But they will have to abide by a long list of policies that county officials say are designed to protect the volunteers and reduce the county’s liability.
The Bay County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved of a new structured volunteer program. Volunteers will no longer be able to roam freely around the facility and show up any time they choose. Under the new guidelines, they will have to make appointments online to register for times to volunteer, and there will be certain areas of the facility, such as where drugs are stored, that are off-limits to them.
In October of 2012, Bay County General Services Director Jamie Jones said in a letter to the volunteers that for liability reasons, the county would no longer allow volunteers to help out at the shelter. They had been performing duties such as grooming and feeding dogs.
But volunteers said at the time that county officials had other reasons for the decision, saying the then-shelter director Bill Olasin had been holding a grudge against them after they approached him with several concerns. The volunteers said they noticed state inmates who work at the facility making mistakes because they weren’t properly trained, dogs who were not given timely health attention and a leaky roof that had been ignored for years.
County officials have insisted the decision to stop allowing volunteers to help at the shelter was done out of liability concerns, not out of retaliation.
Jones told county commissioners Tuesday that the policies and procedures brought before them are modeled after successful structured volunteer programs that have been recommended to the county by the
“They provide for the application process, proper training, a scheduling process to ensure staff supervision, clear guidelines as to what is beneficial assistance to the animals, to the staff, as well as the public,” he said.
County Commission Chairman Guy Tunnell praised the new guidelines for being “very thorough.”
Sharon Rosenberger, who is among the first volunteers who have signed up to help out at the shelter once again, said in a telephone interview after the meeting that the county has adopted the policies to prevent volunteers from speaking out about problems at the shelter.
“They can’t handle criticism,” she said. “That is what is going on here. They are afraid of the liability, which I understand is enormous. But they also don’t want any dirty little stories to come out, like the animals suffering and stuff like that. We brought out all kinds of stuff before.”
She added that the new policies will deter volunteers from donating their time.
One of the new rules requires volunteers to go through training, which includes instruction on the proper caring and handling of animals.
Pam Vaught, who also signed up to volunteer, said she supports that requirement. “I think people need to be trained,” she said. “All animals are different.”
Charles Cromer, president of Animal Rescue Center of Bay County, which helps find homes for animals taken to the animal shelter, said he’s glad the volunteers are being allowed back in.
He said he understands why the county would have volunteer guidelines.
“As with any government entity, they’ll have rules and regulations,” he said. “Letting volunteers back in is a good thing. I don’t see how any thing negative could come of it with more people in there helping animals.”
Jones said Monday the new regulations are aimed at keeping volunteers out of harm’s way.
“You have euthanization drugs,” he said. “You have to be careful of the Department of Corrections inmate squad that works there. We want to minimize their interaction or contact with them.”
He also said the new policies should keep volunteers separate from animals that might be dangerous.
“We have a certain area of the facility where we quarantine animals that have been involved in bite cases, legal cases, or are potential rabies cases, and we have some isolation rooms for sick animals,” he said. “Part of it is for the volunteers’ safety; and part of it is for the animal’s. … There are certain health and medical protocols. We do want to make sure we don’t cross contaminate other animals in the facility with illnesses.”
The new volunteer handbook states that volunteers must avoid “argumentative tones and comments” and abide by a “code of conduct,” which includes not sharing “topics of great confidentiality.” Volunteers are not allowed to bring cellphones, cameras or any recording devices into the shelter.
The new guidelines also state that volunteers will be allowed to exercise only the adoptable dogs and socialize with the adoptable cats.
The new policy outlines how volunteers should use social media if discussing issues related to the shelter.
“Respect the fact that (the animal shelter) deals with confidential and sensitive matters,” the handbook states. “No details should be released regarding any animal that is not available for adoption.”
In a letter to volunteers in October of 2012, Jones pointed out that the county was assessing its risk of having volunteers help out at the facility in the wake of an incident at a local animal hospital in which an animal seriously hurt a staff member.
“We’ve reconfigured the way we intake animals in the facility, and where we intake animals at the facility,” Jones said Monday. “In this policy, there is a map that shows what areas volunteers are allowed to be in, and what areas they are allowed to be in only if they have an escort or are accompanied by animal services staff.”
Jones said a structured volunteer program is beneficial for everyone.
“It is beneficial to the animals,” he said. “It alleviates some of the stress on the staff that assists in caring for the animals, and provides some enrichment opportunities for the animal.”