In this post, my intention was to list each of the 17 dogs reportedly killed for space at Austin Animal Center on May 11.  In reviewing the records, I found only 15 dogs killed on that date.  In the middle of the grouping was another dog, killed on May 15.  I have included her at the end.  Complete records, including photos, are available here.

Killed on May 11, 2012:

1.  Midnight (ID #A609869) – intake date May 6, owner surrender due to fighting with other dogs, level of friendly behavior:  high, killed for “aggression”

2.  Stewie (ID #A620165) – intake date February 14, stray, the final behavior notes in his record are:

05/11/12 10:42 Per vol. Harrell, “A few days ago, I took Stewie out and he would not quit biting the leash, even with the PVC pipe attached. Today, he did the same thing EXCEPT he fairly quickly redirected to just “walking, looking, and sniffing” and we had a nice walk together. He enjoyed being petted, stayed calm the whole time, and was easy to leash and to rekennel.” DPW

05/11/12 11:41 There is now a chain leash hung on Stewie’s kennel – hopefully that will not be so much fun for him to bite on and pull. ALR

Stewie was killed for “behavior” roughly 90 minutes after that note was entered.

3.  Bandit (ID #A620611) – intake date April 28, owner surrender due to severe separation anxiety and:

In every instance where source stated dog was aggressive (with people, kids, dogs, and cats), she said aggressive means dog gets highly aroused, plays obsessively and does not know when to quit. Bandit never tried to hurt any person or animal, he just plays really rough and sometimes nips.

Bandit was killed for “behavior”.

4.  Tyson (ID #A621053), intake date February 29, stray, behavior notes from dog walkers indicate he would get over excited when it was his turn to get leashed up but once outside the kennel he was a great dog.  The final behavior note:

05/10/12 12:10 MAN went in to kennel with leash to take him out for a potty break. before she tried to leash him he kept jumping up and snapping out of excitement. he bit her on the leg and inner thigh while inside the kennel. once out on a leash the dog saw a cat run by and he turned around and grabbed the top of her rain boot. bites did not break skin but bruised. HXC

Tyson was killed the next day for “behavior”.

5.  Shari (ID #A621142), intake date March 6, stray, notes indicate she would pull hard on the leash, jump a lot and bark at other dogs, behavior was better after she ran off some energy.  Shari was killed for “behavior”.

Mosely at Austin Animal Center.

6.  Mosely (ID #A621243), intake date March 3, owner surrender due to change in circumstances.  Mosely was put on the kill list twice for “behavior” but removed the first time:

04/05/12 17:33 Discussed with Ian, removed from euth. This dog can become over-aroused and hard to manage when stressed, but shows good awareness of social cues, seems able to learn better bite inhibition, and responds well to training. Will continue to try to work with him through our volunteer program. ALR

05/11/12 13:25 euth for behavior (no space anymore). IEH

7. Aria (ID #A621454) – intake date March 24, owner surrender due to escapes. The final behavioral note in her record is dated May 7 and ends as follows:

Not suitable for young or boundary-less children, nor for an inexperienced home, nor one where aversive training methods will be used, and she’ll do best if she can spend plenty of time indoors with her family so she doesn’t end up feeling alone and exposed left outside on her own. More confident outside than indoors, but mostly she’s insecure, so indoor time will be good to boost her confidence and let her feel the safety of being with her “pack.” Interestingly, no reaction at all to a cat.

Aria was killed 4 days later for “behavior”.

8. Ruby (ID #A622047) – intake date March 16, owner surrender due to escapes, notes seem to me to indicate the dog was going kennel crazy, killed for “behavior”.

9. Dallas (ID #A622429) – intake date March 24, stray, the final behavior note in his record says:

05/05/12 17:09 Continues to have lots of saliva on chin and chest – i think he is stressed in kennel environment. He comes to front fencing and if you hold your hand up he may nip at your fingers in a nervous/anxiety/snippity kind of way, and he pushes hard with his muzzle to try to push out of gate, so I expected him to be hard to handle. But on leash, he’s totally easy to manage, he’s gentle, he allowed teeth exams, paw handling, liked petting, and he showed friendly, playful behavior towards several other dogs, and seemed housetrained. He MAY be less stressed if we can find him a kennel-mate that he gets along well with… ALR

Dallas was killed for “behavior” 5 days later.

10. Ellie (ID #A624224) – intake date April 11, owner surrendered along with a litter of 4 pups, notes describe her as a high intensity dog with lots of drive and a fixation on tennis balls, killed for “behavior”.

11. Vince (ID #A625726) – intake date April 27, owner surrender due to landlord issue, on May 6 a vol noted:

Overall I would rate him a Easy, but with a Blue dot since he is shy & a bit fearful – you probably have to spend a few minutes with
him first to gain his trust … but I think he is getting the idea that BRIGHT Yellow/Green t-shirt = Treats :-) RJB

Vince was killed for “behavior”.

12. Syska (ID #A625802) – intake date April 28, owner surrender due to heartworm status, behavior note on May 10 says Syska is a shy dog but “she just needs to get warmed up”. She was killed for “behavior”.

