Someone saved this baby, now what?

Anyone who's ever seen a post for a dog in a shelter needing rescue has seen the comments; "someone please save this baby", "don't let this one die", "where are the rescues", "someone help", "praying"

Sharing these posts, and making pledges to help the dog are so important. If no one sees the dog, how can they save it? I've seen threads with thousands of comments and shares. Some rescues will only take a dog if the pledge amounts are high. Other rescues will pull the dog then solicit donations or pay the expenses with their own money. Sometimes, I think, on the animals where the drama and emotion is very high, rescues will pull with no resources or plan.
Once the announcement is made that the dog is safe and freedom photos are posted we see all the thank you's and words of celebration and happiness.
But what happens to the dog after all the feel good comments in the thread? Rescuing a dog is a demanding thing, financially, emotionally, and time wise. Once the dog is out of the shelter it needs a place to go. Most rescues use Fosters, some have kennel facilities,  others put dogs into boarding until....

We like to think that any rescue pulling a dog will have all these things in place and all will be safe and appropriate for the individual dog. How do we know? Just because a rescue has a 501c3 designation doesn't mean it is a quality organisation. If the dog goes into boarding, what is that like and how long will the dog be there? What are the Fosters like? How many animals do they have? Do they have experience with dogs with behavior issues? What is the dog's life like at the Fosters home? Is it in a crate all day? Chained in the yard? Locked in a bathroom? If the dog is to go on transport, what is that like?

The bottom line is that just because "someone saved this baby" , there is absolutely no guarantee it is truly safe. We hear horror stories everyday about abuse and neglect at the hands of a rescue.

Instead of praying the dog is safe it would be nice if people followed up, especially the rescue claiming the dog. Ideally anyone would be able to follow up on the dog at any given time after it is pulled.
Unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world. I would love to see as much transparency as possible in the rescue world, after all the dog's are the priority, right?

The thin line between right and wrong

Can and should every dog be saved? That's a question every rescuer and animal lover should spend some time really thinking about. It's a very touchy subject in the animal loving world. All of the big hearted animal lovers of course want to say yes,  save them all ! Is that really accurate though, and is it fair? Unfortunately hearts aren't the only oversized things in the rescue world,  far too many egos fit that description as well.  This is an excerpt from a post that I came across recently for a dog in a shelter;  "Bares teeth, growls, barks and charges the kennel trying to bite the assessor through the kennel.
02/29/16 15:58 mucopurulent ocular discharge, muscle atrophy, lichneification, hyperpigmentation, alopecia of chest and abdomen. yeasty smell. suspect allergies." This describes a highly aggressive dog, a dog who, in my opinion, hasn't been properly cared for in a home environment. Is this dog truly aggressive or is it fear and confinement causing this response? That's where things get difficult. Most shelter workers and volunteers aren't really qualified to do assessments on the animals that come in to a shelter. There really isn't time to do a thorough assessment either, sadly most shelters are busy places.
In a "perfect " world, only breed or behavior specific rescues would be able to pull this dog. A qualified assessor would evaluate the dog to determine the likelihood of successful rehabilitation. The dog would then go to a very skilled foster with no other animals to begin the process of becoming adoptable, or even more ideally, the dog would go to a behavior correction training facility. The dog would remain there until all the undesirable behaviors are corrected and the dog can safely be placed in a home. Of course the final placement would need to be carefully considered,  this dog may never be suitable for a family with children, but it could be great in a working home. A qualified person needs to make this decision as well.
Sadly we don't live in a perfect world. Dogs are not always pulled by the most qualified or appropriate rescues. Most often these dogs are pulled by those with the biggest hearts or the biggest ego's . Neither of these scenarios is ideal for a dog like this. What happens if the dog truly is aggressive and the behaviors don't diminish outside of the shelter? This opens up the possibility of many bad situations.
No one wants to admit defeat and put a dog down. This is absolutely heartbreaking,  and a very difficult decision to make. First of all, you face the "critics" the people who will criticize and attempt to paint you as a bad rescue. We've all heard the stories of the "horrible" rescues who pull dogs and then have them euthanized. Rarely do we hear the whole story in these situations. We mostly hear a lot of negativity and condemnation from the computer critics and the arm chair experts. Some dogs truly can't be saved, that's just the way it is. They are too badly damaged for too long. Prolonged attempts to help them will prove too dangerous, costly, and ultimately futile. The cost of trying to rehabilitate an aggressive dog goes  beyond just financial, time, danger and frustation are all elements here. Plus, what about all the other wonderful,  highly adoptable dogs who are not pulled because the rescues have committed all their resources to saving a high risk dog? How many dogs die each day because of these scenarios?
I don't have all the answers to these dilemmas, I would love to save them all! Unfortunately my common sense and experience with dogs tells me that's just not possible. I would love to see more common sense and intelligent handling of aggressive dogs in shelters and the rescue community. Please get an ACCURATE assessment of a dog before you decide to pull it, and please have a realistic plan for it after you pull.

