Longmont Humane Society Employee AMA
On July 11th, 2023, in the wake of the Dog Arc, a worker from the Longmont Humane Society, the animal shelter Daniel adopted Zola from, posted onto the r/daniellarson subreddit.
In their post, they asked for the members of the subreddit to stop harassing the Humane Society, referencing several alleged false calls to emergency services, and swatting attempts that resulted in the building being checked for bombs. Additionally, they would answer several questions from subreddit members regarding Daniel's adoption of Zola, and various other topics.
Below is their original post.
I care for animals at Longmont Humane Society.
Disclaimer: My opinions are my own. I am not speaking on behalf of LHS in any capacity; I am only giving my perspective on the situation.
I will not specify whether I am a volunteer or a staff member, but as proof that I work at the facility, here's a photo of a non-public room (a chemical closet where empty carriers are cleaned and stored.) For the safety of my friends and family, I will not be sharing any information about myself beyond that.
Let me start by dispelling some rumors. At LHS, the adoption process involves multiple people. There's no single individual responsible for Zola/Music being adopted to Larson. Various individuals involved did find Larson creepy (he smelled bad, for the record), but had no reason to doubt his credentials. Plenty of superficially weird people pass through the shelter and turn out to be wonderful pet owners and/or volunteers. The charity has programs for housing animals belonging to homeless families, and it is somewhat common for a person to lose custody of their pet(s) upon their arrest and recover them after making bail. Because of this, we're used to encountering "strange" people, and are somewhat desensitized to it. In spite of all this, the team was still skeptical of Larson, and his adoption process did last longer than most because of these concerns. They were aware that he is mentally ill, but that was not enough of a basis to deny him an adoption. LHS is a small, local charity. They don't have the staffing, time, or resources to give every single prospective adoptee a background check, though I'm confident that the adoption process will change in some capacity following this incident.
The volunteers and staff at LHS were devastated to find out who Larson really was. I really can't overstate how much this news upset everyone. This sort of thing is an absolute worst-case scenario for us. Zola was very well liked at LHS by staff, volunteers, and visitors. I'm appalled at the way the team has been treated online. These people work at the shelter because they truly love animals, and they do so for low pay or no pay at all in the case of volunteers. They come in at the crack of dawn to clean up literal feces because they want to help homeless animals. Now, on top of that, they have to deal with first responders constantly showing up because of swatting attempts or false bomb threats. Is this really the people whose time you want to be wasting? Firefighters and folks who take care of homeless animals?
I understand being upset that Zola was allowed to fall into the hands of a person like Larson. However, you do not need to harass the team at LHS to communicate the severity of this mistake. They know, and are taking serious steps to ensure that mistakes like this do not happen again, because they are personally invested in the long-term happiness of companion animals. Larson is now permanently banned from adopting animals from LHS, and the local animal control unit is aware of the situation. Leadership is currently deciding on the security measures necessary moving forward.
Feel free to ask any questions.
AMA
Question 1
[Deleted]: Comment deleted by user
u/Longmontpaws: No, no background checks. There have been issues in the past with people lying about their living circumstances, but with more minor things (like whether their landlord allowed the specific dog breed, or the amount of space in the home) and the result was only that the dog was eventually returned when the adoptee belatedly realized that you can't accommodate a hundred-pound dog in a studio apartment. As far as I know, no one has yet had the audacity to just straight-up lie about having a home when they're homeless.
Additionally, if it turns out that a "stray" brought to the shelter is owned and doesn't show any physiological signs of mistreatment or neglect, the animal must be returned to the owner after the recovery fee is paid. That unfortunately includes cases where the owner is homeless, living in their car, senile, etc. Remember that in the United States, companion animals are chattel. An animal doesn't legally belong to the shelter until they've been living there for a certain amount of time. When an animal finishes that wait period, they become "emancipated" and are then in the shelter's custody.
I can assure you that the procedure is now under serious review. Also, the fact that Larson lied on his adoption form could potentially be grounds to dissolve the contract under which Zola was adopted to him.
Question 2
u/ImOnlyGayOnDrugs: Is ID required to adopt an animal? Did Daniel have an ID?
u/Longmontpaws: Yes. An ID is required even if you're just visiting an animal.
Question 3
u/_Ruzo_: I will say this; I do not entirely blame you guys, but I do blame you a tad bit. It may be cruel, but a simple look at Daniel should tell you he is incapable of taking care of a dog. He smells like shit, has grime under his fingernails, has one eye basically bulging out. But at the same time, if he did lie on his paperwork, who are you guys to doubt him entirely?
Could the situation have been avoided? Yes. Is Daniel also a slippery, manipulative rat? Yes.
u/Longmontpaws: I think in this case, it was a perfect storm of bad circumstances. There's a staffing shortage and staff retention issue in many industries right now, and charities are no exception. LHS is a little short-staffed, and the staff they do have are relatively green due to all the turnover. The procedure isn't the best, because as a small shelter in a relatively wealthy area, the honors system hadn't dramatically failed like this before. Finally, imagine the personality type drawn to charity work. If you're somebody with a sympathetic, charitable view of other people, you're more likely to look at an unwashed weirdo and feel pity more than revulsion. When you're somebody who helps people for a living, you're unfortunately vulnerable to emotional manipulation, by the nature of these things. I include myself in these personality-based generalizations, for the record hahaha.
Question 4
u/MidwestSaxophonist: Was he alone or where others with him?
u/Longmontpaws: Larson was alone while he was in the facility.
Question 5
u/RealTinaVanderWaal: If she's in lost and found does that mean he can just walk in and get her?
u/Longmontpaws: Technically, yes. But he would have to pay a fee, and given the circumstances, I don't think they would immediately return her. Legally, Zola is still Larson's dog, unfortunately. There's a non-zero chance that LHS would have to give her back to him, even though NOBODY on the team there wants that for her.
Question 6
u/DanielLarsonWatch: Does LHS know that the dog was stolen in order to be returned? While I don't want to litigate whether or not Dan deserves the dog, I am curious if LHS is aware of/working around any legal issues related to the dog being stolen back. If you are aware of it, is LHS working with the police against the person who stole the dog? Or if LHS does not wish to comment on any legal proceedings, I'd accept that as an answer as well.
While Dan probably can't handle a dog, stealing it from him caused him to have a meltdown in walmart leading to him hitting himself and causing a scene which required a police response.
Photo of the aftermath if you hadn't seen - [Link to post-rescue community tab post]
u/Longmontpaws: Yes, they absolutely know. Word of the theft began circulating at the shelter around eleven this morning. Not sure when it actually happened, but that's when the news began to reach us. Summer is one of the busiest times of the year for us, so people don't have a lot of spare moments to check their phones.
I can only speculate on how the situation with the theft will be handled, that's more of a question for law enforcement than for the shelter. I imagine it would require (at least in part) Larson pressing charges, since the stolen "property" was legally his at the time. I would personally prefer it if things didn't escalate to that, though. This has already been enough of a debacle.
External Links
 Homeless Era
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| The Arcs: | The Causes: | |
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 Dog Arc
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| The Players: | The Events: | |
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