A man in Columbus Co, NC was reportedly keeping dogs in sub-standard conditions and authorities had received complaints from neighbors. After the man died, ownership of the 13 dogs went to the Columbus Co animal shelter. Shelter director Rossie Hayes decided to kill all 13 dogs immediately, without ever offering them for adoption or even posting them online. The first excuse – lack of space – is straight out of Pound Killing 101 and, while unacceptable, isn’t exactly new. The second excuse though is new to me:
According to Hayes, he had no choice but to euthanize the animals, since his shelter did not have any space and he did not want to violate state law.
“The dogs we had in the animal shelter are already on Facebook, and I’m sure the rescue groups are out there raising money to get them adopted, and vets to come pick them up,” Hayes said.
The 13 dogs who should have been rescued by the shelter after living in what were reported as poor conditions for so long, had to be killed because other dogs were already on Facebook. By this logic – erm… nothing, actually. [Left side of brain explosion]
Tragically, someone described as an animal rights advocate was interviewed by WECT for the story and demanded to know why dogs who had been at the pound longer weren’t killed to make space for the 13 incoming dogs. [Right side of brain explosion]
[…]Hayes tells us his shelter has one of the lowest kill rates in our area, and that statistic shows he’s dedicated to saving animals.
Oh thank ponies. Finally a chance to examine something objectively and scientifically. Let’s go look at the Columbus Co pound’s statistics:
In addition to impounding 55 possums and raccoons – and killing every one of them – the Columbus Co pound killed more than one-third of the dogs and cats in its care last year. Mr. Hayes is stating that the killing of 1541 dogs and cats is in some way illustrative of a dedication to saving animals. [Remaining bits of head explode]
(Note: The report states the Columbus Co pound is spending close to $6 grand per animal which I believe is a typo. Not sure how such a glaring error made it through to the final report. Maybe the reporting party’s head had exploded during preparation.)
A ray of hope:
Monday night, many animal rights advocates plan to attend the county commissioners meeting to voice their concerns. The county manager tells us, the incident is under investigation.
Please oh please let someone go before the county commissioners and advocate for the right of all shelter animals to live. Is that too much to ask?
Here’s the part of the post where I normally summarize. I’m gonna need a minute………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
- 13 dogs HAD TO be killed instead of being rescued by the Columbus Co pound because they weren’t on Facebook and putting them on Facebook would clearly not be an option. Because Facebook.
- Killing 1541 dogs and cats in 2012 is proof that the Columbus Co pound director doesn’t want to kill animals. Because one thousand five hundred forty-one.
- The person complaining wants to know why 13 other dogs weren’t killed instead.
- I have no head.
(Thanks Clarice for the link.)