30/09/2025
An open letter to the Lost Dogs’ Home, which I am sharing with you all on behalf of Murphy’s foster carers.
We want their voices to continue to be heard in this. Please share widely.
💜
“On Tuesday the 23rd of September we returned a beautiful, playful, loving puppy to you under the promise he would be desexed and put up for adoption to find a loving forever home.
On Thursday the 25th your staff called me in the middle of my work day saying he was to be euthanised. I told them they had it wrong and they seemed relieved, they told me to relay my experiences to the behavioural assessment staff and maybe we could convince them, but no promises they said.
I talked to the staff member who assessed him for half an hour. The more I talked, the more I challenged her assessment with lived experiences outside of the shelter, the more she closed off and dug her heels in. By the end of the call I was begging - mid sentence the phone was handed back to another staff member and I was told I had become too emotional. They told me if I wanted to say goodbye I could come to the shelter. I asked if I could adopt him to which they said hopefully, just get down here.
Myself and my partner left our workplaces and got there as fast as we could. We spent the next 2 hours begging and pleading with you. His only failure was that his mum had shown some fear and anxiety and that in his “behavioural assessment” he had been timid around the other dogs. No aggression, just an unvaccinated baby who hadn’t been socialised with other dogs yet. You asked if we wanted to adopt him to which we said yes, you dangled that in front of us as an option and then 15 minutes later you changed your mind and said legally you couldn’t. We said we would sign anything, take on any liability, but by this point there was no changing your minds, it seemed the more we tried the more stubborn you became.
You said we could see him, so we did - I thought if I could get my hands on him somehow I could get him out. I screamed, we cried, I tried to run out of the door with him but you physically blocked me and pushed me back. He was cuddling us and licking us and so happy to see us. I said I wouldn’t hand him over so you called security, he came and pulled Murphy from our arms and escorted us out the door.
This whole time we had begged you to pause, to just hold off for 24 hours, told you that we were getting a lawyer and that you had to stop. We were pushed out that door at 4:15pm, we had found a lawyer and they had sent an email telling you to stop by 5:17pm. You either ignored this or you were so desperate to kill this tiny puppy you rushed to do it the second we left.
To all the staff who stood by watching us cry and scream and beg. Shame on you.
To all the staff we had been told “had to go home” due to the unimaginable sadness of the situation. Shame on you.
You are there to speak up for the animals who can’t speak for themselves and you chose to close your eyes.
To the two staff members who we begged and pleaded with for over 3 hours that day, who sentenced him to his death, who ignored the facts and the proper protocols, who threatened us and belittled us - you have lost your way, you are broken and you do not belong there. You may have started in this industry with good intentions but the cold expressions and lack of empathy you displayed throughout all of this, made it so very clear that you have lost all compassion, and that makes you very dangerous in the roles you hold.
We hope you picture his tiny beautiful face every time you close your eyes, hear his little snores and feel the full weight of the trust he had in you in your heart.
We will never forgive ourselves for not saving Murphy and we should never have let you intimidate us.
You have broken our hearts and you have destroyed our spirits.
We never imagined we would be forced to fight you to save a puppy’s life. Protecting him was your role, not ours.
Murphy should be with us. In the loving home he deserved.
We will never forgive you and you should never forgive yourselves.”
