Who gets to fire Jesse Ferrari?

Volunteers, employees and concerned residents were the first to raise concerns in 2023 about suspected unethical euthanasia at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS). SCRAPS is a public service that operates under contracts with several cities in Spokane County and the county itself to maintain good relationships between pet animals and humans. It licenses pets, maintains a pet food bank, retrieves lost pets and rehomes abandoned pets from a facility on Trent Avenue. The organization defines the facility primarily as an “animal control facility,” not a shelter. It sometimes euthanizes animals but is categorized as a “no-kill” shelter under state law because more than 90% of animals survive their time there.

After the controversy last year, the Spokane City Council passed an ordinance that amended its contract with SCRAPS, requiring it to ensure animals were only euthanized at the shelter due to untreatable medical or behavioral conditions.

Nearly a year later, though, activists and public officials are still expressing concern over the wellbeing of animals at SCRAPS, and ongoing disagreements between the city and SCRAPS over the standards laid out in the city’s ordinance.

Earlier this summer, on July 6, The Underground Rainbow Alliance, a group that formed to protest what it said was unnecessary euthanasia at SCRAPS, held another protest outside the organization. The demonstrators called for the top leaders at SCRAPS to be fired “to ensure the well-being of the shelter animals.” They believe the organization was killing animals to free up crowded space in its animal control facility.

In a meeting with Spokane’s Public Safety & Health Committee last week, SCRAPS Director Jesse Ferrari — one of the officials the protestors thought should be canned — said recent accusations that SCRAPS was needlessly killing animals were false. Ferrari acknowledged that euthanasia was a “hot topic,” but said SCRAPS “currently does not euthanize for space.”

He then took questions from Spokane city council members who were still concerned that the facility seemed to be changing dogs’ status to dangerous, allowing SCRAPS to kill them, and complaints from constituents that the facility has been rejecting stray animals.

“There seems to be a common thread of animals coming in and being fine, and certainly no longer being fine once they’re at SCRAPS,” said Spokane City Council Member Michael Cathcart, a vocal critic of the organization’s euthanasia practices and lack of oversight. “Can you explain that?”

Ferrari replied that Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) guidelines stating that animals showcasing “mental suffering, distress or behavioral deterioration must be assessed and appropriately treated in a timely manner or humanely euthanized.”

Some committee members questioned if animals received any treatment at all before being euthanized.

Betsy Wilkerson, Spokane City Council President and vice chair of the committee, questioned if SCRAPS plans to expand its capacity to meet the demand. She was met with suggestions from Ferrari to look somewhere other than the current facility for more shelter space.

He added that the City of Spokane could take SCRAPS’s services or leave them.

“If the city is unhappy with the services we provide, you are more than welcome to look elsewhere.”

In recent interviews with RANGE, activists and city officials from Spokane and Spokane Valley, which also has a contract with SCRAPS, said perceived problems with the service are related to systemic issues. Specifically, they cite a lack of clarity about who is in charge of holding SCRAPS accountable for following the rules and adhering to contract terms. The closest thing SCRAPS has to oversight is an advisory committee that cannot enforce the rules. Critics also cite a maze of differing contracts with Spokane County governments allow for finger pointing and an abdication of responsibility. Sources say this has created an environment that can be unsafe for animals at SCRAPS and the humans that care for them.

Ferrari emailed RANGE on July 24 when he learned we were reporting on SCRAPS to offer an interview. The morning of the scheduled interview, a county representative contacted us to cancel, stating that because we had interviewed Cathcart and other critics, “senior administrative staff” were concerned the reporting would be unfavorable to SCRAPS.

The county communications representative wrote that “there is serious concern that the resulting article will not provide a balanced assessment of SCRAPS” because RANGE had interviewed public officials who have criticized SCRAPS. She also asked that we schedule interviews with sources of their choice who they view as having a more favorable view of the organization. RANGE agreed to do so, but she still refused an interview with Ferrari, who ultimately did not provide comment for this story.

However, SCRAPS has consistently maintained that they do not euthanize dogs for capacity issues.