13. Gracey (ID #A625930) – intake date April 30, owner surrender due to aggression with other dogs, described as “easy”, “cute” and “playful”, staff member suspected Gracey bit a customer although the customer reported suffering “rope burn” due to a leash mishap, killed for “behavior”.

14. Chicco (ID #A626214) – intake date May 4, 10 years old, owner surrender due to change in life circumstances, growling and snapping at shelter, killed for “behavior”.

15.  Stray (ID #A626435) – intake date May 7, 14 year old dog, medical notes indicate emaciation, severe muscle wasting, open wounds, reluctant to stand, euthanized for “suffering”.

Sammie at Austin Animal Center.

Sammie (ID #A625573) – intake date May 6, owner surrender due to fighting with other dogs in home, described on May 9 as “Highly focused/intense on tennis balls and/or tug-toys, and did obey “rules” in both fetch and tug. Knows “sit” “down,” “roll over,” “sit up” and “shake” and may know many more commands.” Sammie was killed for “aggression” on May 15.

These are some of the animals killed at Austin Animal Center during the week of May 10 – 16, 2012. The records were obtained via a FOIA request and can be viewed in full here.  Due to the large number of animals, I am breaking the story into 2 posts.

Bogie at Austin Animal Center.

Bogie (ID #A626599) was an owner surrender to Austin Animal Center on May 8. His surrender form indicates he bit a person, not breaking the skin, during “rough play” and had an issue with resource guarding – specifically, food. His level of friendly behavior observed at the shelter was listed as “high”. Due to the reported behavioral history, AAC labeled him aggressive and killed him on May 14. He was 7 months old.

Charlie (left) at Austin Animal Center.

Charlie (ID #A626575) was another owner surrendered pet received on May 8, reportedly for fighting with other dogs. He knew how to sit, come and shake hands. His surrender form describes him as being gentle with children and affectionate with people. Charlie was kenneled with a female dog at AAC. The only behavioral note in his record was made on May 11 when he barked and lunged at the gate while a person was standing at his kennel. He was killed on May 14 due to “aggression”.

Carter at Austin Animal Center.

Carter (ID #A609529) appears to have been originally impounded in September of last year, transferred to Austin Pets Alive and adopted out. On May 6, he was surrendered to Austin Animal Center relating to an incident that happened on April 28:

Carter escaped when a 4yr old opened the door. Didn’t respond to voice commands. Neighbor brought his dog out and Carter attacked. He bit when the people were trying to break up the fight. No aggression towards people before or after.

The person Carter bit brought a lawsuit and demanded he be surrendered to the shelter. The records indicate that Austin Pets Alive was asked to take him back. There are no behavioral observations noted while at the shelter in 2012. On May 13, a note was entered regarding details of the bite incident:

I made contact with the bite victim regarding the bite that this dog was involved in. The bite victim sustained wounds that are classified as “Serious Bodily Injury” under the Dangerous Dog Chapter 822.001 of Texas Health and Safety Code. Due to this information, Per victim statement, this dog saw the victim’s dog and ran over and began fighting with the victim’s dog. Victim was able to stop this dog from attacking his dog, but this dog re-directed toward the victim causing injuries to the leg, Due to the severity of the victim’s injuries, this dog is not a candidate for placement. APA has been emailed to advise them of this information.

Carter was killed for “aggression” on May 14.

Cat #A626363 at Austin Animal Center.

Kitten #A626363 was listed as a stray female, 7 and 1/2 weeks old, intake date May 6. Her records indicate she was dewormed, vaccinated, treated for fleas and tested negative for FeLV and FIV. The only other note in her record indicates a foster was willing to take her. This kitten was killed due to “suffering” on May 12.

Elizabeth at Austin Animal Center.

Elizabeth (ID #A626332) was a stray with an intake date of May 5. Her medical records indicate that despite being a tiny kitten, she appeared to be thriving and eating with her littermates. Those notes were dated May 9. On May 10, she was killed due to “suffering”.

A litter of kittens (ID #s A626754,  A626757, A626760, A626762) was brought in on May 10 at 4:23pm.  There are no photos in the records but the age is listed as 4.86 weeks.  The only medical notation was made at 4:47pm:  “euth due to suffering, severe URI and very young.”  Cat #A626707 was also brought in on May 10, listed as 2.86 weeks old and weighing very nearly 1 pound.  The medical note for this cat seems to contradict the age and weight information:  “new born kitten, no mother with kitten, weak. Will euth due to suffering.” There is no photo of this kitten.  Were any of these 5 kittens treatable?  It’s hard to say based upon the brief veterinary notes, especially considering I am not a veterinarian and did not see these kittens.  But it is known that kittens with upper respiratory infections may be treatable.  And I would consider it normal for a newborn orphaned kitten to appear weak.

What about Bogie, Charlie and Carter?  Do they reasonably fit into a behaviorally hopeless category based upon the information in the records?  Was the reference to state law in Carter’s record made because he would have been declared dangerous by a judge eventually? Kitten #A626363 and Elizabeth were both killed due to “suffering” but there are no notes in their records to indicate they were even mildly sick.

I’m asking these questions because I don’t know the answers and when shelter pets are killed, I feel a need to try to find answers.  What are your thoughts?