On the afternoon of Friday July 2, 2010, I visited a nature preserve not too far from my hometown in Georgia. It was a sunny day, leading into a holiday weekend. I had some time off—time to go hiking, do some photography, to just have a look around someplace I hadn’t been. I pulled into the parking lot and immediately spotted the stray dog.
He was hard to miss, at least for me—medium-sized (about 50 pounds, I’d estimate), mostly brown, a bit thin, no collar, definitely not neutered, and he was missing about half his fur. He looked like a young dog, something I’d later confirm when I enlarged the pictures I’d taken—his teeth were gleaming white and in excellent condition.
He hung around one spot in the parking lot, walking around and around that one small area, looking from person to person. A cut-down half of a water bottle full of water stood near a fence post adjacent to his spot. It looked so out of place, so deliberate, that I had to think that someone had left it there for him. He continued to walk his small patch of parking lot--looking, looking, as if he expected, hoped that someone would return for him. He’d pooped in the parking lot once, and did so once again while I was standing there. I don’t think he’d been there long. If he had, there’d be more piles, and he would certainly have found a more comfortable place for his vigil—there were shade trees and picnic tables nearby, and a stream.
Without being omniscient, it would be impossible to know for sure, but it certainly looked like he’d been abandoned in the parking lot, and probably within the past 24 hours. Nevertheless, there are many possible back stories for this dog—perhaps he’d been stolen, perhaps he’d once been well cared for, maybe he’d always been only marginally wanted and then abandoned. Given that he was so wedded to that one patch of parking lot, I was inclined to think that he didn’t get there on his own power, and given the condition of his coat and his thinness, I was inclined to think that he hadn’t been getting the best of care recently, but I don’t like to jump to conclusions. He wasn’t talking, so it was a mystery. Once I caught him, he’d see a vet and be scanned for a chip. If there wasn’t one, I’d file ‘found dog’ reports at area shelters, put up posters and advertise him. Anything’s possible.
I spoke softly to him. He had a friendly, hopeful, open face, and intelligent, kind brown eyes, but he was wary, cautious of me, and I couldn’t get within a car length of him. I continued to try to befriend him, to somehow gain his trust with the sound of my voice. I hadn’t brought any food with me. I had a couple of spare leashes in the car, but knew that if I tried to use them too soon, I stood to lose what trust I had. I knelt down to make myself appear smaller and less threatening, and I took a few pictures—I could email them to friends and try to enlist their help in catching him.
He was interested, but wary. He wasn’t ready to trust me just yet.
I walked through the preserve looking for people who might know something about the dog. I encountered a woman walking her dog. She came to the park frequently, but hadn’t seen that dog before. No one else I talked to had seen him before, and some hadn’t even noticed him at all.
He was still in the parking lot when I returned, but seemed more nervous, a little afraid, like he was realizing that whoever left him there likely wasn’t coming back. The cut-down water bottle remained exactly as it was. Either he hadn’t touched it or someone had refilled it. A few minutes of talking to him, and he calmed down to the demeanor he’d had earlier. He wanted to trust but was still unsure. I left a back door of the car open, hoping he might decide to jump in. He looked, but he didn’t jump.
It was now almost 6 pm on a holiday weekend, two days before Independence Day. I decided to go to the grocery store and come back with some food, thinking that either I’d catch him, or I at least enable him to sleep that night with a full stomach and the idea that tomorrow was a new day, and perhaps I could be trusted then. I’d either take him home or return the next day ready to build on what we had.
I returned with a bag of Puppy Chow and a box of Milk Bones, but he was gone.
Nowhere to be seen.
Vanished.
Disappeared.
I asked a couple of people who I'd seen earlier, and who'd seen me trying to talk to the dog.
Nothing.
Than a girl who had overheard my question came up to me and told me that Animal Control had come and gotten the dog about ten minutes earlier.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
At least I knew where he was. One mystery solved.
I looked up and called Animal Control as soon as I got home. I left a detailed message, including my name and phone number, and said that I was interested in this particular dog.
My call was not returned the next day, so I called again. The person on the other end of the line answered immediately that they had the dog—he hadn’t been ‘in back’, so he hadn’t actually seen him, but he knew he was there because he overheard an Animal Control Officer saying they'd picked up a dog at that location. Shelters are legally required to hold stray animals for a certain period of time to allow them to be reclaimed. After that time is up, animals may be put up for adoption or killed. I asked him how long the dog had. He said, "3 to 4 days". I asked if that included the holiday weekend and he said, “No.” He added that the dog had to be adopted or rescued by July 9 or he will be 'put down' because they were full.
I headed to the shelter.
