHS leadership.
On June 18, Twila* and her adult son Marty* went to the humane society to meet a dog named Solitaire* they had seen on the WVHS’ website and he was interested in.
“It was instant love for my 27-year-old son (who would be the one adopting her). We played with her for about a half hour and then informed another volunteer that my son did indeed want to adopt her,” she wrote.
They went through the adoption process with a WVHS employee who “had no idea how to fill out the adoption paperwork” and who had to be assisted by another individual, according to Twila.
They finalized the adoption, registered the microchip in Marty’s name, and collected the $300 adoption fee.
“We then learned that she had jumped the gun on the finalization since the dog had to be spayed prior to her being finalized in the system. It got figured out and adjusted in the system with the help of the other individual there,” Twila wrote. “She was then put in as ‘pending’ and we were told we could pick her up any time after 3 pm the next day (June 19).”
Then Marty went to Firehouse Pet Shop in downtown Wenatchee and bought puppy supplies and a crate online, and went home to set everything up for her arrival the next day.
“On Monday, June 19 he arrived at the shelter to pick her up shortly after 3. He was then told that the original owners had come in again and wanted the dog,” she wrote. “My son was offered another dog but he had fallen in love with Solitaire and declined politely. He was then allowed to leave the shelter with her.”
As soon as they arrived home, Marty started getting calls from the WVHS. Marty didn’t know what to do so he called Twila. She said the adoption was final and it was his choice to answer the phone or not.
“Then an Animal Control van showed up and parked in front of his house. Intimidation,” Twila wrote. “I then called and spoke to your Director. He informed me that there had been some type of ‘language barrier’ with the family and specifically the father.”
She said they were told at the meet and greet with Solitaire that the dog’s previous owners had come in, but could not afford the fee to release her. She said she doesn’t believe the line about a language barrier being an issue.
“I believe the family came up with the release money at the last minute and wanted her back after she had been spayed, adopted and taken home by my son,” she wrote. “I believe the ‘language barrier’ was simply an excuse.”
Pumphrey informed Marty that the adoption was not final because the new staff member or volunteer did not have Marty sign the final paperwork properly before turning the dog over to his custody.
“This was of no fault of my son and he took her home in good faith. So, he was basically bullied into returning her that evening,” Twila wrote.
Marty was offered a full refund for the adoption fee. The WVHS also offered to cover the costs of the pet deposit at his residence and the money he spent at Firehouse Pet Shop.
“A refund isn’t the point,” she wrote. “He wanted that dog and is very heartbroken.”
When reached for comment, Director Pumphrey admitted the mistake was unfortunate and it won’t happen again.
“A new WVHS staff member unfortunately made a mistake in identifying this pet as available. We are reinforcing our protocols and training with staff to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” he wrote. “We are committed to returning pets to their owners whenever possible as we did in this case.'“
Pumphrey said Marty was reimbursed for all of his expenses.
“We’re working closely with him on another pet to adopt. He knows the importance of connecting lost pets with their owners and we are grateful that he did so,” Pumphrey wrote. “He has communicated his appreciation of how we’re handling the situation and we have worked with him to identify other adoption options.”
Twila said Marty has moved on and “found another dog in the Tri-Cities and doesn’t want James bugging him.”
Sparks Still Flying Over TNR
Another source of contention is the Trap-Neuter-Replace and Return-To-Home policies regarding cats. That’s an issue I covered in my first piece on the WVHS, but reports of very young, friendly cats being found around the Wenatchee Valley with fresh spay scars and tipped ears have been a constant source of controversy since before it was published. Humane societies tip the feline’s ear after it has been fixed so folks know the animal has been sterilized.
Some defend the policy and the WVHS and urge others to foster and adopt cats if they want to help. Some criticize the effectiveness of those policies in a mostly-rural community with natural predators like coyotes, and Pumphrey himself.
