During the months of January through April of this year, 75 animals died in their cages at MAS. This week, another pet was added to these atrocious statistics. She was a young and happy black Lab who appeared healthy on Saturday when local advocates visited her at the pound. They asked if the volunteer stalking escorting them would take her outside. Once out in the fresh air, the young dog was happy to play ball with the strangers. The play was supervised by both the volunteer and the interim director. The 3 bags of treats bought for the dogs were not allowed to be given out. One of the advocates asked if the treats in the MAS lobby could be fed to the dogs instead but that request was also denied. The dog’s photo was taken so that she could be networked and within days, a rescue was lined up for her. She was to be pulled today. Instead, she was reportedly found dead in her cage on Wednesday morning.
Apparently more re-training is needed.
Under what circumstances do apparently healthy dogs just die in their cages? Anyone?
Well we know it wasn’t from treat intoxication…
In-kennel euthanization, perhaps? At least that would make literal sense.
Could we please stop using the “e” word for plain old killing?
Dogs dying in their kennels…..75 this year alone? Why haven’t necropsy been done? It should be manditory that the cause of death be found. The law of averages just can’t be that high in that space of time.
An outside vet needs to get involved. The health department, ag department….someone not in any way involved with MAS.
Just to clarify – 75 in the first four months. IDK how many in May or June.
I find it so hard to believe that MAS continues to get away with all this cruelty. How could this obviously healthy dog die in her kennel in only a few days??
How could 75 animals just dye in their kennels in four months, what are they doing to them??
Seventy-five?!? In one hundred and twenty days, seventy-five animals at MAS died, alone and afraid and untended? That is an average of one every 1.6 days! So the people who draw a paycheck there show up in the morning and have to make a decision whether to feed the still-breathing inmates or haul out the earthly remains of lives that were supposed to be in their care? Do they make a count of these pitiful creatures before they run the kill-for-space/past-shelf-life list? Do you suppose someone turned this in as a cost-saving measure, that not as many are needled down because poor treatment gets them first? What a disgusting, shameful embarrassment.
It is SO sad. She was a beautiful dog and loved to play and run. She definitely got some love from us last Saturday, bless her heart.
Thank you for showing her kindness. Tragic to realize it would be the last she’d ever know in this life.
Heartworms?
My understanding of HW disease is that it takes many years to actually kill a dog and before they die, they are hacking all over the place. This was a young dog and no reports of coughing.
Who would do a full audit of MAS’s records and operations if one were to happen?
Well, we’ve already had the rotary club in the there. Maybe the local Elks? Are the Shriners available? (I’m assuming the mayor would not allow anyone with actual no kill shelter experience to go in there and audit the place.)
Ha. I was thinking of something more official – Dept of Ag or …?
Actually, if they throw a clot because of the resident heartworms, they could die suddenly. Not super common, but it happens. That’s usually how it happens with cats–they have 1 worm, no visible effects, keel over dead one day.
I’ve been following the MAS fiasco for a while now. I seriously want to be a part of an effort to bring local and national attention to the atrocities that are happening. Who can I connect with?
There’s a Facebook page, No-Kill Memphis, https://www.facebook.com/NoKillMemphis
You can connect with others there.
Taxpayers and citizens of Memphis should also be outraged about what they are paying for. The way things are being run at their animal control, Nola won’t be the last lost dog killed “accidentally” instead of being reunited with her worried family.
More people need to sign up with the group No-Kill Memphis and take action. Their pets could be next.
It’s not logical to believe that Kapone and Nola were the only 2 pets ever “lost” by MAS. I have little doubt there have been many more, perhaps owned by people who did not know about the pound, or FOIA, or how to contact the media, etc. And as you say, she will sadly not be the last.
People may want to join “Justice for Nola (Where’s Nola)” . Page admin is reportedly pulling something together.
See https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Nola-Wheres-Nola/130020457135595
Maybe she was dehydrated or overheated somehow? Parvo possibly? Bloat? Or some kind of congenital problem like an aneurysm? It’s so strange for a young, active, healthy-looking dog to die suddenly. MAS is losing a lot of dogs to “found dead in the cage” syndrome. What are they feeding the dogs? How is the food stored? Aflatoxin from contaminated food can kill pretty quickly.
Actually, bloat is another possibility. An unattended dog could die overnight from bloat and found dead in the morning.
Yes, but bloat is pretty unusual in such a young dog–at least I think so? Rogers said at the public meeting they were feeding
dogs 1 cup of food per 10 lbs of body weight 2x daily. That’s a LOT of kibble–must be nearly worthless nutritionally if you have to give them that much. So,yeah, bloat is a sad possibility.
In reply to Jeanne–no, bloat can and does happen at any age. We aren’t really sure why it happens, but bolting food quickly, drinking lots of water after, running after eating all seem to be triggers. I’ve seen lots of young dogs have bloat, though the classic case is an older, deep chested dog. I’ve even seen a Dachshund with bloat, so it’s not confined to only large dogs.
They may be fudging the kill numbers with “found dead in cage”…as if that makes them look better….
75 in 4 months. Gee, let’s do some “new math”. MAS says “Gee, that’s no too bad” 1+1 = um, we can’t add!
Do people there even know how to do math? That’s outrageous!
Space aliens maybe? Gremlins? Toxic fish swimming through the kennels?
I just don’t get it…..*sigh*
If even a SINGLE dog, healthy when we turned off the lights at night, was found dead in it’s kennel the next morning, that would IMMEDIATELY call for finding out the cause. If they did not know the animal was sick, that is negligence. If they did know the animal was sick and allowed it to slowly expire without intervention, that is unconscionable. But an animal approximately every other day???? Not acceptable.
