At the Hillsborough Co pound in Florida, killing is the default – so much so that the pound put a protocol in place for anyone wanting to save a pet: e-mail the pound with DO NOT KILL in the subject line and the animal’s ID number. This is the only way to toss a cog into the killing machine at Hillsborough Co apparently.
But it didn’t save Chai, a stray dog who had been housed in an area not visible to the public at the pound. Despite this, Chai managed to find a home. When the rescuer called Saturday morning to follow up on the e-mail and advise she was on her way to pick the pet up, she was told Chai had already been killed.
Hillsborough Co offered no explanation – not even an official oops. When the local news requested an interview, the staff hid. When the reporter asked to see the records from Saturday, the staff claimed the records were unavailable to due to a power outage. Presumably the power outage did not affect the killing assembly line.
This is par for the course at the Hillsborough Co pound. And residents can expect more of the same until they demand meaningful reform and an end to the killing. The default for any animal shelter should be lifesaving. When mistakes happen, they should be in favor of lifesaving. Hillsborough Co is on the wrong track.
(Thanks Clarice for the link.)