About Us
Our Campaign
KCACC Exposed is a campaign to stop the taxpayer-funded suffering of more than 12,000
animals a year who enter King County Animal Care and Control ("KCACC") shelters, as
well to ensure that King County’s animals and public are protected with responsive animal
control services and prompt and professional investigations into animal neglect and cruelty.
With the help of the citizens of King County, KCACC Exposed has been sending the message to our
elected officials that we will no longer tolerate having taxpayer funds go to support a
system that has been badly broken for well over a decade, and which fails to either provide
humane care or keep the public safe, and which kills far too many dogs and cats. It is time for King County to stop tinkering
at the expense of animals’ lives and taxpayer money. King County must transfer animal care,
animal control, and animal cruelty investigations to the people and organizations in the
community who can provide these services in a professional and humane manner.
Our Commitment
In the course of our campaign, we will provide the public with information that is both
shocking and disturbing. It will also call into question not only the operations of King
County Animal Care and Control, but the responsiveness and effectiveness of the county
department in charge of managing KCACC, and of King County Executive and staff. In doing so,
however, we make the following commitments:
The information we provide is factual. We believe the facts speak for
themselves, and invite anyone to independently research these issues. Our assertions
are based on a myriad of sources, including documents, correspondence and information
provided by King County itself; reports from the local press; direct observations from
shelter staff, volunteers and area rescue groups; reports from community veterinarians;
the findings of the KCACC Citizens’ Advisory Committee and the county auditor; and the
contents of two expert studies commissioned by King County – authored by national No Kill
consultant Nathan Winograd and the veterinarians from the Shelter Medicine Program at the
University of California Davis.
We will focus on the issues. Unfortunately, in the years have passed
since this issue first hit the front pages, a small but vocal number of KCACC
supporters, most notably the members of the KCACC Officers’ Guild, have have launched
vicious and slanderous attacks on any and all outspoken critics of KCACC programs and
policies. We were shocked to learn that, these attacks were encouraged, supported,
and broadcast by members of the King County executive branch under the previous administration.
Sadly, these attacks have at least partially succeeded in their goal, causing many people to be
afraid to speak out against county policy. While it is important and necessary to question the
actions of our elected leadership, we believe that profanity, name-calling,
personal attacks and threats
have no legitimate place in public dialogue. For us, this campaign is about two things:
First and foremost, it is about protecting the lives and welfare of animals entrusted
to King County’s care, as well as safeguarding the interests of the public. Second, it
is about the accountability and transparency of our elected government. Our campaign
will remain focused on these issues.
Who are we?
The KCACC Exposed campaign is supported by the unpaid efforts of humane advocates, shelter volunteers,
community veterinarians and behaviorists, local professionals, area animal welfare organizations, and
a variety of other other King County citizens from all walks of life. These people are willing to step
forward and advocate for the animals, despite the fact that many of them have already been subject to
vicious and slanderous attacks for doing so. In the materials that we post on this website, you will
frequently see reference to the names of many people who have committed themselves to reforming the animal
services provided in King County, and the contributions of each and every one of these people is invaluable.
KCACC Exposed is co-chaired by Kim Sgro and Claire Davis, both of whom served on the KCACC Citizens’ Advisory
Committee in summer 2007, and both of whom became committed to reforming county-funded animal services as a result
of that effort.
Ms. Davis is an attorney with the local office of a national law firm. Her primary area of practice
is securities litigation, and she also provides pro bono legal services in the area of animal law. Before
moving to the Seattle area, Ms. Davis served as the animal law advisor for Best Friends Animal Society, the
largest companion animal sanctuary in the United States and an outspoken advocate for creating a No Kill nation.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Ms. Davis participated in animal rescue efforts
in Louisiana on behalf of Alley Cat
Allies, a national feral cat advocacy group. Ms. Davis is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of
Michigan Law School and the George Washington University. Before attending law school, she worked as a newspaper
reporter for several years.
Ms. Sgro is a former Executive Director of Pasado’s Safe Haven. Based in the Seattle area, Pasado’s
operates an animal sanctuary and is recognized as a national leader in animal rescue, animal cruelty
investigations, and animal welfare legislation. Ms. Sgro co-directed the organization’s rescue efforts in
New Orleans in 2005, where Pasado’s was among the first animal rescue groups to respond to Hurricane Katrina.
Prior to moving to the Pacific Northwest, Ms. Sgro created and managed marine research and education programs
in New England and South America. She also spent four years conducting molecular research on Alzheimer’s disease
at Boston University.