It just keeps getting worse and worse. What a beautiful, happy puppy. I don’t even know what to say anymore. I just want to grab the mayor and his cronies and shake them. How can they not see what they are doing?
These people are without souls.
“Memphis Animal Services: Kills on Contact!”
Oh thank god for gallows humor. We need it. Especially when a significant number of the condemned are falling over dead on their way up the gallows stairs.
Reblogged this on dips in the road and commented:
This is outrageous…who will investigate the Memphis animal shelter. There is no excuse for this…what a beautiful dog….makes me angry and so sad…who can we talk to about this shelter.
Does anyone monitor food and water intake for the animals? Would anyone notice if an animal was not eating or drinking?
The water is autofill, so they would not notice. Would they notice if dogs weren’t peeing or pooping? Very probably not.
Well I think we need to find out the reason behind this baby’s death… Hello it just doesn’t happen DURR.
Just sent an email to mayor, the ladies and rogers asking why this dog died, why so many others are dead in their cages and where all the missing animals are. I’m sure I’ll have a complete, accurate accounting for all of you tomorrow.
(end of snark)
I would love to know about the dying and missing dogs also
COME ON! They are killing the dogs! Get the rest out of there!
I know we want to dive in and accuse MAS of some sort of malice but let’s be fair, we don’t know what may have been wrong with the dog when it got to the shelter, maybe that was the reason for it being at the shelter…also with such high numbers like 5000 dogs going through there it doesnt suprise me that some die in the cage we just don’t know their conditions.
No, we don’t know about this particular dog, but there is a pattern of death here that is beyond what might be expected. IF they had done a necropsy and explained that this dog died because of . . . then perhaps I might have a different reaction. But MAS has a well-deserved reputation and, in my book, they need to take action to change that reputation if they want people to believe things have actually improved.
One of my dogs dropped over dead in my yard. He had subvalvular aortic stenosis. He was walking towards us, let out a short “yip” and then fell over and was gone. But if they do any type of exam upon intake a heart condition like that could be readily heard with a stethoscope
I sent an e-mail Monday morning inquiring about this dog – according to Petfinder, her name was “Noir.” I couldn’t find her in PH – but that is because SHE was listed as a HE….I asked for a general hold be put on her and another lab, named Lovely. Tuesday, at 1:00 pm, received an e-mail saying there were notes in system indicating both dogs had begun exhibiting signs of URI and they were on a very tight timeline. I sent back an e-mail saying these dogs were highly adoptable and would appreciate the vet begin treating them immediately. At 2:00 pm I asked for more time to find them homes – was granted til 6:45 Thursday night. At 3:00 I sent another e-mail asking if the vet could start them on antibiotics. I was told the vet would be told of my request. . Starting at 7:40 Wednesday morning, I asked to confirm there was still a hold on these 2 dogs and again asked if they had been given antibiotics. At 5:45 Wednesday night I got the e-mail that Noir was found dead in her kennel that morning – apparently she was lethargic Tuesday evening and Tracy made a note for the vet…..In between all of this, a lab rescue group committed to pull both dogs, if we could find a foster for both of them, which we did…..The foster was to pick up both dogs on Thursday (yesterday) – unfortunately, Lovely was the only one to leave ….BTW- Lovely is in her foster home and LOVING LIFE!
There is no way that healthy dogs just keel over and die, especially at such an alarming rate inside the SAME facility!!! One does not need to be an FBI agent to discern that something sinister is happening behind those walls. Every animal that dies under such circumstances should be autopsied to ensure that a virus or disease is not killing the animals. Any reputable, responsible facility would do this without question. Since they instead choose to do absolutely nothing to determine why the deaths are taking place, then the staff and management should be under an immediate and fulsome investigation into every aspect of their operation. Something untoward is going on there!!! It begs the question are they killing the animals?????? I suspect so.
Mighty suspicious indeed. Thorough investigations of this facility including ALL records from the time of their opening on needs to be screened. Every worker from the time of opening until the present needs to be hauled in and questioned besides fired and never allowed to work with animals again, anywhere. This includes every vet that has volunteered or been on payroll besides the vet techs, cleanup crew, etc… And a DEMAND to SHUT MAS DOWN PERMANENTLY and move all the remaining animals to a no-kill facility where they do not have to live in fear any longer. All this banter about MAS is going nowhere unless full action is taken and I truly believe the best action in this matter needs to come from agencies in the U.S. government and not a facility easily hushed up by MAS…
No, animals do not just die suddenly like that, especially without symptoms, these dogs, I fear, and is my opinion, are being poisoned by some nutcase, period… Perhaps the pressure is too much for Mr. Rogers and it may be he, himself, behind the death of these dogs…
Lethargic may only mean the dog was tired, afterall it got to be a dog playing for awhile that afternoon. That picture of Noir shows me a shiny healthy coat and the ne eye I can view is clear and bright. This was not a sick dog, period. Jody, I do not know who you are but if you care to believe MAS’s excuses for killing a dog, then so be it…
I truly believe foulplay is behind these mysterious deaths of healthy animals at MAS, period…
Well, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood is shaping us just like shit in a sandstorm.
Sounds like viral or bacterial, I would be willing to bet its a contagion based “new” dog strain of something, they NEED to necropsy the dogs !!!
Wow..just, wow. Such a beautiful dog too. Now Im no vet so maybe Im off, but it seems to me that something more suspicious is going on here than meets the eye when it comes to this, esp. since SO MANY of them are dead. It makes me think that MAS has come up with another way of getting rid of the animals (maybe) while keeping their “euthanasia” numbers down so they dont look so bad.