"I don't think we changed anyone's mind. People either came liking Liz or not liking her," Eric Hendricks, Executive Director of the PA SPCA, commented after a meeting last Wednesday.
     The gathering was arranged to respond to complaints which have been heard through letters to editors, as well as to give some insight into the direction of the Susquehanna County Humane Society. Hendricks's mention of "Liz" referred to Elizabeth Anderson, manager of the local facility.
     Hendricks began the evening acknowledging that they were dealing with an emotional issue. It never became more than that. Billed as a place to air complaints while not having a shouting match, there were in fact several short-lived shouting matches.
     On the one side were Hendricks, Anderson, board member Marcia Yoselson and Danville Manager Clayton Hulsizer, who all sat at a head table. Of the almost 100 people attending the meeting, a few people supported the current manager including Hendricks and some current board members and employees, while many criticized her decisions and the way the facility is being run. This latter group included former board members, a former manager, former employees and various individuals who gave heart-rendering stories of their encounters with Anderson and the alleged sad outcome of some of the animals in her care.
     Although things are rarely all black or all white, there seemed a very slim line of gray, even with additional details that each side shouted at the other. Two board members eventually left after giving emotional addresses about the issues at hand.
     With a packed house of standing room only, the meeting began late until doors could be unlocked for entrance into the County Office Building, after which time was spent waiting for the crowd to sign-in. By 8:30, almost every one of the protesters had left believing that Hendricks was not listening to what they were saying, but rather defended Anderson, saying he would not go by letters to the editors. Most of the letter writers were there in person, and vocal, at the meeting.
     The one concession Hendricks made was that Anderson

may have made 25 or so bad decisions, but, he said, when she has been asked to make thousands of decisions, that wasn't so bad.
Anderson's body language resembled a teenager forced to participate in a family function. She was in a Slouched position, legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles, rarely making eye contact with those in attendance. She fiercely defended her decisions. Hendricks, however, did not add to the diplomatic scene, as he and Anderson called several people the equivalent of liars. Nor had they taken the positive approach at the start of the meeting when they chose to begin, after a short history of how the PA SPCA became involved in the local society, with answering questions or complaints.
Their best shot might instead have been to explain to people the relevance of the beautiful new house.  The PA SPCA, which has taken over the local Humane Society, requires managers to live on premises, and the old residence had to be torn down to make room for the to-be-built new facility.
But the plans were not presented until about 9 p.m. when many discouraged detractors had given up hope of a resolution and already left, giving those most upset with the current program no insight into the future of the facility.
     But the physical condition was only one thing on most people's minds. As one woman put it, she will not deal with the Susquehanna County Humane Society "until the manager is replaced or you find her a heart transplant." Many appeared to agree.
    Anderson said after the meeting that she believed her being from outside the area made some people dislike her. She offered statistics indicating that a larger percentage of both dogs and cats have been adopted since she has been manager.