An advocate in Memphis, Jan Courtney, saw this dog in the stray area on an MAS webcam and inquired about helping the dog. On June 24, Jan went to the shelter to meet the dog, whom she is calling Dora, and took this photo. Dora was moved from the stray area to an observation area which is not visible on the webcams. This is the information we have:
ID #228068
Cage # OBV 31
Impounded as a stray on 6-17-11
Female, spayed, about 1 year old
Vaccinated for distemper/parvo and kennel cough
Heartworm negative
MAS requires a background check and home check on anyone wanting to adopt the dog as they state she is a Pitbull mix.
Jan describes Dora as a loving dog with a sweet disposition. She observed a “slightly hairless spot on her right side” which MAS attributes to possible flea allergies but Jan reports that, save for that spot, Dora has a beautiful coat and appeared healthy.
In checking back with MAS about Dora and whether she would be moved to the adoption hallway, Jan was advised that, due to the suspected allergy, Dora “is not a good adoption candidate for the general public and really needs to go to a rescue group or person. So, the dog is still waiting on someone to get her. I have no idea how long I can hold her as we are getting full again so the sooner the better.”
If you are interested in contacting MAS about Dora, here is the contact info:
Memphis Animal Services
3456 Tchulahoma Road
Memphis, TN 38118
Phone: (901) 362-5310
How can this beautiful dog NOT be a good candidate for adoption? A flea allergy is pretty easy to handle with a flea preventative. Good heavens!
Hoping someone will pull Dora before they take her to the kill room. Comment about “getting full again” worries me more than a little.
She’s a sweetie!
Anyone?
There is money (I think) to help a rescue pull this girl.
And it’s only suspected. Maybe she isn’t even allergic to fleas. Maybe she just lost a patch of hair due to stress or crappy food or a minor injury… What I can’t understand is why the home inspection when they are always complaining how short staffed they are and behind on calls? Isn’t the background check sufficient? Do they not understand that some people do not want strangers coming to their property for an inspection?
Seriously??
I know it sounds outrageous on the face of it. OTOH, they kill many dogs every day who appear to have no flea allergies or any other “issues” so there ya go.
They won’t adopt her to the general public, so she really needs a rescue and is waiting for someone to come get her–so they’ve moved her to an “observation area” where she can’t be seen on the webcams.
Riiiiiiiight.
Yes, the whole thing has unfolded in a rather puzzling way.
Just can’t make this stuff up can ya?
BTW. Is there a market for dog corpses? I saw one video which showed……..I won’t even go into it. Anyway….after “processing” them…they were used in pet food.
Question:
Why do the folks at the Memphis Dog Pound love killing animals as fast as they can get them in?
Just trying to connect the dots.
The dog is clearly a hound mix. And where do they get off deciding that she’s “not a good candidate” for the general public? But the HW+ dogs that they had in the adoption area that will require lots of treatment and TLC are good candidates?
These decisions seem arbitrary and petty. MAS is doing itself no favors restricting animals like this.
My offer stands – $150 donation to the rescue group that pulls her.
If I was a Memphis rescue with tons of fosters lined up, I’d go in there and try to pull like 250 dogs – not only to save their lives but to try and get mikken to pay $150 X 250.
Ok, I just did the math on that and it’s a *bit* over my $$$ abilities…
Let’s start with one, eh? How about this one? Rescue groups? I want to give you monnnneeeeeyyyyyy…
I will happily pull and foster her if a rescue wants to get her. I dont think I could keep her forever but I’ve got room, no criminal background and a fence, LOL. Actually, perhaps the rescue who is working with me on the mama and kittens I got out of the shelter a few weeks ago could adopt her out through them. Hmm.
I’m serious, I will absolutely go get this baby if we can figure it all out. Will they even LET me see her I wonder? this is such a cluster#%!^&
Fingers crossed . . .
Yes, they will let you see her. I went to see her on Friday, June 24 and they brought Dora out to see me so I could snap some photos of her. Please, please, please go soon and get this baby!!!
Thank you.
Jan Courtney
I foster for a rescue group, so I’ll ask them about her. As for the fence/home check, we do both. From the stories I’ve heard, a person can have great references and a fence that is not acceptable. With this group, if you don’t want someone coming by your home, you don’t get approved for adoption. I wouldn’t my fostered dog to go into a new home, get out, lost, hit in the road or picked up again.
Sadly Laura, It is that attitude that keeps dogs in kill shelters and out of good homes. I’m pretty sure our fence would be deemed “unacceptable” by most rescues. And yet, I’ve never had a dog get out, get picked up by AC or get hit by a car. So it’s acceptable in the most important sense, but unacceptable if judging by arbitrary standards.
