‘I was doing everything right’: Douglas Co. Animal Shelter manager speaks out on board’s decision to fire her

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — Last week, the Douglas County Board suspended Douglas County Animal Shelter Manager Spencer Hall with pay. Now, as of a hearing on Tuesday morning, she was told she is officially fired from her position.

Hall said there are multiple reasons why, including the incident earlier this month where the county resolved a cruel treatment investigation with a Murdoch dog owner. The resolution gave the owner four of his original 11 dogs back after the shelter seized them during the case.

Hall said the firing was for not releasing the dogs in a timely manner — something she said isn’t legally true. According to Hall, police and the owner showed up 15 minutes early. She said the court order legally required the shelter to give up the dogs at 2 p.m., not 1:45 p.m., which does not align with a failure to release the dogs in a timely matter.

Hall also said the firing is retaliation from the board for her public criticism of this resolution and prior complaints to human resources against board members over poor treatment in the past.

“I was doing everything right,” Hall said. “I was trying to do my job and think about the welfare of the animals, and to lose my job in this way and not know why, not give a reason why, I more think of it as retaliation for the fact that I was doing the right thing.”

Hall told WCIA she is considering legal action against Douglas County for wrongful termination.

WCIA reached out to the Douglas County State’s Attorney who was unable to comment on the reasons behind Hall’s firing. However, he did confirm the shelter is still fully operational and is looking to hire a new manager within the next week.

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