On September 5, 2013 at approx. 3 pm Andrea Neyses (Save SBC Shelter Pups) landed in a lot of trouble as a shelter photographer, Andrea posted on her Facebook wall. She now has a court date after being accused of giving treats to the dogs she photographed.
Andrea was minding her own business taking photos of the urgent dogs at the San Bernardino city shelter when two San Bernardino city police officers walked up to her in the kennels and ask her what she was doing. She explained to them that she was taking photos of the dogs to network them on Facebook to help get them rescued or adopted.
The two officers asked her if she was feeding the dogs treats, and she told the officers she wasn’t. The officers then asked her if they could search her bag for treats. She did not have anything to hide, so she told them she did not mind. They made her remove everything inside of her bag and in the pockets of her shirt.
After she successfully proved to them that she did not have any food on her, they thanked her for being cooperative and walked away. Andrea continued taking photos of the dogs.
Just as Andrea was leaving the shelter, three police officers rushed past her out to the kennel area. She joked around with staff that she was glad they were not there for her. She told them goodbye and headed out the front door. Andrea got into her car and as she back out of the parking spot, she saw Anita Sanchez yelling for her to stop, she said the officers were there to speak to her.
As she pulled back into the parking spot, all three officers walked up to her car. Officer Harvey asked her for her driver’s license. She gave him her license and asked what the problem was. Officer Harvey stated that she did not leave when she was told to leave. She looked right at the two officers who searched her bags if they ever asked her to leave, they turned their backs to her and would not answer.
She explained to them she was only there to photograph the animals, what reason would they have to ask her to leave. Officer Harvey then said that Debi Shuker claimed that when Andrea visits the shelter she does not follow the rules. Andrea asked what rules she was breaking… he said Debi Shuker said she continued to feed the animals even after being asked not to.
Officer Harvey made Andrea say in a video recording “I will follow Debi Shuker’s rules”. He said that if she refused to repeat those words, she would not be allowed to return to the shelter. They made her sign a ticket and she was allowed to leave.
Now Andrea must appear in court in November for this ridiculous ticket.
Feel free to drop a few lines on the San Bernardino Police Department Facebook page.
Great shelter photographers are hard to find. They work tirelessly going to different shelters in an attempt to get cute pictures that will convince a potential adopter to choose an animal so it doesn’t face euthanasia. What is wrong with this shelter, even if Andrea had fed the dogs some treats?
Why is she having to go to court? Andrea allowed police to search her bags, as well as her pockets. It’s amazing that police didn’t call in a female deputy to strip search her.
Why would a shelter director want to get a photographer in trouble with the law? Isn’t it in the best interests of a shelter to have a photographer volunteer their time to help the dogs? Can anyone fill in the blanks on what is going on at San Bernardino County Animal Shelter?
Your comments are welcome.
Elisa's Examiner 