Editor —
It’s so very hard to make people understand (the animal situation) in a short article, because “animal rescue” plays on people’s heartstrings, and very few people want to consider that perhaps we have reached an end-point, where euthanasia is a relevant and necessary action for the welfare of the public, and the dogs alike.
The way to become a no-kill shelter is simple – lock the front door and keep the dogs out of the shelter at all costs.
Just to let you know where I’m at, and how this “Save Them All” approach turns out in real life, on Saturday — as I do every single day — I took all the dogs I have taken in as part of this (“community fostering”; “the community is the shelter”) initiative, for their daily walk out at the lake. I am a firm believer that exercised dogs are happier dogs – I’m not one to leave them in a yard with little to no stimulation. These are all stray dogs, rescued dogs; dumped dogs etc.
We walked for two hours and the dogs played and ran happily. Yet close to the end of the walk we ended up with a multi-dog fight, with several dogs attacking one dog. This occurred for absolutely no reason and was totally out of the blue as they have been walking together for over a year, and generally get on very well. Long-story short, I managed to save the attacked dog by crouching over him on my hands and knees, trying to push the other dogs away while my husband attempted to stop the attacking dogs. We are both over 60.
The event was long and horrendous, and I consider us lucky to have come out of it relatively unscathed, apart from some bite wounds to my hands. We could have easily been mauled to death. The victim dog has horrific wounds, but will survive.
This morning, I called a vet to request that the instigating dog — who I love dearly — be euthanized for aggression, and I was told “we don’t euthanize for aggression.” My option is to wait until another event, when someone or something is killed — perhaps someone else’s dog, or a child, or an elderly person – and then I will be held accountable and most likely sued. Or I could take the dog out and shoot it myself. I am in pieces about this. I am an ex-shelter worker from the San Angelo shelter. I was fired because I would not keep my mouth shut about what goes on there. Everyone who speaks up is fired, despite the mayor in recent times exhorting people to “See Something, Say Something.” Most people are to scared to speak out because they know darn well they will be instantly classified as “a disgruntled ex-employee”.
In my current situation, people are likely to say — quite rightly — you have too many dogs (11 – 7 owned and 4 in “Second Chance” program). What are my options? I can’t continue like this. Four of the dogs have been advertised for adoption for a year now, with no takers yet. They are individually lovely dogs, albeit sadly the lesser-desired medium-to-large (breeds) as opposed to cutesy small purebred. I called the shelter today and said I wanted to owner-surrender the attacking dog. I explained that I had called the vet and had been told that they would not euthanise the dog. I was told that I would have to wait for “a few weeks” for an interview with the Shelter’s contracted partner, Concho Valley Paws, who would kindly then attempt to “counsel” me as to how I could keep the dog and perhaps enrol him in the Second Chance program. Yes, that’s right – the best they can do is to offer to enrol him in a program which he’s already been enrolled in for just on a year. When I explained that, there was no response other than “Don’t know – we’ll get back to you.” I’m still waiting.
San Angelo, like so many other cities suffering from over-supply and under-demand, is well over its saturation point due to years of the “let them roam” policy Animal Services will try to deny they promulgated. These things are done in an attempt to reach and maintain a 90% live-release rate; all so Best Friends Animal Society can use their “live outcome” data to promote their vast and sophisticated charity, and accrue more donor dollars. “Transports” to other states are, IMHO, a scam because there are no places where there is a shortage of dogs. It is, instead, dog flipping, and a money-maker, and the dogs continue to suffer.
I cannot in good conscience continue to attempt to rehome the fight-instigating dog because of this aggression history. I can’t have him put to sleep because the vet won’t do it, as per my telephone call this morning. My options appear to be “keep calm and carry on; and hope for the best,” or to buy a gun and shoot him myself, at which point, I am liable for prosecution for cruelty.
It is my belief that sooner or later someone is going to get killed in San Angelo due to the outrageously dangerous “life-saving initiatives” driven by both the Shelter and Concho Valley Paws. Taking part in such “initiatives” voluntarily is one thing – having no choice but to take part in them because there are no other options is another thing entirely. The animal control officer recently attacked was lucky to survive, but no-one is talking about the multiple Animal Control call-outs to that address in the 24 months-or-so preceding the attack. A wake-up call.
Yet the city leaders will put the blame squarely on anyone and everyone but themselves when someone is killed, when they fail to uphold their highest responsibility — that of keeping the citizens of San Angelo safe.
— Juliana Evans, San Angelo
Editor’s note:
According to information from Best Friends Animal Society, the organization drew $361,333,900 donations for 2023, with salaries and wages totaling $62,617,421 for that year. The chief executive officer, Julianne Castle, earned $527,705 in compensation.
That salary is relatively on-par with CEOs of similarly-sized non-profit organizations, according to data from ziprecruiter.com.
According to information from Best Friends Animal Society’s annual report, it is a 501(c)(3) organization currently operating the largest sanctuary for homeless animals in the United States. They offer assistance with adoptions, spay/neuter operations, and educational programs.
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