Monday evening, Scruffy Tails Humane Society of Crookston held a board meeting at 6:00 p.m. at the shelter. The meeting was important as in recent weeks, Scruffy Tails has had to close its doors and find other shelters to take the animals that had been in residence while awaiting forever homes. The closure is due to the resignation of veterinarian Dr. Leah Faudskar.
The current Scruffy Tails board has only four of nine seats occupied, as there have been some recent resignations. The members are Acting President Theresa Alme, Treasurer Marcia Haglund, and board members Erica Perry and Melanie Weiland. The Scruffy Tails Manager Erin Wilson also took part in the meeting on Monday, although she has also resigned from her position.
The meeting started with a brief review of the November Minutes and a just as brief report from Treasurer Haglund. Haglund reported that as of 4:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, Scruffy Tails is in debt 37,000 on the year and has yet to set a budget for 2025. Haglund said they currently have $9,000 in savings and are awaiting money from a Will, but she did not know when they would be receiving that or how much it is.
The board moved to Old Business after the Scruffy Tails Manager gave a shelter report. Of course, all animals have been moved to other shelters, where many have been adopted.
The first item of Old Business was the Vet status. Scruffy Tails needs a staff vet to be open and operational. The board explained that Dr. Faudskar had turned in her resignation with what they say is very little notice, and they have been unable to find a replacement or even someone to fill in temporarily. When asked why the vet had resigned, Treasurer Haglund explained there were many reasons and that they did not want to go into them. Many of the residents who came to Monday’s meeting felt otherwise. After some back and forth, Dr. Faudskar herself said that there were multiple reasons, but first and foremost was that she had lost trust in the organization and that, at times, she felt her license was in jeopardy. The discussion continued for some time, with people asking what the board could do and if the board was willing to do what was needed to get Dr. Faudskar back on staff so the shelter could re-open.
The board also said that they have a lead on a vet in the Fargo-Moorhead area who might work out, and a resident mentioned a possibility in Bemidji that might be an option. One of the board members was taking notes and thanking everyone for their input and ideas.
Scruffy Tails recently had a Fire Inspection. They listed the items they were asked to move/fix and said they are currently working on these things. However, a few of the items were due to contractors not getting work done on the building in a timely manner. Staff says they have been making calls to the contractors that have been pre-paid to finish the projects.
The New Business Section covered the Manager’s Resignation and a plan for the future in that respect. The job has been opened internally, and a few employees have applied. The job will be posted externally once the board has reviewed these applications. The board is looking for a candidate with a degree and management background. There was also mention that three board members had recently resigned and that these seats need to be filled as soon as possible. There were a few applications from potential board members that the board would review after Monday’s board meeting adjourned. One applicant withdrew her application, stating that she wanted to help but now felt there was too little communication, dysfunction, and nepotism within this board.
As Treasurer Haglund said early in the meeting, there is much to do. It seemed the big takeaway from the meeting was that Scruffy Tails needs a Veterinarian to open back up, board members to help things run smoothly, and to hire a new manager, which requires a quorum that the board currently does not have. There was brief talk of dissolving the organization to get a clean start, but as the meeting went on, it seemed that was not the direction the community or the board wanted to go, so they would continue to look for vet care and board members.
After the meeting, we spoke with Crookston resident Lori Carlson to get her take on the board meeting. What was she hoping to find out tonight, and what did she find out? “I was interested in where the money has gone, that they have been going further into debt, what their plans are for the future if they think they will have to dissolve the organization,” says Carlson. “I’m concerned over why the vet quit and why the board members have quit recently.” Carlson has rescue animals of her own and is very passionate about the organization. “I would like to help more, which I did tell Marcia the Treasurer to stay in touch, I’m just concerned about helping at this point,” says Carlson. “I still want to understand more what has happened, I don’t feel like I got answers to much of what I was looking for tonight.”
Scruffy Tails Board Members declined to comment.
Since Monday’s meeting, KROX has heard from a couple of board members who have resigned their positions in recent months. The decision to resign was not easy as the board members were very passionate about their spot on the board and what the Humane Society stands for. With the understanding that we keep their names out of this story, they have agreed to share some of the reasons for their resignations. Some of the reasons are as follows:
The condition in which some of the animals were being kept
The lack of veterinary care due to the actions of the manager
The unethical treatment of the animals
The election of family members of the shelter manager to the board that oversees her actions and employment
Could not support the direction the board was going
The selling of puppies to a pet store (Pets ‘R Inn)
