The Alachua County Attorney’s Office launched an investigation into Alachua County Animal Resources after a former employee emailed a 15-page complaint detailing allegations of mismanagement and animal neglect.
The complaint, written by Anthony Friedell, a former Outreach Coordinator at Alachua County Animal Resources, was received by the County Commission on March 2. He alleged that failures in leadership under interim director Gina Peebles and shelter supervisor Brittany D’Azzo resulted in the falsification of documents and caused animals to suffer unnecessarily.
Due to the nature of the active investigation, Alachua County Communications Director Mark Sexton said both Peebles and D’Azzo were not available for comment.
In the complaint, Friedell raised concerns about the shelter’s lack of transparency over dog transfers that occurred in February.
Melissa Wokasch, 49, a volunteer at Alachua County Animal Resources, said she shared a similar concern. In her three years volunteering at the shelter, she said there had never been a case where a rescue organization did not want recognition for pulling dogs. When a rescue organization pulls an animal, ownership of the animal is transferred to the organization.
“I hope that they went to a legitimate rescue,” Wokasch said, “but I am concerned for the fate of those dogs.”
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