Hempstead Supe John Ferretti Taps Whistleblower to Vet TOHAS
Advocate Diane Madden once took Town of Hempstead and its kill pound to court. Now TOHAS is loaning her the keys.
The Scoop New York is a website and newsletter covering the movement for a true no-kill New York State, from BUF to BK. NYC ACC KILLS, published by TSNY, enumerates and memorializes adoptable cats and dogs who were exterminated by Animal Care Centers of New York City.
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It’s January 31, 2026. This is The Weekly Poop.
This week, The Scoop New York got word that Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter — historically a nexus of corruption notorious for abusing animals and New Yorkers alike — hired a longtime vocal critic to make recommendations on how to improve conditions there.
You may remember TOHAS from such iniquities as the sadistic killing of Butchy hours before he was to go to a rescue. And the attempted extermination of Titan, one of many dogs at TOHAS to be summarily sentenced to solitary confinement — banished indefinitely to a small cage isolated from humans and other dogs. And the detention of Buster Brown, who escaped with his life after languishing in the TOHAS hole for months.
Diane Madden, of East Meadow, was one of three volunteers who in 2013 won a lawsuit against TOH for banning them from TOHAS in retaliation for voicing concerns about problems at the “shelter,” which also serves as a patronage mill in a town where electeds never die, they just get six-figure no-show jobs via backroom deals that reward cronyism and disenfranchise the public.
Not satisfied with ordering the plaintiffs away from TOHAS, Hempstead officials slandered them for good measure, according to the 2013 suit.
The 2013 judgment required TOHAS to implement reforms that were eventually abandoned in favor of a return to the status quo, Madden told TSNY last year. Sure enough, last summer brought three more suits filed by TOHAS volunteers who say they, too, were excommunicated for calling attention to animal neglect and abuse.
TOH dialed up the turpitude to 11 this go-round, banning TOHAS volunteers from all town properties under threat of criminal prosecution.
With ensconced Republican leaders wilding out like Boss Hogg on angel dust, last year’s race for TOH supervisor was competitive and contentious. In August, erstwhile Nassau County legislator John Ferretti was installed as Hempstead supervisor, elevating himself to incumbency with a little help from his friends, who coordinated a smash-and-power grab that the courts are hashing out to this day.
In November, Ferretti defeated Democrat Joe Scianablo after a campaign that saw the three-month incumbent cynically exploit the Hempstead kill pound, and at least one terrified cat, to secure 53 percent of the vote.
Once sworn in to a full term, one of the first things Ferretti did was announce that dogs at TOHAS would no longer be allowed off the premises. Locals were not impressed.
“I think it’s the closest thing to normalcy that these animals — so many abused, neglected, abandoned — have, so I hope you didn’t take that away,” Marsha DiTieri, of Merrick, testified at this year’s first TOH board meeting, in early January.
From Patch:
Hempstead resident Diane Madden was the final commenter, who called restrictions on public access to the animal shelter a first-amendment issue, citing "70 years" of precedent wherein town residents could access the shelter with fewer restrictions.
It is well-established that New York kill pounds value Constitutional rights like they value the well-being of abused, neglected and abandoned cats and dogs. Ferretti unilaterally imposed restrictions on public engagement with dogs at TOHAS not because those dogs suddenly pose a grave danger to the populace, as Ferretti apparently managed to proclaim without ROFL, but because his disdain for animals at his kill pound is matched by contempt for constituents who care about them, as demonstrated by the bloodless putsch that got him the supervisor gig in the first place.
That said, speaking to TSNY this week, Madden said Ferretti reached out after the board meeting with an offer to “put [their] differences aside.” What resulted was a consultancy contract good for 90 days — the time frame was Madden’s call — during which time Ferretti has pledged Madden “direct access” to TOHAS and the supervisor himself.
Throughout the three-month period, which officially begins tomorrow, Madden is tasked with seeking out and recommending outside experts in behavior, rescue and rehoming, among other areas. “Anything that improves the lives of animals,” she told me.
According to Madden, Ferretti acceded to her every condition, including access to TOHAS records, and kennels now shut to the public.
“My goal is to get my foot in the door to get many feet in the door.”
“My goal is to get my foot in the door to get many feet in the door,” said Madden. “I will continue to try to persuade him to open those kennels.”
With 25 years of advocacy under her belt, Madden is well aware that some will question Ferretti’s motives, and hers as well.
As far as what Ferretti hopes to gain from their agreement, she said, “That’s between him and God.”
“I know what my agenda is,” she continued, “and I know what results I’m looking for.”
To that end, Madden stressed that she is “most grateful” to Ferretti and the TOH board, which approved her contract with an unanimous vote.
“At the end of the day, it’s their decision,” said Madden. “And that opens the door to the good possibility that things will improve.”
Here’s the latest New York companion animal news:
You can love companion animals or you can love watching their adoptive families kidnapped, disappeared, abducted and assassinated by the government, but not both.
Facing a budget shortfall left by Eric Adams, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is again calling on Albany to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthiest New Yorkers, a wildly popular idea among the hoi polloi that is opposed by millionaire Governor Kathy Hochul (before she eventually flip-flops and pretends it was her plan all along).
Speaking of budgets, shortfalls and piss-poor governance, Humane Society of Schuyler County successfully begged ASPCA for funds to help the facility comply with Hochul’s unfunded shelter standards mandate, which took effect in December.
Curtis Sliwa literally went toe to toe with an alleged creep who wants “his” dogs back though he is set to go to trial, in Queens, for allegedly binding one of them with duct tape. Respect!
Speaking of creeps, the owners of an unnamed Brooklyn smoke shop don’t deserve Jimmy and if New York had adequate cruelty laws would be barred from having animals altogether.
Related: A Buffalo man got probation for fracturing the skull of a senior chihuahua, while an alleged POS in Suffolk County was charged with misdemeanor cruelty after authorities say he “repeatedly punched” his 4-yo German Shepherd “with a closed fist … while holding the animal down on the ground, as [he] struggled to get up, yelping in pain.”
Rescuers have placed hundreds of rats saved from a now-condemned Long Island house, but still need help finding homes for hundreds more.
NYC ACC started a short-term foster program for dogs because, according to ACC, “[e]ven a short break from the shelter lowers stress” and “dogs show their true personalities outside the shelter” — further proof that ACC exterminates dogs for “behavior” ACC knows is caused by hellish conditions at ACC.
If you live in select Brooklyn ZIP codes and need free assistance caring for your cat or dog, Flatbush Cats is offering.
Finally: Godspeed, Mr. Galarza and Casi.
Food recalls
FDA announced no pet food recalls this week.
Check here for more info on FDA-announced recalls, and here for details on prior FDA advisories and outbreaks.