Kill/no-kill

Bryanna Franzen left her job at SCRAPS in 2022 because the workload increased too much after a former director resigned. She was initially a strong supporter of the organization, but when some of her former coworkers came forward with concerns about the organization’s euthanasia practices, she helped them create the Underground Rainbow to investigate SCRAPS’s practices.

Franzen told RANGE a story about a dog named Max, an 80-pound pitbull-lab mix who became aggressive and even dangerous at feeding time. “If you went into his kennel with food, he would snap at you,” Franzen said. “He did end up biting a volunteer, and it was a pretty bad bite.”

Max was euthanized along with 14 other dogs on Sept. 20, 2023. Because of his bite history, SCRAPS labeled the dog as high-risk for human interaction in a behavioral assessment . According to the assessment, “the level of management for this animal is akin to that of an exotic canid that cannot be safely handled without significant precautions.”

But Franzen pushed back against that characterization, noting that dogs can become aggressive in response to being in kennel circumstances.

“It’s very common for a dog to have a food aggression in a shelter environment,” Franzen said, “It’s a high-stress environment.”

Despite being labeled as dangerous, though, some dogs — including Max — left the SCRAPS facilities for activities meant to help adjust their temperament.

“I have video and photographic footage showing dogs off-site getting puppuccinos [whipped cream in a small cup], going to people’s homes for overnight stays with a multitude of volunteers, out in the play yard with other animals,” Franzen said.

“If these were truly dangerous dogs, why are you allowing them out in the public to a coffee shop to get a pup cup? Why are you allowing them to go hiking? Why are you allowing them to go off-site for overnight [visits] with children and other animals present?”

Since 2020, SCRAPS has functioned as a no-kill shelter, meaning it does not euthanize animals due to a shortage of space. But for Franzen and others, the label has lost its meaning. The testimonies and evidence that Franzen has gathered through the Underground Rainbow lead her to believe that the shelter acts like a kill shelter in every way but name. One of the former employees of SCRAPS is even suing the organization for wrongful termination after she spoke publicly about SCRAPS euthanizing animals and for killing a dog she sought to adopt as revenge for speaking out.

Franzen described herself as “aggressively loyal” to SCRAPS when she worked there, telling people it definitely was not a kill shelter.

“I can’t say that anymore,” she told RANGE.

Spokane sets boundaries

Last fall, the Spokane City Council heard the same complaints Franzen shared from former staff and volunteers who said SCRAPS was calling safe animals dangerous so it could kill them outside ASV guidelines. At the time, Council Members Cathcart and Karen Stratton drafted an ordinance that added specific language to the city’s interlocal agreement.

SCRAPS functions as an arm of the county, but it holds operating contracts with many county jurisdictions — from Spokane to Liberty Lake — outlining its responsibilities as the municipal animal control provider. Under the city of Spokane’s 2023 ordinance , both medical and behavioral specialists are required to act as consultants for animals being considered for euthanization. According to this rule, only animals with an “irremediable prognosis” — either medical or behavioral — can be considered for euthanization.

Stratton, who is no longer on the council, felt SCRAPS was using behavior as an excuse to euthanize animals when they lacked space or resources.

She said it was like SCRAPS was saying, “We don’t have the room for them, but we’re not going to admit that we don’t have room — we’re going to say they have behavior issues,’ and that kind of thing.”

Cathcart said he came to share this suspicion after the county requested that the council repeal the euthanasia consultation ordinance after it passed that fall.

“We had a meeting with the county, where the county CEO came down and basically told us that we had to remove our ordinance because it was illegal,” Cathcart said.

“Our legal tells us, ‘No, they absolutely should be [enforcing the ordinance],”’ Cathcart said.

Because of this conflict, Spokane city council has started looking at alternative animal control options, as well as ways to reform the existing shelter.

“The real governance of SCRAPS is in an interlocal agreement between the city and county,” Mayor Lisa Brown told RANGE. “So, the city has been pressing for changes to that interlocal agreement.”

According to Brown, the city’s legal department has been trying to contact the county with requests to change the contract to include increased regulation measures and transparency from SCRAPS. However, the county has not responded to any requests to review and edit language in the contract.

