The ironically named Animal Protection and Safety Shelter in Houston, Alaska had 4 dogs and 4 cats in need of homes, until this week:
Some of the four dogs and four cats had been unclaimed at the facility since November, and the city wasn’t prepared to keep them forever, said department head Sgt. Charlie Seidl, who shot them.
“We stretched out as long as we could,” Seidl said. […] “And like I said, we can’t hang on to them indefinitely.”
Right. You stretched it out as long as you could, maybe you should get a medal.
No one at the Houston city offices seemed prepared to take credit for directing the action. Several involved parties, including Seidl, said Mayor Roger Purcell ordered the animals put down.
[…]
The chain of events recounted by [Evelyn] Rohr [a shelter volunteer] also included an order from the mayor to police to kill the animals after an officer at the shelter — who could not be reached for comment Tuesday — refused to do it.
Amidst the horror of this betrayal and brutal killing of helpless shelter pets, I want to say one thing that might otherwise be overlooked. Someone whose job it was to care for the shelter’s residents was told to shoot them all. That person said no. He or she might be at risk for losing his or her job over this, I don’t know. But I know it’s easy to flap our gums and type our blogs about how we would all do the right thing if faced with similar circumstances. It’s not so easy to actually stand up and do that thing. In this economy. In a small town. In a remote state. But this person did it. Whoever you are, I say thank you.
I, too, applaud the employee who stood up and said, “No.” Some people just should not be allowed to carry guns.