TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) - What began as a partnership, has turned into a heated feud between the San Diego and Southern Arizona Humane Societies.

Now, HSSA's Board of Directors has launched an internal investigation and suspended its top two executives as it looks into what happened to 256 small pets.

HSSA announced in a press release that CEO Steve Farley and Chief Programs Officer Christian Gonzales were suspended as the Board consults a third party investigator to conduct a review of what occurred.

Newly hired Communications Director AJ Flick would not arrange an interview with our Chief Investigative Reporter Chorus Nylander Monday after repeated requests but within the same time frame gave an interview to KNSD, the NBC station in San Diego.

“To be transparent, to find out if any of our policies were violated to see if there’s anything we could do better," she said about the internal investigation.