Something stinks in Shawnee

 Something stinks in the town of Shawnee Oklahoma, and this time it isn't just the animal shelter.

 There was an incident in town recently involving an allegedly vicious dog, a pit bull named Blue. The statement given by Blues owner is that she was at school when she received a call from Shawnee animal control. The animal control officer allegedly told her that her dog had been picked up and impounded. According to animal control the dog would need to be quarantined at the shelter for ten days, the owner was responsible for paying the cost of the quarantine. If she did not pay these costs they would gas Blue and cut off his head to verify that he didn't have rabies. To me this seems very strange. All that is required to verify an immunity to rabies is usually a call to the dogs vet to get the date of the last vaccination, or a simple blood test to to check the titer level in the dogs blood. A sufficient titer level shows that the dog has immunity. Cutting off the head seems a bit extreme.

 According to the dog's owner, Blue was securely locked in the house when she left for the day.  Blue's owner claims that someone broke into her house and the dog got out at that time. This is the second strange part of the story. Blue apparently got into a fight with another dog, the other dog's owner tried to break up the fight and may or may not have been bitten. This possible bite might have been caused by Blue or the other dog, as far as I know this has never been made clear.  Blue was then picked up by animal control and taken to the shelter without incident. It is my understanding that Blue did not show any signs of aggression when he was picked up or at the shelter. Blue's owner managed to have Blue transferred to his vet for the quarantine period. Within just a few days a court hearing was held  to determine Blue's fate. How is that possible? A court date occurring just days after the incident? Even a town the size of Shawnee must have enough court cases to fill it's schedule at least a few weeks out. The court date was set and Blue's owner appeared with a statement and witnesses willing to testify to Blues character. Here's the next strange part, supposedly Blues owner was not allowed to give her statement or produce any witnesses, not even the animal control officer who picked Blue up and witnessed no signs of aggression. Blue was sentenced to death and his owner allegedly sentenced to jail time. 

 The next piece of this puzzle that may or may not fit, is the assistance Blue's owner was receiving from an out of state animal advocacy group. This is the same group that sponsored the shelter protest back in December. The same group that played a role in the events that lead to a retaliatory gassing of three dogs. Is there perhaps a bias amongst Shawnee city officials against this group? Could that be part of the reason for this crazy situation?  A pit bull who, by all accounts is not aggressive, was sentenced to death for a very vague and questionable  first time offense that might not even have involved a bite? Of course, its possible that Blue's owner wasn't truthful about everything that happened or maybe there were other misleading statements along the way, it's a very strange situation all the way around.

 There are facts in this case that are very questionable however, the speed of the trial, the harsh sentence, the fact that the animal control officer who picked up Blue was never asked for a statement. These all seem very strange to me and my instinct is to suspect corruption and bias among the small town city officials. Sadly, this sort of corruption and cruelty is seen all too often in and around animal shelters. Shawnee is not unique in that. 

 I will never understand how we humans, as so called higher beings, can allow and perpetrate this kind of unfairness and cruelty upon the most innocent among us, the animals. It's even more appalling to realize that many of those responsible for unthinkable cruelty, call themselves Christians.

 An appeal has been filed on Blue's behalf and the final outcome is yet to be determined.

A Happy New Year?

2016 is here, we've turned the page on 2015. 2015 ended on a very bad note in the town of Shawnee, especially for Delilah, Brutus and Elroy. These were the three dogs who died in a retaliatory gassing back in December. This led to more unpleasant events for those involved with the animal shelter. The shelter supervisor was put on administrative leave and news stories about these events were seen everywhere. The question of whether or not Randy Newton gassed the animals on his own initiative or on the order of his boss, Chris Thomas, grew from a whisper to a roar. We may never know for sure, either way it won't bring back the three innocent dogs who lost their lives in the gas chamber that day in December. With luck, the questions raised from this incident will prevent it from ever happening again.

