Humane Society Gets New Director: Director of Atlanta Operation to Take Reins of Troubled Organizati

Mar 22, 07:52 AM

Current Headlines: By Anne Miller, Albany Times Union, N.Y.

Mar. 22--MENANDS -- After months of uncertainty, the Mohawk & Hudson River Animal Humane Society has a new director.

Bradley Shear, director of operations for the Atlanta Humane Society in Georgia, will fill the executive director's chair starting April 23, the local humane society announced Wednesday.

Shear posed smiling in a press photo with his white cat, Bastian. He has another cat, Dash, and a dog, Timber.

"I was inspired by MHRHS staff, volunteers and board members," Shear said. "Their commitment and passion is truly remarkable."

But he takes leadership of an animal organization with a troubled recent history.

The nonprofit, which has sheltered animals since 1887, angered supporters in the fall when it closed for more than a week and euthanized more than 340 animals after a deadly disease broke out among the sheltered animals.

Executive Director Amy Friedman left in November, although shelter officials would not say if she quit or was fired.

Warren Cox stepped in as interim executive director in December.

Last month, the shelter upped the annual fees in contracts with municipalities -- in some cases by tens of thousands of dollars.

City leaders howled and declared the shelter broken beyond repair.

The Mohawk & Hudson River Humane Society is located in Menands. According to the humane society's Web site, more than 9,000 animals go through the shelter annually.

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