Those who do criticize the WVHS and director Pumphrey on Facebook are met with backlash. On Monday, June 26, Bonnie Helvey, a board member for the Animal Rescue Friends Society of Grant County, created a post on that organizations’s Facebook page raising alarm about what’s happening in Chelan and Douglas Counties and referencing Marriner’s post about Nekko.
“We reposted one of these posts on our rescue page,” she wrote. “He came after us with all he had threatening a lawsuit and demanding that we remove the post. He was not successful in his demand for us to remove the post.”
Pumphrey called her and Helvey said he was one of the rudest people in management she’s ever had to deal with, and that he made a vague threat about the economic repercussions of her decision to share Marriner’s post about Nekko.
“He's an outright bully who threatened my firm or my job – not sure how that comment was meant,” she wrote. “He called me a liar numerous times and literally would not let me finish a sentence.”
Helvey said Pumphrey banned the ARFS from the WVHS TNR program – meaning any Grant County resident seeking TNR services subsidized by her organization will not be served.
“They're not our cats, but we pay for people who trap them to bring them there,” she said.
She said they’re essentially punishing any Grant County resident who wants financial help from her organization to neuter and spay what she calls feral cats and Pumphrey calls community cats.
The fact that he’s willing to go to such lengths to silence criticism, questions or feedback shows a severe lack of priorities.
“The worst thing a board can do is allow a director to remove (himself) from any feedback from the community or their own employees,” Helvey wrote.
Helvey isn’t the only person who is taking her issues with Pumphrey to the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society board of directors. On June 30, Louise McEwen sent an email to the entire board of directors lodging her concerns with Pumphrey and the direction the WVHS has been headed. McEwen even took her crusade to the streets – or at least the cul de sacs.
On Saturday, June 24, she handed out homemade flyers from her booth at a neighborhood yard sale in Wenatchee.
“The TRAP NEUTER RETURN program has changed with the new director James Pumphrey. It’s now TRAP NEUTER and DUMP!” she wrote at the top.
Then she shared five anecdotes collected from social media of folks who have had negative experiences with the WVHS and Pumphrey recently.
At the bottom, McEwen went on to call for Pumphrey’s replacement as director.
“Employees and volunteers have quit because of poor working conditions brought on by director Pumphrey. He needs to be replaced. This mistreatment of cats must STOP,” she wrote. “How many more will become coyote bait because Pumphrey doesn’t care. This treatment is inhumane!”
You can view a photo of the flyer McEwen handed out here.
I reached out to WVHS for comment on the flyer and spokesman Neil Neroutsos said he will check into it more and get back to me. This is an evolving story and I will follow up with the WVHS response, and more, soon.
My Two Cents
This has been one of the most complicated and difficult stories I’ve ever reported on.
It seems like someone reaches out to me almost every day about the WVHS and I honestly have a hard time keeping each individual story straight, unless I take notes. What is a constant theme is that folks who criticize the WVHS and Pumphrey report feeling a strong backlash after they do and many use the word “bullied” in their description of his response. Many do not want to go on the record because they fear retaliation.
However, I think it’s important to hear both sides of the story and I am committed to giving the WVHS the opportunity to respond to criticisms. I also think it’s important, at this point, to hear from the WVHS board of directors.
I did reach out to them and got a response from the now-former board president Jane Provo through Neroutsos and will include that correspondence and a short highlight of Pumphrey’s CV prior to taking the helm at the WVHS in my follow-up piece later this week.
As far as ARFS go and is willing to help subsidize the cost of these TNRs what is it to James? It seems capricious and punitive in a way that is detrimental to animal welfare. If he and the WVHS truly care about animals why would they do that?
As I wrote above, this is a developing story and I will continue to follow it as things unfold.
Sounds like a new director is sorely needed. Kitten season is hard enough on the TNR/cat community, we don't need someone like this making poor decisions that affect the welfare of animals AND humans.
Fire your hiring mistakes.