Magnolia officials say animal control efforts will continue in town following a couple’s decision to close their volunteer animal shelter.
John and Judy Martin recently announced that they would close the shelter they’ve been operating at their Mallette Circle home, saying the operations has put them in dire financial straights and they have received no help from the city.
However, Magnolia animal control officer Christopher Reed and Alderwoman at-large Mercedes Ricks said the Martins have refused the help the city has offered.
Ricks said she never told the Martins that the city would help financially, but funding for the shelter would be through fundraisers.
“I never said the city would give any money,” she said.
Ricks said when she learned of the Martins’ idea for the shelter she liked it and wanted to help, but she began to back away after tensions arose between her and the couple.
“He likes to be in control. He didn’t want any input. He wanted to do it all himself,” Ricks said of John Martin.
Ricks said things were good in the beginning. She recalled telling Judy Martin to keep the receipts for shelter operations.
“I wanted her to see how much it’s going to cost to run the shelter,” Ricks said.
She said she sent the Martins volunteers to help clean cages and take care of the pups for them and they denied the help.
“I even sent them a girl who was graduating from veterinary school. She said they turned her away,” she said.
Judy Martin said in an earlier interview that she did indeed turn the veterinary student away.
“I spoke to her for 10-15 minutes and I knew she was not a vet,” Judy Martin said. “She may have wanted to be a vet but she was not a vet, and I was not comfortable with her near the animals.”
Ricks said the Martins are responsible for their own financial situation, not the city. She said she suggested the couple send the animals that were to be adopted to Tamor Veterinary Services and have the new owner pay the vet fee, but they refused. Ricks said she also suggested the Martins charge an adoption fee, but they refused.
“They didn’t want to charge anyone. How do they expect to not be in debt when they’re not taking in any money?” Ricks said.
Ricks said she believes with the money collected, the Martins could have paid the $400 needed to become a nonprofit.
“They could’ve put some money back. I don’t know what they did with the money,” she said.
Ricks said the Martins have trashed her and Mayor Anthony Witherspoon on Facebook.
“I’ve asked them not to do that and they kept doing it. So, I did say I washed my hands — of them, not the animals,” she said.
Reed said he takes strays he catches to the PALS animal shelter or tries to find it a home himself.
He said he got off to a rocky start with the Martins after a resident brought an injured stray to the shelter.
“I told him to ask them and see if they knew what to do with the animal. I told him I didn’t know what to do,” he said.
Reed said the Martins contacted him after the animal was dropped off.
“I guess they were mad at me for what happened,” he said.
Reed said he didn’t work with the Martins after that.
“I’ve only spoken to them one time when I began my job and we exchanged numbers. I never brought them a dog,” he said.
Judy Martin said she doesn’t know what’s happening to strays in Magnolia now.
“You don’t see strays in Magnolia anymore,” she said earlier this week.
Reed said he either helps find new homes for dogs or sends them to PALS.
He said he wants to put to rest the rumors of dogs being taken out to rural areas and put down.
“No, I’m the last person that would do anything like that. I love animals. That’s just unacceptable in my eyes,” he said.
Ricks said the city may not have been able to provide financial help to the Martins, but the couple could have accepted what help was offered.
She noted that the Martins accepted dogs from everywhere, not just Magnolia, and that wouldn’t have been the best use of town dollars.
“If it was solely animals from the city of Magnolia, then maybe we could have found a way to work with them. But they took dogs from Osyka, Summit — everywhere,” she said. “... They wanted money. Volunteering isn’t always money. People can volunteer their time, too. It’s not all about the money.”