The person I'd talked to on the phone was still behind the desk when I arrived at the shelter. I recognized his voice and his glib manner. As soon as he knew I was inquiring about the dog from the park a brief look of nervousness passed across his face, then he grinned and said that the dog had been reclaimed--“the owners came and got him right after you called. They had pictures and everything. They'd been looking for him for a while.”
Really? Now, I wasn't born this morning. This story lacked the ring of truth. They had a history of killing animals right away. Kill shelters sometimes kill animals before a holiday weekend to avoid having to care for them. And reclaim rates at all but the best-performing shelters are very, very low, and this shelter has a kill rate of nearly 80%. The likelihood of this story playing out the way he said it did—a dog bearing visible signs of neglect coincidentally being reclaimed by owners bearing pictures of said dog less than a day after he was picked up from a public park and only minutes after I’d inquired about him at what is commonly known as a notoriously cruel and underperforming shelter seems vanishingly small.
I went back to have a look anyway. I had to see for myself. Cameras are not allowed, even though there were no inmates present that I could see. Lots of dogs back there. Good dogs. Bad conditions. Some dogs without water bowls. One mama Lab with tiny puppies whose eyes were not even open, had been there since June 30, and one pup was out of the nest box. They said they'd put the pup back in the nest box. They said they'd give a water bowl to those two little dogs with no cage card, no newspaper lining their steel cage, and no bed or water bowl. Like many underperforming shelters, this shelter was to be closed Sunday and Monday. I hope those dogs got water before Tuesday. That place is no place for tiny pups or any dog. The cat room had few cats even though it is the height of kitten season-- most of the cat cages were empty. I looked around unsupervised because employees were congregating around the desk, not in back where the animals needed care. I walked up and down the dog runs. There were many good dogs eager to make an impression--an 'unadoptable' and adorable 'pit' pup, less than a year old, mostly white with a couple of black spots, a small fluffy dog in a steel cage with a delicate-looking Chihuahua, no newspaper, no bed, and no water bowl, dogs of every size and shape. ‘Pits’, chows, Akitas and a few other breeds are deemed ‘not adoptable’ and are designated 'rescue only', further lessening their chances of getting out alive. There was a quarantine area, blocked off and designated ‘authorized personnel only’. In my effort to look everywhere the dog might possibly be, I opened a door to a room that smelled of bleach and contained tables and a large freezer.
The county claims that this shelter is “state of the art”, but all the facts are to the contrary.
I found another employee. I asked him if I could walk through the quarantine area to check for the dog. He told me those dogs were bite cases and evidence in criminal cases. He agreed to have a look anyway if I gave him a description. I described the dog—a medium sized, mostly brown dog, picked up at the nature preserve parking lot, missing some fur.
"Missing some fur? You mean, like mange?"
I told him that I'm not a veterinarian and couldn't diagnose the cause of his missing fur, just that the dog was missing some fur.*
He told me if he was missing fur, they would have put him down right away.
Immediately.
They immediately put down dogs that "look sick". I said he didn't look sick, just was missing some fur. I said that he came in as a stray and weren't they required by law to hold strays for at least 72 hours?
No. Missing fur gets a dog ‘put down’.
He checked the quarantine area and found no dog matching my description.
So, the glib employee notwithstanding, they most likely killed that dog on intake. I may never find out for absolute certain. But given that this is standard operating procedure at this shelter, they most likely didn’t even give him a chance. He was probably in that freezer I saw while looking for him. Forget the legally required hold period. Just a needle and some lies. After all, it is a holiday weekend. Independence Day, indeed.
And this is a heartstick shelter, meaning they inject the fatal drugs directly into an animal’s heart, rather than into a vein, unlike what vets would do for a terminally ill family pet. Death is slow and cruel. Their statistics are not easy to find. They do not publicize this information. Intake and kill numbers should be public information. Taxpayers have a right to see how their money is spent. Their lack of transparency is troubling.
Ten minutes. I missed him by ten minutes. He looked like a good dog. Some basic care and a home were what he needed. He wanted to trust me, but I had no food.
I’d tried to gain his trust and he wanted to trust me. We just needed more time. Instead his last time on earth was a breach of trust, a failure full of fear and pain.
