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Exclusive: Part-time trainer at Hempstead animal shelter fired, accused of falsifying certification
The Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter terminated the employment of a trainer who worked part-time after receiving a fresh allegation.
The town has initiated an investigation into Tuncay Adem as there are indications that his certification certificate may be falsified.
According to Greg Blower, the spokesperson for Hempstead Town, the investigation on the certification of the part-time worker is done. Even though the certification was not necessary to hold the position, the employee was fired immediately.
The certification that is being referred to comes from the Council for Professional Dog Trainers.
Last week, News 12 received documentation from the town as evidence of certification. Carol Burns, a dog trainer living in Washington state, claims that the certification number on the certificate provided to News 12 belongs to her.
Burns expresses her concern about the ability of someone to steal her certification by simply going on her website to remove her name and replace it with their own. She feels distressed that despite all her hard work to obtain the certification and keep it for several years, someone could falsely claim to be something they are not.
According to Burns, the Council for Professional Dog Trainers notified her that Adem was not certified and that someone had accessed her certification details without permission.
She suggests that the incident ought to be a cautionary tale to the industry as similar incidents may have occurred in the past and may occur in the future as much as it is probable that comparable situations have arisen among trainers in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
Adem was contacted by News 12 but no response has been received.
Adem had previously come under scrutiny for a post on Facebook that was determined to be alarming by community members.
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