Bill Smith out as executive director of Main Line Animal Rescue
The center in Chester Springs has become one of the nation's most prominent shelters.
Bill Smith, the executive director of Main Line Animal Rescue, has been removed from that position at the organization he founded 20 years ago.
"Effective immediately Bill Smith is relieved from his role and duties as executive director of MLAR," Leslie Briley, chair of the group's board, said in an email sent to board members last Friday. "During the next 30 days the board will discuss the possibility of a role that utilizes his talents that best align with the board's goals."
Messages left for Briley and Katie Hembrough, vice chair of the board, were not immediately returned.
Smith said he was surprised by the board's decision.
"Honestly, I am feeling sort of ambushed and just bewildered," he said Thursday. "I thought I was doing a really good job."
Smith, who was paid about $58,000 annually, according to the nonprofit's tax records, said he raised millions of dollars over the years, including about $300,000 this year.
Board member Michele Rice said the decision was to have Smith relieved of the executive director position in favor of a title that more accurately describes his many talents. The decision was not unanimous, she said.
"I am 1,000 percent in favor of him doing what he does best, what he wants to do, as long as he stays on," Rice said.
Smith, 55, who started the nonprofit in his home, has been on the forefront in the battle against animal cruelty and a national voice for anti-puppy-mill legislation. He traveled through Lancaster County taking unwanted dogs from Amish farms, pulled dogs set to be euthanized from shelters, and picked up strays and unwanted pets.
The Chester Springs rescue center takes in about 1,200 animals a year. About 300 animals are awaiting adoption at the 58-acre facility.. Former Gov. Ed Rendell, former state Supreme Court Justice William Lamb, and the philanthropist Anne Hamilton have all adopted from the rescue.
At age 46, Smith received the ASPCA's lifetime achievement award for his rescue work and efforts to ban puppy mills.
Smith had no trouble attracting stars to help his cause. In 2008, less than a week after he rented billboard space a few block away from Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios in Chicago imploring the star to do a show on puppy mills, a producer called. Smith was then teamed up with Oprah correspondent Lisa Ling to show the horrific conditions in many large kennels.
Smith has partnered with the actress Bernadette Peters to publish braille versions of off-the-shelf children's books about animals. Model Christie Brinkley and her dog Chester posed for a MLAR billboard on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to encourage adoption. Grammy winner Rita Coolidge appeared at the rescue's 1970s-themed Bark-O-Lounge fund-raiser.
In addition to Winfrey's show, Smith has appeared on Today, The View, and Nightline, and has been on most area television stations. He was also part of the HBO documentary Madonna of the Mills, about a woman's efforts to expose inhumane practices in puppy mills.
In 2014, a Montgomery County family sought legal help after Smith allegedly refused to initially return their MLAR adopted beagle after it strayed when a contractor left a door open. MLAR said the adoption contract was broken when the family didn't contact the center. The dog was returned about a week later.
Smith said the experience of being removed from his position has hit hard.
"I am trying to regroup and try to figure out what to do," Smith said. "I know it is not over as far as helping animals. It is the only thing I have wanted to do."