PUEBLO- Community Animal Services of Pueblo is making some major changes, after announcing its interim Executive Director as Lisa Buccambuso Monday afternoon.
Buccambuso is the Executive Director of the Southern Colorado Spay and Neuter Association and will continue her work with the association during the interim role.
‘Mostly I just feel that I’m ready to dive in and see what chores we need to tackle first,’ said Buccambuso, who added her first order of business will be to check in on all of the animals currently at the shelter.
The announcement of Buccambuso as the acting leader comes just one day before shelter leaders will go in front of Pueblo County Commissioners to discuss what lies ahead.
Among some of the items that still need to get done, finding and hiring a veterinarian for the shelter.
‘We are constantly searching, we have feelers out to every website, agency we can,’ said PAWS for Life Board President Ruth McDonald.
In the meantime, the shelter is working with various community partners to full the need for a veterinarian.
Hours before the announcement of the interim Executive Director, the Humane Society of Fremont County learned their help was no longer needed.
The humane society worked long hours for the last week in hopes of helping the shelter overcome some of its challenges.
Challenges, the Humane Society of Fremont County is all too familiar with- after the shelter went through its own investigation about five years ago.
‘It’s an absolute freaking mess, unbelievable, I cannot even believe where we are right now,’ said Doug Rae, Director of the Humane Society of Fremont County.
Rae says he and members of his staff made the trip to Pueblo, working many hours to try and help get the shelter back on track.
‘It’s important to me that I get in there and help anyway I could, just for the animals, and for the people in Pueblo,’ said Rae.
His shelter manager, Kelly Ramos was putting in additional hours and leading the shelter’s operations.
Friday night, Rae made a post to the shelter’s Facebook page explaining the role they had taken, which received mostly positive feedback.
McDonald says the Facebook post was a factor in parting ways with the Humane Society of Fremont County, but that there were many factors involved in their decision.
Something, Rae disagrees with.
‘This has nothing to do with the post and everything to do with the politics on the board,’ said Rae.
