Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/141988
Sarasota News Leader July 4, 2013 conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility; Tucker told the commission they found no reason to be concerned. There were no dead birds, no visible rats and the bird hospital was full of patients. She said that, overall, the facility was "in the best condition we have seen it." SOS CEO David Pilston also took part in the presentation, laying out the organization's long-term vision, which includes greater school outreach and an emphasis on generating revenue in addition to the nonprofit's Page 9 traditional focus on "the three Rs": rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing injured seabirds. That rosy picture came under swift attack. Cally Lajeunesse, who began working as an SOS admissions attendant in August 2012, described a very different facility. She testified that she had seen rats "brutally killing" birds and stealing their food and that one ceiling was covered with a noxious black mold. "The birds are actually breathing in this black mold," she said. A bird perches on a wooden railing in its cage at Save Our Seabirds. Photo by Norman Schimmel