Had this dog lived in one of the nation’s No Kill communities, then being picked up by Animal Control would have meant a marked improvement in his circumstances—shelter--real shelter, a veterinary exam and treatment for his skin condition, good nutrition, a bed, some training, trust, and, ultimately, a new home. If he had lived in a place like Tompkins County, NY or Reno, Nevada or Charlottesville, Virginia or Shelby County, Kentucky, perhaps his former owner would have taken him to the shelter, rather than abandoning him to his own devices at a public park. Perhaps his former owner believed that he had a better chance at a new home if left at the park. Perhaps whoever called Animal Control thought they were helping the dog, rather than sending him to his death. Perhaps not. It is tragic that ‘shelters’ so often do the bidding of those who hate, fear, or are indifferent to, animals. It is tragic that those who care about animals have to try to keep them out of the hands of Animal Control, and out of shelters which are shelters in name only, and not in deed. It is tragic that, because such shelters do not take responsibility for saving lives, animals go without needed care and are abandoned. It is tragic that we use the term ‘shelter’ to refer to institutions which are often little more than taxpayer or donor-funded killing centers. It is tragic that for so long they have gotten away with blaming us for the killing, with being perversions of what most people believe that they are or should be. Most of all, it is tragic that they kill so many animals, and so many never even are given a chance at continued life.
Had this dog lived in one of the nation’s No Kill communities, he would have lived. Instead, the shelter stole all of his hope, and some of mine.
I couldn’t save him, but I can write an epitaph.
What can you do?
I don’t know your name.
You were young--neglected, then abandoned.
Neither of us really knows why.
In your short life, I think you’d once known something better.
You tried to find it in yourself to trust me.
I tried to gain your trust.
We were both hopeful.
But it didn’t work out.
You were taken away to a place without hope, a place where it is right not to trust.
Neither of us could have known that would happen so soon.
Your life was irreplaceable.
?-July 2, 2010
*An animal may be missing fur for a variety of reasons, including allergies, demodectic mange, or sarcoptic mange, or having been given a bad haircut, and other reasons as well. Allergies and both types of mange are treatable. Only a vet can diagnose why a dog has hair loss, and of the possible causes listed here, only sarcoptic mange is contagious, but contagion can be prevented with treatment and cleanliness, and many shelters including all No Kill shelters treat it. This dog may have been killed for something as straightforward and easy to fix as a flea allergy.
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Comments
Your story was sad and so true for so many shelters. Thank you for trying. I am sorry you had to KNOW the truth. We can't save all the puppies, but we sure can try. That statement is an old family story too long for the comment box. With your heart of gold you save more than most people in 3 lifetimes.
OMG...so sad, and yet I'm so glad you told the story. I probably would have tried the same as you. I often give homeless people with dogs bags of dog food, as the dog is the only "friend" he/she has on this earth. There is no judgment, just love and companionship. Thank you for trying. I'm sure that dog thanks you for trying as well.
What a beautiful boy! As a GA resident from Cherokee County I sure hope it wasn't my county:( I have two rescues, one from Cherokee co and this was after he had been dumped back by his initial adoptive parent.
He is blissfully snoring beside me. I am thankful he at least was saved. But.....all the others?????
This just broke my heart. I'm sorry you had to go through it. But I'm glad he knew someone cared, at least for a little while.
Beautifully written. We all need to do more to make our nation a NO KILL NATION!!
your story was so touching....i am so sad that this was the outcome however. I appreciate that you tried, im sure he did to.
its so sickening to know that there are shelters out there that work with out ANY compasion......
I also find it odd, how quickly the animal control peopele were therer to pick him up....just to turn around and kill him even quicker . Disgusting to the max
the picture you have posted of this little baby is so sweet....he looked fine to me, actually looked very loveing and kind....scared to boot...but sweet
im so sorry we lost another baby,especially in this evil manner.
I read your story, all of it! I wish we could save every dog! Thank you so much for trying to help him!
Rest in peace, waiting man.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Your story was very, very touching. I really liked the first photo of him. I sure wished it hadn't been at 6 p.m. that evening or you might've been able to have gotten him out of the shelter that evening. No offense, but I would've been there the minute they opened their door instead of waiting for a call from them.
This story is very sad. His pics show such a pleasant face. It sickens me to think that this is how these poor animals are being treated. If he was put down, I think one day you will have a new pet in Heaven for your kindness. I hope he will be there waiting for you. God Bless you for all you did to try to help him.
So sad and depressing. I wish you didn't have to share it. I'm going to give my 3 dogs (all of which were rescues) a big hug and remind them of how lucky WE are.
Thank you for your kind comments.
@Dora--I did not know where exactly this shelter was even located at the time, which is why I had to look it up when I got home. I didn't wait for them to call me back, I called them. The story I got from the second, more truthful employee I talked to was that they likely killed him immediately due to his apparent hair loss, which means that I probably would have been too late no matter what. By law, they are supposed to hold strays for 72 hours. They did not, claiming that he "looked sick". I know more than I want to about how bad shelters around here and elsewhere are, but even I didn't fully expect them to kill him right away. I called as soon as I got home, hoping to assert that someone cared whether he lived or died. I wish I could have succeeded in catching him or somehow intercepted the Animal Control truck, but I would have to have known where it was headed. And in some places, animals don't make it off the truck alive.
