PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Isabel Klee, Animal Rescue Advocate
2:37:14
·
129 sec
Isabel Klee, an experienced animal rescue advocate, provides testimony defending the Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) and highlighting the challenges faced by open intake shelters. She emphasizes the need for increased support and resources to address the animal crisis in New York City.
- Klee has fostered 12 dogs in the past year, mostly from ACC through Many Paws Rescue
- She criticizes the harmful labeling of ACC as a "kill shelter," explaining its role as an open intake shelter
- Klee calls for more funding, free spay/neuter clinics, education on pet ownership, and stricter breeding regulations to address the fundamental overpopulation issue
Isabel Klee
2:37:14
My name is Isabelle Clee, and I have been lucky enough to work with New York City animal rescues and shelters for almost a decade.
2:37:21
I fostered twelve dogs in the past 12 months and most of them have come through money past rescue from the ACC.
2:37:28
I share my fostering and volunteer experiences on social media where I have grown a relatively large audience.
2:37:34
Sharing these stories has been wonderful and powerful, but, of course, with everything there is a dark side as well.
2:37:40
I get comments referring to the ACC as a kill shelter, and as a person who has worked with countless rescue organizations around the world, I can confidently say that this choice in words is extremely harmful and misguided.
2:37:52
The animal care centers of New York City is an open intake shelter, meaning they cannot turn animals away.
2:37:58
It is the shelter that serves the city that we all love so much.
2:38:02
The ACC takes in every animal that comes to their doorstep, They've taken strays, medical cases, owner surrenders, behavioral cases, and hospice dogs.
2:38:12
In August alone, they took in 1163 animals, a staggering number.
2:38:18
Unlike many shelters that claim to be no kill, they don't get to choose what animals come into their care.
2:38:24
Open intake shelters like the ACC are arguably the shelters that need the most support.
2:38:29
I've had the opportunity to spend countless hours at the ACC over many, many years.
2:38:34
What I see are staff members who work incredibly hard.
2:38:38
They're overworked and underpaid.
2:38:40
They're doing the best they can with the resources that they have.
2:38:43
Every single hallway is filled with pop up kennels and every single office has a dog.
2:38:48
They're saving as many animals as they possibly can.
2:38:51
I agree that something needs to be done about the animal crisis in New York City.
2:38:55
We need more funding.
2:38:56
We need free space and neuter clinics.
2:38:58
We need education about pet ownership.
2:39:00
We need to provide resources to the organizations that are doing the work.
2:39:04
We need to crack down on breeding regulations.
2:39:07
The answer is not to attack the ACC, but to fix the fundamental overpopulation issue at hand.
2:39:13
I am so proud to support New York City's rescue organizations in a way that uplifts them to do even better instead of shaming them for not being the absolute best.