An OH dog owner by the name of Gary Roberson took in homeless dogs and ended up with 77 of them. His neighbors complained. He tried moving to a new rental home but that didn’t work. The new neighbors complained too and the landlord evicted him. Now he’s surrendering the dogs to the local shelter and living in a tent in KY. But why? Photos of some of the dogs already surrendered show what appear to be healthy, well groomed dogs. In fact:
According to [Butler County Chief Dog Warden Julie] Holmes, all of his dogs were licensed, cared for and kept as pets.
The director of the shelter where the dogs are being housed says:
“Mr. Roberson is doing the right thing by signing them over. It is important that people realize what their limitations are when caring for animals and don’t stretch themselves beyond their means.”
Is that the case here? I don’t know. But I don’t see any evidence to show that it is. What I see is someone who cared so much about keeping his dogs, he moved to a new home. I see someone who apparently kept his dogs well fed, groomed and sheltered. I see an owner who licensed every last one of his 77 dogs even though he’s obviously not wealthy. It seems like he very much wanted his dogs and was taking good care of his dogs. If authorities were obligated to intervene, maybe they could have worked toward resolving the issues with the neighbors instead of having the owner surrender all the dogs.
And now, the inevitable complaints from the shelter accepting the dogs:
Butler County’s animal shelter is “busting at the seams” as a former Hamilton man continues to turn over his 77 licensed dogs, according to Animal Friends Humane Society Director Meg Stephenson.
[…]
But what’s really needed is for people to adopt the animals that were already there as they continue processing the new dogs, Stephenson said. “People who contact us about these specific animals don’t really help us at this point.”
Stupid, compassionate public. By hearing about a news story that says 77 dogs need new homes and then stepping up to help, you are really trying our patience.
Remind me again why it was a good thing to remove these pets from their home?