When HSUS took 44 dogs from their owner in AL last month, they dropped 10 of them at Lincoln Co Animal Services – a gassing shelter in NC. The shelter killed 4 of the dogs – reports differ on whether the dogs were killed for being sick, aggressive, or both. No information is known on what, if any, veterinary care or behavioral rehab was sought for the dogs before they were killed but the amount of time they lived in NC appears to have been short. Although many details remain unknown, we do know that according to the state inspection report from December 17, staff members who were not certified as euthanasia technicians were killing pets at the shelter.
The dates here are significant: December 15 is the date the local paper ran their expose on rampant mismanagement and possible violations of state law at the shelter. Less than 24 hours later, the Animal Services Supervisor resigned. The shelter manager was suspended around this same time and the local paper reported it on December 17. Also on December 17, the 6 AL dogs still alive were transferred, at the request of HSUS, to shelters in Charlotte.
Were the 4 dogs that HSUS “rescued” from AL and left at Lincoln Co killed in the gas chamber or by injection? By someone not certified as a euthanasia technician? Were the dogs given appropriate medical and/or behavioral care and an opportunity to heal before they were killed? So many unanswered questions and still no meaningful answers from HSUS. I’ll be staying on this story. In case anyone was in doubt on that.