While they didn’t fill the public seating area, supporters of Vanesa Cowie nonetheless had an undeniable presence at the Salina City Commission meeting on Monday. The previous week, between 75-100 people filled the public seating area and overflowed into standing-room-only in both entryways. Most people were there to show support for Cowie, the much-beloved manager of Salina Animal Services who was put on paid administrative leave August 15 for reasons that are officially unknown to the public. Her hearing with interim City Manager Mike Schrage is scheduled for September 5. City officials have referred to the matter as a personnel issue and have declined to comment on specifics of the case. At Monday’s meeting, Bruce Moore, who said he volunteers 15-20 hours per week at the shelter, told the commissioners that this was not his first opportunity to volunteer and listed his numerous volunteer endeavors. Moore noted that when funding from the city was not made available, Cowie “secured over $400,000 in grant funding, paid for new floors, new kennels, new wall coverings in the city-owned shelter. You benefitted from her work. By the way, did you know that Vanessa and her team designed those kennels? These are not off the rack. She designed these kennels based upon years of experience.”
Moore told the commissioners of the new management software used by the shelter that Cowie helped develop. He also reminded the commissioners that Cowie is recognized by the Petco Foundation as one of the top 35 shelter professionals in the country.
“She’s a renowned and respected professional that Salina should be proud to claim and not kicked down the street,” Moore said.
She’s done more with less each year, handling more animals without additional staff, he added.
(Read more: The Salina Post)