The part-time director of the animal shelter has resigned, and the Leflore County Humane Society has closed down the shelter until it can find a new manager.
Aubrey Whittington, president of the Humane Society, released a prepared statement Monday to the Commonwealth, saying that Smith quit because she had suffered "increased stress to an already stressful job."
In her statement, Whittington pointed to a letter written by Dr. Anita Batman and published June 15 in the Commonwealth. The letter focused on low adoption rates and unclean conditions at the shelters and indicated a tension between volunteers and Smith.
Others have written letters, too, according to Whittington.
"These letters have had a strong emotional component … presumably to enhance their criticisms," Whittington said through the statement. "But they seem to have inspired people to make harassing phone calls to Mrs. Smith at the shelter and derogatory comments to her daughters."
Whittington declined to talk about specifics beyond the written statement. She would not talk about about the shelter's future.
However, Linda Whittington, a board member, said Aubrey Whittington and others were at the shelter cleaning it Monday afternoon.
The animals will be provided for, Linda Whittington said.
Kelly Lowe, who was listed on the board for the Humane Society, wasn't aware of Smith's resignation. Lowe resigned from the board recently. She declined to talk about her resignation.
Smith couldn't be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
Batman said her letter focused on the issues surrounding the shelter and not any individuals. "No individual was under attack here," she said.
Rather than close the shelter, Batman suggested the Humane Society make a smooth transition of the shelter to another organization.
Whittington also included a letter to Batman with her statement. In that letter, Whittington explained some of the issues.
Several people have complained about the low adoption rate, the smell of the shelter and the irregular hours.
Whittington said the low adoption rate isn't what the board would like it to be - 100 percent but it "is very much in line with the national average - about 15 percent."
However, she declined to talk specifically about adoption numbers Monday. The board is trying to improve its adoption numbers.
"We look at other shelters, especially the ones with higher rates than ours, to see if what they are doing can be adapted to our situation," she said in the letter to Batman. "Oxford is a good example. Their rate is about double ours. But they also have Ole Miss, a huge reservoir of first-time adopters."
Regular hours can't be kept because "conditions arise that play havoc with our best intentions," Whittington wrote.
For example, Smith might have been called out on an animal cruelty call or to pick up a donation of food.
Additionally, the shelter attempts to keep every potentially adoptable animal as long as it can. That leads to overcrowding, which leads to the "cleanliness problem," Whittington said.
