Dog calendar creator resigns from job as attendee at Sandwich Transfer Station

Michael King, who has plans to turn photos of dogs that visited the Sandwich Transfer Station into a charity calendar, resigned from his job earlier this week. 

In an interview, King said he resigned after the town's human resources office told him about complaints against him. King, who worked as an attendee at the transfer station, also said his immediate supervisor told him that if he did not cancel his dog calendar project it could cost him his job.

King also said his supervisor told him if he talked about the dog calendar with people that came into the transfer station “in any way shape or form,” it would be considered solicitation and he would be terminated.  

King said he  reached out to the human resources department last week about his concerns about this job, and was told his job was safe. He visited the department again this week, and he said he was told of  complaints about him.

Marie Buckner, the town's human resources director, confirmed that King received a total of three complaints, which she said wasn’t abnormal. Town Hall receives complaints all the time, she said.  

Buckner said that King’s job was never in jeopardy and there was no pressure from the town to pull the plug on his dog calendar project. She said King could come back to work, if he wanted. 

Paul Tilton, town director of public works, echoed that King’s job was never threatened. He said it was a noble effort to make a dog calendar and donate the proceeds to charity. However, he said there were issues with the project that didn’t gel with King’s occupation. 

Tilton said that an employee must not use town time for an individual hobby. He also said that there were concerns with safety and efficiency, as people have been bitten in the past when giving dog treats at the transfer station. 

Tilton said that King had no pressure to resign, and that it was unfortunate that it got to this level. 

Bob Tokarz Jr., King’s supervisor, declined to comment. 

King’s love of dogs motivated him to plan a 2022 calendar with photos of dogs that come to the Sandwich Transfer Station with their owners. He took photos of each of the dogs that came into the transfer station — over 150 photos — with their owner’s consent. He hopes to sell the calendars to raise money for the Animal Rescue League in Brewster. He was aiming to have the calendars ready before Halloween.

King worked weekends, which is when the transfer station is at peak business. People love bringing their dogs, King said in a Times story published last week about the calendar, as a way to get them out and even socialize with other dogs.

“I think they see how attentive myself and the other gentleman are to the dog, and we’ll go over and say hello to them, and pet them, and you know, we remember their name ...” King said.

This week, King said his dog calendar project has not been affected by his resignation, and he still plans to go through with it. He said he will stick with his timetable and sell the calendars to businesses that sponsored the project.