A litter of friendly puppies who appeared to be suffering from mange turned up near a golf club in Boaz, AL. Two pups were caught by local rescuers and are being treated for mange before they go up for adoption. The local ACO was called about the other pups who had wandered into someone’s yard. The ACO reportedly tried to catch them but was unsuccessful so he shot them to death. There was a public outcry over the killings on social media. The Boaz police department, which oversees AC, responded by releasing a statement which reads, in part:
The animal control officer responded to the residence where the dogs had been dropped, and the owner of the property wished the dogs to be removed. The animal control officer noticed that the dogs were covered in mange and appeared to be sickly. However, after several attempts to catch the dogs, the officer was unable to do so and informed the home owner of this fact. After talking with the property owner and with a neighbor, it was decided that to remove the dogs, they would have to be put down. The home owner and neighbor both agreed with the animal control officer that because of the conditions of the dogs and for the safety of the public, it was best to put the dogs down. The officer had no alternative except to remove the dogs due to their conditions and concerns about the health, welfare, and safety of the public.
Guys, GUYS – The Neighbor was consulted and agreed that shooting the puppies was a good idea! Totes reassured. But just in case any of you nitpicky animal advocates have any lingering questions:
The Boaz police are investigating the incident to insure that all proper measures were taken and to implement corrective procedures if necessary.
The Neighbor gave the thumbs up and the police are investigating themselves so I guess there’s nothing left to do but fall into enabler mode:
Doug McGee [the rescuer who saved two of the pups] said he’s spoken with [Boaz police chief Scott] Farish about the whole thing and is hopeful the animal control officer made the right call. McGee said it’s a sad situation, and it’s hard for anyone who wasn’t there to know if shooting them was a correct move because of the public safety issues involved. He hopes the officer weighed all the options first.
“I wish he could have come up with a different approach. Sometimes decisions have to be made,” he said.
Yeah it’s hard for anyone who wasn’t there to know if shooting puppies was the right thing to do. Because sometimes shooting puppies is the right thing to do, apparently. Although no circumstances jump to mind of when that would be exactly. But The Neighbor agreed. And the public is now safe. From puppies.
Animals: Controlled. Well done, Boaz.
(Thanks Clarice for the links.)