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County ag commissioner won’t divulge reasons for Amy Cooper’s exit from the troubled agency
By DEREK MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Sonoma County’s animal care and control director is out of a job less than a year after she was hired, another setback for an agency that has struggled in recent years to maintain consistent leadership.
Amy Cooper.
The circumstances surrounding Amy Cooper’s departure were unclear Tuesday.
Cathy Neville, the county’s agricultural commissioner who supervises the animal care division, refused to comment Tuesday other than to say that Cooper was no longer working for the county.
“That’s all I can say,” Neville said.
Cooper could not immediately be reached Tuesday. Her departure comes almost a year to the day after she was hired by the county.
News of her departure was greeted with shock within the county’s tight-knit animal welfare community.
Kiska Icard, executive director of the Sonoma Humane Society, praised Cooper for working to reduce the number of homeless animals that are killed in the county and for working to implement low-cost spay and neuter programs.
“We are concerned whether this collaborative effort will continue without Amy’s leadership,” Icard said in a statement.
Marcia Chadbourne, the county’s risk manager, said she was notified on Monday that Cooper is no longer with the shelter.
Chadbourne said she could not comment further because it is a personnel matter.
Cooper is the latest animal care and control director to depart after a relatively short period of time on the job.
The shelter has had two managers, and the agricultural commissioners’ office that supervises it has had two directors, since 2006, when a management audit of the animal care division found a slew of problems with shelter operations.
Neville acknowledged a lack of leadership last summer following the release of a grand jury report that criticized the agency for not using a mobile vet vehicle, for not working with the county’s animal welfare activists and for not making bilingual information available.
The shelter also faced criticism for the number of animals killed there.
But Cooper’s brief tenure, at least initially, was marked by a sharp decline in the number of euthanizations.
In the last quarter of 2009, the rate of animal deaths at the shelter fell to 28 percent from a 43 percent average in fiscal 2008-09.
More current data was unavailable Tuesday.
Neville said Bob Garcia, the supervising animal care and control officer, will oversee shelter operations until Cooper’s replacement is found.
Neville said the agency recently hired an operations manager to oversee the department’s budget and administrative functions.
She said she wants the next animal care director to concentrate on outreach with the community and developing “good” spay and neuter programs.
“We’re moving forward,” Neville said.
Chadbourne said the salary range for Cooper’s job is between $88,035 and $107,007.
She said the county will begin looking for a replacement immediately. “It’s an important position.”
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It is odd that Ag Commissioner Neville has taken this action without comment.
I suppose she would like everyone to butt out, but I think if anything a spotlight should be shown on the process.
Is this another high level county employee gone at the behest of the ‘progressive’ bunch?
Who does the Agricultural Commissioner report to? The county supervisors?
Somebody needs to take this to the next level of investigation.
I am absolutely shocked that a person can be let go from their job; picture published with her name. Did she do any illegal activity? What gives the Press the rightto print this article and then give the lathering dog’s with no bone at stake, the chance to literally burn this woman…at the stake? Wow…..I was fired once, and it was embarrassing. I’ll be sure to do my best performance, or I might find my name, address, and picture printed in the DUI center of the paper. AM I MISSING SOMETHING? I don’t see printed anywhere, that she was an elected official. And for the loser who asked about her salary….probably more than you make in your chicken suit passing out flyer’s on the corner!
Is there a Lawyer in the house?
You know, as an outside observer in the Animal Control & Shelter woes, I’m noting that there is a regular common denominator – and it is the ONLY thing that seems to have persisted for the last 8 years since my term on the Sonoma County grand jury brought it to my attention…
Do the research, follow all the press coverage, and it’s the only common denominator. I will not name “it” here, for reasons I am certain would get my comment moderated (smile, Ted).
Not all volunteers are overzealous, deceptive, manipulative, and credit-seeking… but there are a few – one in particular who loves to talk to the press (does she call you, or you call her? Think about it, Derek!).
Any successful manager of the Shelter is going to need rock solid top-down support to manage these people. Miss Neville, you probably need to pay closer attention and trust the judgment of the people who work for you.
~jake bayless
Amy Coopers dismissal not only comes as no surprise, but a relief. My personal experience with Ms Cooper was one of hostility, denial and a “Prove it” attitude on her part when confronted by possible shelter violations reported to me by her own staff. One can only imagine how others have been treated by her in the past. Believe me, there are plenty of us in the animal welfare community that are not saddened or shocked at her departure. Cathy Neville did the right thing by removing Ms. Cooper from her position. This isn’t just about the animals in our county shelter, but the respect animal advocates deserve from a person in her position. In all my years as an advocate I have never even met a dog as vicious as Ms Cooper. We can only hope our next director is serious about transparency and accountability.
Why have neither of the two stories about this person given her exact salary? The only salary figure cited is a (broad) range for the position. How much did she make?
The way I’m interpreting this is that Amy did a good job and cared but didn’t have the resources to engage the “bilingual” community. Raising awareness for animal welfare in these communities is crucial, however the decline in euthanizations from ’08 to ’09 is clearly substantial. With such a short tenure I wonder what she would have been able to accomplish had she been given more time.
Just returned to the county after an absence of four months and was shocked to read that Amy Cooper has been let go. Before I left I’d called the shelter about a concern and received a response from none other than Amy Cooper. She struck me as someone who truly cared and who could work with staff in turning around the shelter. Now what has happened and why?! I echo Terry’s call to bring back Amy Cooper.
What a joke Cathy Neville is. I am a long time volunteer (9+ years) and Amy is the best director I have had the privilege of working with. I think Cathy Neville has been listening to the county’s animal welfare activists (aka WACKOs) too much. I am glad that the wackos are not involved at the shelter, all they did was cause problems and the PD listened to them and always gives bad press to a good place. I think Cathy Neville should go and bring Amy back!!