Agreed. I don’t have any fence (although I did build a “dog corral” in the woods with T-posts and wire mesh…hardly a proper fence, but it works for my guys) and can’t put one up according to the rules of the development. But my dogs do not wander, do not end up in the street, and are never unattended.
I’d love to have a nice, 8 foot solid wood fence. I love fences. I love them like pie. I love fenced yards. I just can’t have one.
So, let me get this straight….
a lovely dog, healthy with perhaps a flea allergy might not be a good candidate for adoption.
So, let me get this straight…
Do they just enjoy killing?
Are there any other pictures of this dog? Might have someone interested, but pits are banned in her town and need a face shot to make sure no one can “say pit”. Body looks ok, but the face is really what they “define” by. She would be a super lovely home for this dog, and would be happy to do whatever it takes to her get her.
Hi Anna, Are Pit mixes banned in this person’s town as well? Because like so many short coated dogs, I’m sure *somebody* could make a case for Pit mix for Dora. Especially somebody who is a troublemaker. I’d hate for either the dog or the owner to go through something bad.
If anyone wants anymore photos of Dora, I can send them if they will contact me at jcourtney777@gmail.com. However, if someone wants to rescue her today or Saturday, as they are closed on Sunday and Monday, another animal lover has volunteered to assist whatever rescue pulls her, to assist with vet bills.
Please let me know. Thanks. Jan Courtney
Wow this is amazing, a home check I can understand, but a background check? do they take a pint of blood, some DNA and photos of all of my friends, kids and neighbors too? How about doing a credit check, call my employer, and do a drug screen? To adopt a dog??? They have implemented rules to KEEP people from adopting animals, there is something behind this and it is not because they have the best interest of the animals in mind…..
So I also have to question: if a bare spot on the dog makes it not a good candidate for the general public, then why is it good for anyone else rescue group/person?… it really should be fine for ANYONE.. gosh I really really think there is probably a competent veterinarian in Memphis. As well, what is the exact reason that a bare spot makes this dog not good for the general public? This screams and stinks of “We the GOVERNMENT think the PUBLIC is not smart enough to handle minor medical issues with animals in their care…therefore we MUST kill the Dogs to protect them from the ignorant public.” I might be the only one here that observed that arrogant attitude from the Mayor’s representative that was video’d at the advisory board meeting, but it is apparently alive and fostering in the MAS too.
I can’t say exactly what the MAS background check covers but speaking in general terms, I am in favor of verifying that anyone wanting to buy a pet has not been convicted of animal cruelty or similar crimes. There is an online database that can be checked. NY state has implemented its own animal cruelty database and hopefully other states will follow the example.
I saw Dora on June 24 and have four dogs of my own, which does not qualify me as an animal expert, but Dora does not resemble anything close to a pit bull. She does not have the big paws that a pit bull has. She does not have the square jaw that a pit bull has. She does not have the stocky body that a pit bull has. Besides, what is a “pit bull”….I believe many are American Staffordshire terriers. Dora resembles an English Pointer Mix, both in her stance when she heard a noise and in her physical appearance. I believe the MAS mislabels many dogs as either pit bulls or Akitas, just to give them more of a reason to euthanize them. And the way the MAS “euthanizes” these dogs is not by ANY MEANS a “good death” (which is what the word “euthanize” means).
Any news on Dora? Has anyone contacted MAS about her?
I was wondering the same thing. I don’t think she resembles a Pit Bull at all.
I recommend cross-posting to other rescues. Time is of essence, especially with the holiday weekend. After the holiday weekend she may be gone :(
seems MAS perfers to keep all the pure Pittbulls or mixed Pittbulls or suspected mixed Pittbulls for themselves…HUMmmmm
How many of the missing 155 dogs this year were Pittbulls I wonder…HUMMMMM
Dora will hopefully be “sprung” from MAS this week. I applied for the background check and home visit. We will need to find her a forever home, but hopefully she will be safe and sound at my house by the end of the week.
Great news – please keep up posted!
Not sure how I missed this, but I am happy to hear that Dora might well be on her way outta that place and into a wonderful foster home. Please keep us posted.
Thank goodness at least one of these dogs that get posted around here gets ouf of there alive. 9/10 dont. And I also agree with a poster above that there is something way too fishy about how fast they are ready to kill these animals. I have heard about the pet food thing. Also, this is just what Ive heard dont know if its true, but that a shelter run by the government (I guess?) gets paid for each dog that the animal countrol officer brings into a shelter? Maybe thats why they are quick to kill, to find room to bring in the next dog? I dont know but…its just not good.
I stumbled upon Dora’s blog! Yay!!!
http://dorapuppypatrol.wordpress.com/