MANKATO – The windows of the animal shelter, usually bustling with furry faces, seemed eerily still on Halloween afternoon, save for a few yawning cats. Nearby, a neon green sign on the door of the Blue Earth Nicollet County Humane Society shelter said, "Sorry, we are closed." The closure, another sign said, was in part "to foster staff [camaraderie]."

The nonprofit organization known as BENCHS has been a sanctuary for thousands of cats and dogs in Mankato over the decades. But it now finds itself in a state of disarray following a wave of staff resignations, a raucous public hearing and a contentious debate over pet euthanasia.

"It's a very emotional issue," John Brady, chair of the BENCHS board of directors, said in an interview Thursday.

Trouble at the animal shelter, which has contracted with the city for animal care services since 2020, burst into the open at a BENCHS board meeting about the shelter in mid-October. Attendees, armed with a petition, demanded the resignation of two board members, according to a story in the Mankato Free Press. Staff at BENCHS accused the board of overreach and ignoring recommendations to euthanize dogs with irreparable behavioral issues that had bitten workers, the report said. BENCHS has had a mass exodus of staff, including the executive director, shelter manager and several key employees.

Brady on Thursday acknowledged that board members' overreach had been the norm. "If I was a manager and the board was telling me how to do my job, I'd probably want to look for another job, too," he said.

A conflict over pet euthanasia and the board's role had been brewing over the last two to three years, he said. "The board was telling the managers, including a veterinarian who was on staff, that they were taking dogs out that shouldn't be taken out," Brady said.

He said he had been one of the board members who disagreed with managers and staff on euthanizing certain dogs, out of a personal belief that all animals deserve second chances. Other board members more adamantly opposed euthanizations, Brady said.

Over time, Brady said, he learned that the board needed to trust shelter managers and veterinary staff. The longer a dangerous dog stays at the shelter, the worse its behavior becomes, Brady said. Some shelters take in very dangerous dogs and provide them with extensive therapy, but those shelters have long backlogs and the therapy is expensive.

And staff at BENCHS said they were being repeatedly bitten by these dogs. Some said the incidents were not being properly reported, and Brady acknowledged that some confrontations were not documented clearly before a policy was instituted over the last year.

After the raucous Oct. 14 board meeting, the shelter implemented a "soft closure," limiting the animal population and operating with a skeleton crew. The shelter, which used to take in an average of 57 stray and lost animals a month, has only about nine dogs and a few cats now, Brady said. The soft closure is set to end on Nov. 4.

In the wake of the resignations, Brady said he and the remaining board members are on the same page and focused on rebuilding.

"I feel badly for the employees, and I want to do more to support them and communicate with them so we can get through this together," Sarah Tetzloff, a BENCHS board member, said on Friday.

The board is recruiting new managers and staff and plans to begin interviews in the coming week. The board also aims to add two to five new board members and clarify roles and responsibilities to prevent future conflicts.

"The goal is to try to reassemble, but making sure the board stays in the board's lane," Brady said. "And the management is allowed to do what the management is supposed to be doing."

The city of Mankato is developing contingency plans in case the shelter can't recover before the end of the year. In a council meeting Monday, city manager Susan Arntz spoke of plans to establish a temporary animal impound shelter if needed.

Despite the challenges, Brady remains optimistic about the future of BENCHS. "I don't think BENCHS will go anywhere," he asserts. "A community this size needs to have a shelter."