 The new year has brought with it hints of possible change at the Shawnee shelter, potentially big change! An entirely new shelter administration may be on the way in soon! With a new administration, hopefully the desperately needed changes will also come to the Shawnee shelter. This is a bit hard for me to believe since the attitudes and behavior of many people connected with the animal shelter seem to belong in "The Hills Have Eyes". I would certainly love to see it happen though!

 One thing we know for sure, the winds of change have begun to blow through Shawnee. The events of last month and the resulting attention, in the media and of course, social networking, have forced the city and shelter administration to address the issue. Hopefully this really will result in a new and much improved shelter administration and policy. Perhaps Shawnee will become a no kill town, at the very least, may we never again  see innocent animals killed in anger or spite.

V is for victory or vendetta

The spotlight continues to shine on the town of Shawnee Oklahoma. Tonight kicks off the first of two nights aimed at protesting the Shawnee shelter. The events are no longer being called a protest however, they are now deemed a "victory demonstration " yes, victory. Since the protest and its associated events was first announced we've seen residents of Shawnee finally go to a city council meeting and speak up about the problems at the animal shelter. This is something that should have been happening for a long time now. In my mind that is a victory. 

 A few short days after this city council meeting, three dogs were gassed to death. The circumstances of this gassing clearly spell retaliation, at least in my mind they do. Someone was unhappy with all the negative attention being directed at Shawnee and its animal shelter. So unhappy it seems, that three innocent dogs suffered a horrible death as retribution for the unwanted attention.

 Less than a week after the dogs were gassed to death, we see announcements and headlines proclaiming that the shelter supervisor has been put on administrative leave pending an investigation. Even more attention is on Shawnee! Within hours this man is the object of everything from hatred to death threats. Is this the "victory" that is supposedly being celebrated? If this individual is responsible for a retaliatory gassing of three dogs, then yes, it is somewhat of a victory. My question is, what if it wasn't this individual's decision to kill the dogs? He has a boss, right? He is a city employee, subject to the authority of several others in the Shawnee city government. How do we know he wasn't following someone else's orders?

 With all that being said, lets examine this "victory " that is being celebrated in Shawnee by the group of people initially planning to protest. The gas chamber is stil being used, three dogs died in it on Friday. There is still no clearly defined timeline for the gas chamber to be discontinued and replaced with humane lethal injection. The rumor that has been going around is that gassing will be replaced with heartstick, definitely not something to celebrate. Nothing at the Shawnee shelter has changed. The shelter is still closed on weekends. The hold time for stray animals is still only 48 hours. Animals are still brought in sick and injured with no veterinary care available. The adoption process is still complicated and unappealing. It is still very time consuming and cumbersome for rescues to become approved to pull from the shelter. Volunteers are still not allowed to work with the animals, providing temperament assessment or other information that rescues and adopters need. 

 From what I can see absolutely nothing has changed other than one shelter staff member being placed on administrative leave, and it's uncertain whether or not he is even the one responsible for the decision to gas the dogs. The reality in Shawnee today is that nothing  has improved and three dogs are dead. Where is the victory?

Eyes of the world

 Once again the eyes of the world are focused on the town of Shawnee Oklahoma. This time however, they are not viewing it in a favorable light.

 On Friday morning, four short days after the long awaited announcement that a date for the removal of the gas chamber would finally be announced in early 2016, animal control gassed to death three dogs. Three young, healthy, friendly and highly adoptable dogs were cruelly pushed into a small metal box. After a few minutes of confusion and fear, those dogs began to realize they couldn't breathe. Once they began the slow process of suffocation, the fear and the cries became overwhelming, scratching frantically at the door they were just pushed through, they cried pitifully with the last breath in their lungs as their organs began to shut down and death finally came. This process can take up to 40 minutes.

 The world is now wondering why this happened. The shelter was not full, the dogs weren't killed for space. These three dogs were in the shelter since December 3rd and 4th, for at least three of the days between December 3rd and December 11th the Shawnee animal control website was down, giving the animals in the shelter  no exposure. One of the dogs had a definite rescue commitment, he was to be pulled Friday morning and put in boarding until transportation to his wonderful new life in Colorado was arranged. Animal control was aware of this . They were informed by the small group of local rescuers who are in that shelter daily. This is the same group of rescuers who have been clearing the shelter of animals in immediate danger EVERY FRIDAY for the last six months. Animal control was also very aware of this fact, the other dogs would have been pulled that same day. Typically if any animals are to be gassed it happens at the end of the day on Friday, this frees up space for animals coming in over the weekend. Last Friday, for some reason was different, very different.

