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Mayor notes progress in tour of animal shelter found in crisis

Mayor Martin J. Walsh toured Boston’s city-run animal shelter Wednesday to gauge the progress of an extensive clean out after the Animal Rescue League discovered mismanagement and neglect.

“We still have some work to do there, but it’s in a lot better place today than it was two weeks ago,” Walsh said, noting that the facility was clean. “The staff there right now is a very dedicated staff. I thanked them for their work. They took a lot of grief over the past couple weeks because people were angry.”

Late last month, the Animal Rescue League warned the city that the Roslindale shelter was in crisis. Walsh’s administration launched an investigation, moved dozens of animals to other shelters, and suspended the city’s director of animal control and is preparing to fire him.

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The administration named a new interim director of animal control and enlisted the Animal Rescue League to perform a comprehensive assessment of the shelter. Walsh said problems at the facility multiplied because of mismanagement, a lack of resources, and because it is in Roslindale far removed from City Hall. Ultimately the city will need to dedicate more resources to the pound, Walsh said.

“There’s an awful lot of people in this city that support animals and are animal rights people,” Walsh said. “We need to have a shelter in the city that reflects that constituency that cares about animals.”


Andrew Ryan can be reached at andrew.ryan@globe.com Follow him on Twitter @globeandrewryan.