This story - just as so many other rescue stories - just breaks my heart. We deal with the same lack of judgement at animal control facilities here in FL run by people who are more interested in following policy than saving lives. Animal Control has no business calling themselves shelter - for they provide no comfort or compassion. "Shelter Killing" is the #1 cause of death of HEALTHY dogs & cats in the U.S. Our society should be ashamed of our lack of humanity. You are a saint for caring about this boy!
This is absolutely heartbreaking. I was just wondering what county this was in in Ga, if you are allowed to say. I live in Atlanta and try to help with rescue when I ever I can, and I hear stories like this all the time. The people that work at some of these shelters could care less about the animals. I don't understand how they get to work in these places. I will pray for your sweet stay dog and all of the animals who are dealt a bad hand and never know love while on this Earth. God love them all and give them peace. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you so much for sharing this. You have given life and a face to a precious dog who otherwise would have been nothing more than a horrible statistic - The terrible death toll of those who lost their lives because of human ignorance, laziness, heartlessness, and the inability of so many animal control workers to feel the compassion that every human should, but so often do not possess.
It's heartbreaking to read these stories, but I feel that I MUST read any and all that come my way, because the truth can only be known and then shared with others if we do that. You gave him a tribute that they all deserve; those forgotten and abandoned souls that come through the front doors of countless "shelters", but leave like garbage, thrown away by society, when all they wanted and deserved was a loving home. At least his vigil is over. Bless you for sharing his story.
Sickening. And more sickening to know that most shelters in the US function exactly like this. One tiny sneeze or cough and the animal is dead.
Personally, I would check into the laws of that state to see if they broke the law by killing the dog immediately. I think that they did regardless of their claim of illness. That could have been someone's pet that was lost. The owners would not have had a chance to find their pet. That's the whole point of the 3 day waiting period.
Maybe you could send your story and photos to media in that area and get some local public attention/awareness to this issue.
Thank you for trying to help this poor abandoned dog. It's heartbreaking to see how loyal our pets can be regardless of the treatment they have received. He stayed and waited patiently for god knows how long,probably in the same place he was dropped off not realizing they weren't coming back. Yet,he waited. Unsure of others,scared and alone. Kinda. Thanks to you in trying to save him from the unfortunate outcome. The fact they said they euthanize all animals if they look sick is BS. Regardless whether they are sick looking or not is why they are supposed to have an isolation ward. This is unethical and illegal. What if he had been lost, and under a veterinarian supervision? Granted, this was probably not the case however,a posibility. What if he was left with a dogsitter and escaped? What if he HAD been stolen and dropped off? No matter the situation, this immediate euthanasia is wrong.Thanks to all of those out there willing to lend a kind hand,a full bowl, and help those in need.
What a heartbreaking story. I'm the Fort Lauderdale Pet Rescue Examiner and I have a background in animal welfare so I know how cruel people can be.
The fact that the facility is staffed by such cruel and heartless people is shameful.
I hope you're proud that you took the time to try and help this poor dog and cared enough to look for him. Believe me, your act of compassion towards this one animal is more than most people manage n a lifetime.
OMG my heart is breaking for this poor boy, I agree in an area like that media media and more media. These places need to be exposed. Shameful. I'm sure you are broken hearted about it. But god knows you tried.
Thank you everyone for your comments. Kym has some especially good points: a pet with a health issue, such as one causing hair loss, and under a veterinarian's care, will still have hair loss until the condition is brought under control and the fur has had time to grow back, and accidents can happen to anyone, such as the latch on the backyard gate not catching. And pets are sometimes stolen and transported elsewhere for various reasons. None of these things are the pet's fault. If shelters were truly geared towards helping animals and people rather than punishing animals and punishing people while providing employment for the otherwise unemployable, incidents like this one would not happen. Instead they happen routinely. I have been informed by someone very familiar with this particular shelter that this was NOT an isolated incident, and that the County Commission has been quite apathetic about making positive changes, falsely claiming that they would cost too much.
Valerie, try to get some media attention. You've got some great photos that I think would grab people's attention. Politicians/shelters hate it when a big spot light is shown on them and their apathetic ways.
