We are writing regarding your ongoing interactions with the Paws for Hope Animal Foundation (“Paws
for Hope”) and your recent public blog posts.
As you know, Paws for Hope has previously communicated concerns to you regarding your conduct
toward staff of Paws for Hope and its affiliated veterinary clinics. We have previously advised you that
all communications with our staff and staff at the veterinary clinics must remain respectful and that
harassing or inappropriate conduct would not be tolerated. You were also advised that continued
breaches of these expectations would affect the organization's ability to provide services to you.
Despite these warnings, the concerning conduct has continued. In particular, in the last week you have
made a number of public blog posts which include disparaging and defamatory statements about Kathy
Powelson. In particular, you stated the following, which are only a few examples of the harassing
conduct:
• “Kathy Powelson has turned this organization into a high school drama”
• “She acts like a high school drama queen”
• “Since 2024, the environment under Executive Director Kathy Powelson has become increasingly
unprofessional and harmful”
• “Kathy Powelson uses her position to pick and choose who receives support based on personal
bias rather than the needs of the disabled individuals and their service animals”
• “Kathy Powelson does not prioritize animals or people”
• “She is biased against me”
Paws for Hope Animal Foundation 2
These statements are false and harmful to Ms. Powelson’s reputation. They appear to have been made
in response to the decision made by Paws for Hope to not approve the addition of your new puppy in
the Better Together program. This decision was supported by the organization’s Board of Directors.
As we have advised, the Better Together program operates under a longstanding policy that clients
may not add animals to the program after their initial enrollment has been completed. This is
expressly set out in the Better Together Policy Manual, under the eligibility criteria, which is available
on the organization’s website. This policy applies equally to all participants and is not based on the
type of animal, its purpose, or any personal characteristic of a client. Rather, it is a program
requirement that reflects the organization's limited funding and finite resources. The program's budget
is established based on the number of animals enrolled when a client enters the program, and
permitting additional animals to be added after enrollment would impact the organization's ability to
provide services equitably and sustainably to all participants.
The policy is a funding-based eligibility criterion that applies consistently to all program participants.
The organization has not denied enrollment for your puppy based on any sort of bias against you or
any other personal characteristics. Instead, your puppy cannot be added because the program does
not permit the addition of any animals after enrollment, regardless of the circumstances. The Better
Together program was designed to provide support for animals enrolled at the time of a client's
acceptance into the program, and the organization does not have the financial capacity to expand
coverage beyond those enrollment limits.
We have documented multiple instances of communications and conduct directed toward staff that
have been threatening, intimidating, harassing, or otherwise inconsistent with a safe and respectful
environment. This conduct has had a significant negative impact on staff. The organization has
carefully considered the circumstances, including previous efforts to address these concerns, establish
behavioural expectations, and continue providing services. Unfortunately, those efforts have not been
successful. The organization has concluded that the service relationship has broken down to the point
that it can no longer reasonably and effectively provide services to you. Accordingly, effective today,
Paws for Hope will no longer provide services to you.
The decision to discontinue services has not been made lightly, and is based on the ongoing pattern of
harassing and inappropriate conduct toward staff, together with the failure to comply with the
behavioural expectations that have previously been communicated to you.
We wish you well moving forward.
Sincerely,
Paws for Hope Animal Foundation.
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