“I think we’ve been a little bit stonewalled,” Brown says.

A toothless advisory board

If the contracts themselves and legislation from the governments paying for SCRAPS’ services can’t change the organization’s practices, who can? One option is the seven-member advisory board, which is composed of two representatives from the city of Spokane, Spokane Valley and the county, respectively, as well as a representative for smaller jurisdictions.

But, “That advisory board … is worthless,” says Cathcart. He added that many of the body’s meeting minutes from previous years are missing, leading him to believe that the board all but disappeared before SCRAPS received media attention last year.

“Nobody really understood when those advisory boards went away because they were a function at the start — they’re in the contract,” Cathcart said. “But they just kind of disappeared.”

Spokane Valley Council Member Al Merkel has also raised concerns about the board.

“There’s a lot of argument about, ‘It’s just an advisory board.’ Our contract is really funny, because what it says is we’re going to establish the Regional Animal Control Advisory Board of Directors,” Merkel says, pointing to section 5A of the Valley’s SCRAPS contract. “In quotations, it says ‘Board of Directors.’ And I’m like, what is a ‘Board of Directors?’ I mean, that’s a thing that we all know,” Merkel said. “It’s not like some sort of advisory board. They should be making direction for the organization.”

According to the Valley’s contract, the Board of Directors can manage the organization and its director. But SCRAPS’s contracts with other jurisdictions don’t have this same language, resulting in confusion about who enforces the rules for SCRAPS.

Luis Garcia and Garrett Jones, who represent Spokane on the board, described their roles in an email to RANGE.

“We help with suggestions and recommendations,” they wrote. “Since we began our roles in October 2023, we’ve encouraged the review of best practices to better establish clear operational policies and procedures for SCRAPS. We’ve also recommended increased transparency around policies and procedures.

“We’re not involved in day-to-day operations or governance over SCRAPS, merely serving in an advisory capacity,” they added.

No other members of the advisory board responded to RANGE’s request for comment.

The board’s website says its purpose “is to provide current knowledge, critical thinking, and analysis to increase business efficiency, communication, and high-quality animal protection service to the citizens of Spokane County.”

Between inconsistent requirements in various city contracts and an advisory board with no regulatory power, critics like Merkel and Cathcart say the organization receives little to no oversight outside of its director.

While many organizations, like the Spokane Transit Authority, rely on their board of directors to do the hiring, firing and performance evaluations for their director, SCRAPS apparently functions differently.

Ultimately, it is the Spokane County Board of Commissioners that hires and fires the director, according to Cathcart, who said that real change at SCRAPS will only happen when the commissioners receive “real pressure.”

Because SCRAPS is a county department, RANGE asked Cat Nichols — the Senior Director of Community Affairs at the county who hypothetically oversees SCRAPS — for more information on how the county regulates the animal protection service.

Nichols did not respond to an interview request, though forwarded RANGE to Ferrari, who agreed to schedule the interview that was ultimately canceled by county communications.

A potential break-up?

Based on the county’s tight-lipped response, continued complaints about SCRAPS services, and their refusal to adhere to the no-kill requirements laid out by the city of Spokane, regional government appears to be taking a hands-off approach to regulating their animal control.

Silence from the county is leaving the city with one choice: “Our options are to think about what happens when that contract expires,” Brown says, adding that the city’s current plan is to wait out the contract and negotiate with the county next year.

In the meantime, the city is preparing alternatives to its current contract, though continuing to work with SCRAPS for animal control services. One loose idea mentioned by Cathcart and Stratton is to use the building that currently houses the Trent Shelter.

Brown intends to vacate the building by the fall of 2024, transitioning those currently using its services to smaller, scatter site shelters. But because the city’s lease for the building goes through 2027, Spokane will still be paying for the space. Cathcart brainstormed potentially contracting with a different animal service agency, like Spokanimal, to run services out of the warehouse.

A representative from Spokanimal said they have not been contacted by the city about potentially contracting for animal control services.

Whatever happens next though, the city of Spokane is keeping its options open.

“We want to be prepared by the time the contract expires, to be able to have those options available,” Brown says.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to add a comment from Spokanimal.

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