PHX Reporter

Maricopa County Animal Care and Control's shelter director, Michael Mendel, has been placed on administrative leave amid claims that the shelter is a "toxic work environment."

“Everyone is very fearful of speaking up,” Lorena Bader, a former volunteer, said in a story by AZFamily. “They won’t necessarily fire you for that [speaking up], but they’ll target you.”

Bader has created a petition that calls for the shelter to reform, gathering almost 25,000 signatures. Bader said the toxic environment in the shelter makes it impossible to properly care for the animals. 

“It’s been a toxic work environment for many years, including when I was volunteering there,” Bader said.

Mendel was appointed to the director position by Assistant Maricopa County Manager Valerie Beckett in March. According to Molly Judd, former East Shelter manager who resigned earlier this year, Beckett is part of the problem.

“It was chaos," Judd said. "It was the worst experience of my life. She [Beckett] thinks this is like any other government organization. Just put in some figure heads and the rest will follow. But that is not what animal sheltering is. You really do need to know what you’re doing to manage that place."

Judd said the environment isn't just toxic, but it's also dangerous.

“I needed to quit for my mental health," she said, adding that she was bullied by both Beckett and Mendel. "They made me question who I was as a person."

Judd said the problem is that those in the county who are in charge of animal welfare aren't animal people.

“They don’t have people in charge who are animal advocates and who understand animal welfare. And until that changes, nothing will change,” Judd said.

Attempts to reach Mendel led to a statement by the shelter, saying he "is on leave and out of the office. At this time, a return date is unknown.”