Dusty Devil Dale Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) A too-true encounter. On her way home one afternoon, a friend's wife, Shelly, found a beautiful adult Husky walking along the roadside, approaching and surveying passing cars like a lost dog. She stopped and climbed out, greeted the dog, opened the rear door of the pickup and the dog jumped in. She took it home, fed it and gave it a bath. It was a neutered male, but wore no collar or tags, although the fur was creased, appearing to have recently worn a collar. Shelly was sure it was somebody's pet. She kept it indoors and found it affectionate, playfull with her daughter, and fairly well-trained. It slept obediently at the foot of their bed. She posted signs around their area, trying to locate the dog's owners, but had no luck after a week. A neighbor suggested if the dog was neutered, it probably had an ID chip inserted behind one ear. At that point Shelly hated to give up her new friend, but she did "the right thing" and took the dog to the local City-funded SPCA shelter to see if they could read a chip and locate the owner. If not (or if the owner no longer wanted the dog), Shelly and her family wanted to adopt it. The staff took the leashed Husky to another room and came back shortly saying the dog was too aggressive. They were unable to check it for a chip. It hadn't tried to attack or bite anyone, but it was not wearing rabies or license tags, and it had growled at the staff when approached. In disbelief, Shelly asked if she could go in to try to calm the dog down. To her shock, they refused to allow her in the room. Further they said their policies require that they not handle, vaccinate or release an aggressive animal back to anyone, or allow anyone to adopt and license the dog, "until and unless" their 'Animal Behavioral Specialist Team' determined that it could be safely allowed to leave the secure facility. If they determined that the dog was too aggressive for adoption, it would be euthanized after 24 hours. Shelly was devastated. She demanded to be allowed to show them that the dog was non-aggressive. The facility Director (a quintessential bureaucrat) was called, and Shelly was directed to leave the facility. Her husband made over a dozen calls to the facility, to several State Legislators, City Council members, the City Mayor, and to a local radio station personality who has an obvious affinity for dogs and cats. He immediately broadcast the situation, trying to bring public pressure to the City and SPCA Director to at least let Shelly demonstrate that the dog was non-aggressive. The facility Director made no statements and did not respond to the radio station or legislator inquiries. All of Shelly's efforts were to no avail. The lovable dog was promptly euthanized after being held 24 hours. At no point before or after its death did anyone check for an ownership chip. Bottom line, if you find a lost animal, do NOT EVER take it to the SPCA or City "Shelter" to get its chip read. Instead, call a veterinarian and/or find someone else who can look for and read an ownership chip-- or just give the dog a good home. Edited January 29 by Dusty Devil Dale 1 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot, SASS #13748 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Sadly, I knew where this story was going. Quite honestly I would have a hard time with this and probably could end up in jail. I don’t play well with bureaucrats. One of my coworker’s sons in Oregon had a very similar scenario. Only his son and a friend went late at night and broke into the facility and rescued the dog. Problem was they got pulled over and got busted. Security system alerted police. The dog went back up the pound and the two boys spent the night in jail. The scumbag manager of the pound had the dog killed the next day. The young man and his friend got probation but now have a record. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: Sadly, I knew where this story was going. Quite honestly I would have a hard time with this and probably could end up in jail. I don’t play well with bureaucrats. One of my coworker’s sons in Oregon had a very similar scenario. Only his son and a friend went late at night and broke into the facility and rescued the dog. Problem was they got pulled over and got busted. Security system alerted police. The dog went back up the pound and the two boys spent the night in jail. The scumbag manager of the pound had the dog killed the next day. The young man and his friend got probation but now have a record. There is very little worse than a self-centric bureaucrat who knows how to insulate themself. Honestly, I can understand a lot of their hesitancy, considering that dog's can be pretty unpredictable with strangers or kids who scare or hurt them. But in this case, Shelly walked into the facility with the dog on a leash, sat in a waiting room with it lying obediently at her feet while she reached down and petted it. They could and should have at least let her help them look for a chip. It is probably good that I wasn't there. If I had been, not unlike your Oregon friend, I likely would have gone into the Shelter's back room, and retrieved myself a Husky pet, and earned myself a criminal record. Edited January 29 by Dusty Devil Dale 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) I heard way too many of these scum SPCA stories. Totally p*sses me off. And they beg for donations at Christmas with sad looking critters. I would be in jail too if one ever pulled that on me. Damn it. Makes me even more grumpy. Arseholes. Edited January 29 by Eyesa Horg 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Dusty, can you give a hint what county this was...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 I would gladly face arrest to save a dog in that situation! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 (edited) 1 hour ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: Dusty, can you give a hint what county this was...? Fresno, Ca. But I bet the policies are similar in most other locales. Edited January 29 by Dusty Devil Dale 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 (edited) 44 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: I would gladly face arrest to save a dog in that situation! My bet is that as long as you did no physical damage to the facility or assault staff people, no reasonable LEO would cite you into court under these circumstances. They would accomplish little and risk a whole lot in the Court of Public Opinion. A court action, in fact, could seriously backfire on the facility management. Edited January 29 by Dusty Devil Dale 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffield, SASS #23454 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Have you considered a civil suit against the individuals involved? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Duffield, SASS #23454 said: Have you considered a civil suit against the individuals involved? He said it was a friend’s experience not his. Edited January 29 by Utah Bob #35998 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 2 hours ago, Duffield, SASS #23454 said: Have you considered a civil suit against the individuals involved? If it had been me personally, I would have been neck deep in legal action all right -- but probably the "you're allowed one phone call" kind. 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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