The world had changed so much; and there are now so many dogs one must wonder how to care for them all; but when we were kids that dog would have been taken home by someone and a mixture of sulfa and motor oil bathed all over him. He would have been given some table scrabs - all the family could afford to share; and that dog would have laid on the front porch wagging its tail, living a long life. And when he died, he would have been buried with respect. Probably even a funeral by the children. Little pebbles and rocks covering his grave, a little cross made of sticks and wild flowers. He would probably have been named, Spot, Rover, Butch, or Trigger like ours was. When Trigger died, he had all the above and now 55 years later I still think of him.
I do not believe that the Shelter in question euthanized this stray dog like you are trying to make it out like. Shelters do not kill animals because they enjoy doing killing them. I mean really! You intentionally made the employees seem cold and uncaring, when in fact it's the people who work at these Shelters who love animals and they want to make a difference. The fact is that it's people like you who go in and assume the worst and make false articles like this, make people distrust Shelters and that's not fair and very dishonest of you to do. Why would you go sneaking around a Shelter unless you are trying hard to find something wrong, and if you don't, why not make something up for a good story. You took clearly took things out of context to fit in your sad story that is very misleading. You did make Shelters look bad but the truth is you don't know what you are talking about. Heart sticks are administered a Vet offices too and they are given after the animal are unconscious.
And also when the Shelters are closed to the public for the Holidays.. they are not closed entirely. Employees still go in to take care of the animals, so get your facts straight.
And one last comment and I will be done with this subject for good.. I would love to see Shelters be able to adopt out more animals that have "treatable" medical conditions. But tell me where does the money come from to fund these Shelters to treat and test these animals that you say are "treatable". And how much money is to be spent on each animal? The fact remains that people will not adopt an animal that is not medically sound. So what else is there to do. Not all forms of mange are treatable and allergies come with a high price tag for the new owner too.. Nobody will knowingly adopt a dog that has medical issues that will cost them money down the road.. not in this economy. Instead, why not fund these Shelters for spaying and neutering the "adoptable" animals prior to adoption to prevent the number of stray animals coming back into the Shelter in the future. This will eventually lower the amount of animals that need to be euthanized because the stray population will decrease. Think
Oh wait, and for those of you who don't know who HAVE been mislead by Valerie Hayes article.. Missing fur does NOT constitute an animal for being put down immediately! Only in emergency cases... For example, advanced Parvo, Hit by cars, Rabies suspects, are put down immediately because keeping them for the holding period would cause the animal undue suffering. And by the way, a Veterinarian has to diagnose and okay the euthanasia to override the "holding period" law. There are so many things that I find wrong way about this article. I am in disbelief....
"Animal Lover", who are you and how is it that you claim to have knowledge of any shelter's operations or of my personal experience with same? Shelters kill animals for treatable conditions all the time. No kill shelters, such as the Tompkins County SPCA treat them. The shelter in question does not employ a vet. Shelters kill animals without veterinary diagnosis all the time and they kill for convenience as well. Many kill shelters are closed for the holidays, missing out on prime adoption time. The Nevada Humane Society is a No Kill shelter and they were open for adoptions the July 4 weekend because they are committed to saving lives, unlike this particular shelter, which has a kill rate of nearly 80%. If you call yourself an animal lover, why are you an apologist for killing? The shelter killed this dog on intake, in violation of the legally mandated 72 hour hold period for strays. Shelters do things like this every day. Welcome to the real world. The No Kill movement is changing it
Actually, there are people who enjoy killing animals.We had a facility here run by one of those people for years. The environment of a high kill facility is attractive to them and the facility is always in need of heartless workers. It's a win/win situation for the facility and the person and a losing situation for the animal.
Thank you for sharing your story and his.I'm for south Ga.And know this happens all to often.Last week as I took the trash to the dumpster..there was a six week old very sweet puppy who would sit on my feet and tried to drink water from the bottle before I could pour it in a bowl,a very sweet young cat.The puppy is now in rescue,the cat is recovering from a spay surgery in my home.A week before a small terrier mix young dog who is sleeping at my feet...Some times we win...we can save a few....
Thanks you for reading and for saving those animals.
So sorry, Valerie. Thanks, as always, for trying to help him, and for telling his story so that it might at least help another.
Thanks, Allison.
Valerie, what a heartbreaking story! I am having trouble trying toget someone to pick up a stray now that my son has spotted in the same area EVERY SINGLE DAY. A beautiful german shep. I continue to call them but they won't pick her up. She is located in Atlanta on the corner of Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy. and Pierce Ave. It is too far for me to go, and I have no way of catching her. I have called them for months and they refuse to go get her. She is right around the corner from them! It was 18 degrees the other night and I don't know HOW she survived it! Please post again if you know anyone who would be willing to get her. Thanks!
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