The question now being asked around the world is why? A lot has been happening around the community of Shawnee lately, the animal lovers of the world have been paying attention to the small city for a while now. The fight to get rid of the gas chamber has been going on for years, in Shawnee and the rest of the state. Last February's announcement that Shawnee would remove the gas chamber was met with cheers from animal lovers everywhere! Nothing else has been mentioned since then.

 Recently it was announced that a protest would be held at the Shawnee shelter, freedom of assembly and the right to protest is a fundamental right of all Americans and a great way to draw attention to the plight of Shawnee's animals. The animal lovers of Shawnee were united and inspired to go to last weeks city commissioners meeting where they spoke about the issues at the Shawnee shelter. Of course the removal of the gas chamber was brought up, prompting a response from the city manager, he stated that they were working on it and expected to announce a date for its removal by early 2016. The animal lovers of the world celebrated this announcement! 

The animal control officers of Shawnee Oklahoma are NOT animal lovers however. It seems that they were not happy with any of the recent attention directed at the Shawnee shelter. Apparently they chose to express their displeasure by gassing the three innocent dogs on Friday. This act of retaliation has not gone unnoticed, more attention than ever is directed at Shawnee. This attention, of course, is not positive, inspiring everything from death threats to claims of evidence that will show the animal control officers are guilty of animal cruelty. Animal cruelty is now a federal offense, the FBI plans to track animal cruelty cases starting in 2016. Anyone making such claims better have irrefutable evidence.

 What started out as such a positive week in Shawnee has ended on a miserable note. Three innocent dogs are dead. Hatred and threats directed towards the city of Shawnee and its animal control officers are everywhere, and this is just the beginning. A rally and protest are slated for the end of the week, with all the negative attention focused on Shawnee we know the world will be watching. My question is what happens next? Will we be witnessing the unnecessary deaths of animals weekly ? Daily? Will this war escalate with the animals paying the ultimate price, or will the city of Shawnee and its animal control officers give up the power trip and work with the world to make Shawnee better for everyone, especially the animals?

Rumor has it, change is on the way

 Last night was an important night in Shawnee Oklahoma, at least for animals and animal lovers it was. 

 Last night saw the monthly city commissioners meeting in the town of Shawnee. What made this meeting different was the four residents of Shawnee who came up to the podium and expressed their dissatisfaction with the animal shelter and its use of a gas chamber. The maximum number of people allowed to speak on a subject is four, although I saw a number of other Shawnee residents who may have spoken as well if they had the opportunity.

 The usual rhetoric put out about the issues at the Shawnee shelter tells us that it's "only people from outside of Shawnee that are bothered by the gassing shelter. The people of Shawnee don't have a problem with it." Well, last night's meeting proved that this statement is false!

 The sentiments expressed by the Shawnee residents prompted the city manager to address the issue as well. According to the city manager people should expect a date for the cessation of euthanasia by gas sometime in January or February of 2016. It was announced in February of this year that the city of Shawnee was planning to transition from the gas chamber to lethal injection. Until last night no other information has been reported on the issue. The city manager again stated that lethal injection would be the new euthanasia method.

 Unfortunately there seems to be conflicting information about what exactly is meant by "lethal injection ". After the initial announcement about the change, rumors began to fly about the lethal injection actually meaning heartstick, a particularly brutal method of "euthanasia". Apparently those rumors have resurfaced in full force after last night's meeting. Heartstick is completely unacceptable and no one should be willing to accept this.

 Something else of note has happened today, the Shawnee animal control website is down. This is the website where all the animals currently in the shelter can be viewed. The website hasn't been properly updated since last week and none of the animals recently brought in to the shelter can be seen.

The fear of animal control retaliating against any unfavorable publicity or situations they dislike, by gassing animals, has been expressed by numerous people over the course of many years. I don't know if there have been incidents in the past that created this attitude or if it's just another product of the rumor mill. Either way, I'm hearing a definite current of fear with today's situation.

 Now more than ever the animals of Shawnee need us. As of right now they, and the shelter, are receiving more attention than ever. Over 1,000 people are talking about this subject on Facebook and there is an article from the Examiner about last night's meeting. The people of Shawnee need to stick together and see this through to a positive outcome for the animals. Those willing to speak up should continue to attend city meetings, ask questions and keep pushing the issue until the correct changes occur. Those of us outside of Shawnee shouldn't forget that nothing is resolved yet, there is much work to be done and Shawnee and its animals can't be forgotten.