KC Pet Project CEO steps down as city seeks to take over animal control
KC Pet Project announced a change in leadership, weeks after Kansas City officials said they would look into taking back animal control responsibilities from the nonprofit group.
KC Pet Project’s board announced Friday that Teresa Johnson, who served as the group’s chief executive officer, was leaving the organization after 13 years.
“Teresa has been instrumental in helping establish and grow the philosophy of animal sheltering in Kansas City to one focused on lifesaving. The important work she has led for the people and pets of Kansas City, and nationally, has provided great momentum for animal welfare. We wish her well in her future pursuits,” said board chair Anthony Mittan in a statement.
Steven Kaufman is set to take over as interim CEO, overseeing day-to-day operations. He has over 30 years of leadership and management experience in the non-profit and government sectors, according to a news release.
“KC Pet Project remains steadfast in our commitment to serving Kansas City and advancing our mission of creating a compassionate, safe community for pets and people”, Mittan said in a statement. “During this leadership transition, our dedicated team and Board of Directors are working together to ensure stability, continuity, and the highest level of care and service for our community.”
When asked to provide details behind the leadership change, Mittan said the board will not comment on the departure of employees or personnel matters and did not clarify if Johnson stepped down or was fired, citing KC Pet Project policy.
KC Pet Project’s role as animal control
KC Pet Project has operated as the city’s animal control since 2020, and the animal shelter since 2012.
The city sought to have KC Pet Project take over animal control starting in 2019, two years after an audit showed the city’s animal control division was ineffective at rescuing animals, and suffering from poor communication and a lack of trust.
At the time, KC Pet Project was operating as the city’s animal shelter and gaining national recognition for its no-kill management. Relations between it and the city animal control were said to be strained and marked by communications breakdowns.
It was thought by some that having the nonprofit take over with its emphasis on educating the public and offering resources as a priority would be more effective.
But KC Pet Project’s handling of animal control was thrown into the spotlight this fall after a Kansas City man was mauled to death by a pack of dogs in November. KC Pet Project’s Animal Services Division faced criticism for not acting sooner to prevent the attack, despite having heavily monitored the area for several years due to dangerous dog reports.
The Animal Services Division then failed to immediately confiscate the dogs, as they were supposed to do according to city ordinance. Instead, the dogs were put back behind the fence, according to the victim’s sister, who saw the attack captured on a security camera. The next day officials returned to impound the dogs, and found all but two were gone.
Police have not commented on whether the dogs have since been located.
In a phone interview on Dec. 4, Third District at-Large Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley said she has sponsored a resolution calling for the city to reclaim animal control services instead of renewing a contract with KC Pet Project, citing consistent complaints from the community.
“It’s been pretty significant feedback about response times, following through on consequences, making sure the community knows what the protocol is to report and what they need to do in order to remove a dog, particularly dogs, from an environment,” she said.
Kansas City Manager Brian Platt has until mid-January to investigate what a transition would look like if the city decided to take back the responsibility of animal control and present it to the council.
“We’re getting a lot of complaints in all neighborhoods of Kansas City, about loose animals, about timeliness and about the quality of the response and making sure that we’re taking care of animals out in Kansas City and making sure that everyone can be safe,” Platt told KCUR.
“We think that we’ve got an opportunity to improve the level of responsiveness and communication and service if we bring it back in-house.”
An unprovoked deadly attack
Questions about animal control in Kansas City became urgent on Nov. 2, when a pack of seven pit bulls attacked Chris Culbertson as he biked home in south Kansas City. The attack went on for 23 minutes as Culbertson screamed for help.
A neighbor who came out with a golf club hoping to scare the dogs off was also seriously injured.
First responders struggled to get control of the dogs, eventually getting them away from Culbertson long enough for a paramedic to drag him to an ambulance. In the end, they put the dogs back behind the fence and left, his sister Angela Culbertson said.
Had Culbertson not died Nov. 6, he would’ve needed to have his right hand and left leg amputated, live on dialysis and have a tracheotomy for the rest of life, his sister said.
Philip DiMartino, spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department, has said investigators are making progress and are in communication with prosecutors to determine applicable charges.
Two days after the attack, the owner of a pit bull who lives in a house on the block where the attack occurred received two citations for allegedly violating the city’s animal control laws. John Thibeaux, 31, must appear in municipal court on Jan. 7. The citations make no mention of the incident on Nov 2.
According to online data, officials in the Animal Services Division were aware of the potential danger these dogs posed for nearly two years before the fatal attack.
Starting February 2023, the Animal Services Division listed the same block each month as an area with dogs becoming a potential public safety concern.
According to their reports, when officers responded to the scene, the dogs were gone, so they frequently patrolled the area hoping to encounter the aggressive dogs. Despite nearly two years of searching and over a dozen reports from neighbors, the division continued to list the block as an area of monitoring emphasis.
This story was originally published December 16, 2024 at 2:48 PM.
