The Potomac Highlands Dispatch - the online newspaper

Volunteer groups struggling to co-exist
at allegany county animal shelter
Animal Welfare Society, shelter foundation, new groups trying to get along
One volunteer: 'some nasty things have been said'

By The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
CUMBERLAND, Dec. 30 -- Key people in the world of local animal welfare all claim to have the best interests of the dogs and cats at the top of their priority lists.

But the claws come out when they try to interact with their human counterparts.

Representatives from the Animal Welfare Society of Allegany County, the Allegany County Animal Shelter and two new groups - Queen City Animal Rescue and Tri-State Animal Advocates - have spent the past month trying to forge new working relationships. Add in Michelle Ingrodi, the woman who can arguably be credited with bringing the plight of abandoned or neglected animals to the forefront in Allegany County after several animals were rescued at an abandoned home on Raven Drive in Cumberland - and you get a genuine cat fight.

Allegany County Commissioner Bill Valentine, still in his first two weeks in in office, said everyone has been "separate entities for so long, they're going to have to sit down amongst themselves on where they start figuring out what's needed, what the job should be of each entity."

The goal, Valentine said, is to get the different groups to remain a positive impact on the animals' lives to a point where all can "co-exist (and) work together."

Caring for animals seems to be a deep, emotional investment from people with otherwise strong personalities. It's no surprise, then, that they all can't get along.

"I've really been trying to smooth things over between people," said one volunteer with Queen City Animal Rescue. "Michelle (lives in) Baltimore and has the city attitude, which isn't something that goes over very well here in Western Maryland. Some nasty things have been said between some of them, but I am trying to get everyone to call a truce here because we all need to stick together."

It didn't help that Ingrodi, a 30-year-resident of Allegany County who moved to Baltimore in 2005 and now heads Charm City Animal Rescue, began asking questions about how much money the Animal Welfare Society was sitting on - nearly a quarter of a million dollars, according to the last 990.

The Queen City Animal Rescue representative acknowledged that the local Animal Welfare Society members were "extremely mad" but hinted they shouldn't be, as Ingrodi only scrutinized documents already available to the public.

"Michelle's comment was if they are sitting on this much money, why aren't they using it to help (at the shelter?) Why have they not treated cats with upper respiratory infections, which is just a cold, not life-threatening. Why are they not able to pay vet costs, spay/neutering, etc."

Ingrodi acknowledged she probably stepped on a few toes with her recent letter to the editor that called out, among other things, the apparently inept reporting of the Cumberland Times-News and the Animal Welfare Society's reluctance to spend now for the sake of needy animals.

"No one from the AWS wanted to respond, but now it seems they are trying to gang up on Michelle," the animal rescue volunteer said. "I don't know why they just couldn't respond to it and tell her why they couldn't pay any bills."

Ingrodi said at least one volunteer has helped to lead an "anti-Michelle Ingrodi club" and also is "anti-volunteer" - which counters volunteer efforts since the Raven Drive incident and shelter manager Camille Carrico's subsequent resignation.

"They're trying to dig up whatever dirt they can on me," said Ingrodi, who confirmed she plans to apply for the vacant shelter manager position with Allegany County government.

Ingrodi said she can't help but be cynical when it comes to applying for the position. Those in the "anti-Michelle Ingrodi" group will undoubtedly attack her candidacy.

"I have a feeling they are going to look at my application and laugh," she said. "I have all of those qualifications except (education). I have the experience. I very well might be the highest qualified for it, but they're just going to laugh at me."

A phone call from one Animal Welfare Society board member to the Dispatch mentioned, among other things, Ingrodi's long record in the Maryland court system - some civil complaints, some criminal actions. The caller alleged Ingrodi to be a "radical personality."

Ingrodi scoffed at the notion that her record, which includes charges of drug possession and breaking and entering in 1996, would stifle her candidacy for the job - or her volunteer efforts.

The same caller to the Dispatch, from the Animal Welfare Society, questioned the legitimacy of Ingrodi's animal rescue in Baltimore.

"I heard it's a couple crates in her house," said the caller, who declined to be identified for this article.

Again, Ingrodi - on the record - refutes the suggestion that however her rescue is managed decreases its legitimacy.

"Rescue is so unregulated," she said. "It's all done by word of mouth. You build your reputation. When you screw up, every rescue is going to rip you right down."

The AWS caller also said Ingrodi used to live on Raven Drive and should have known and reported the dogs' conditions a long time ago. Ingrodi said she never lived there - her sister did. From Baltimore, Ingrodi received regular reports from her sister that animal control was called "a hundred times" and, until Thanksgiving, "nothing has been done."

It was Ingrodi who traveled to Cumberland and risked trespassing on private property to get better video and photos of the dogs' condition. Her information went virual on Facebook on social media website and garnered support from across the region.

Ingrodi said she's concerned the infighting could lead to the dismissal of the newly formed but still fragile army of 30-plus volunteers now accepted at the shelter.

"I feel it's coming to that," she said. "we're headed down that road (that county officials will say) the attempt at volunteers was a failure. And, somehow, that's going to come back on me."

Valentine, however, appeared confident everything could work out. During an interview on Dec. 24 at the shleter, he said the first step - making the public aware of a bad situation - is already working.

"Until three to four weeks ago, 95 percent of the people in Cumberland didn't know where the animal welfare shelter was," he said. "We just have to work with the public."