08/25/2021
Just like a person, Anne Arundel County Animal Care & Control has good weeks and bad weeks -- and sometimes truly horrible weeks. This past week falls very squarely into the last category. Some adoptions that seemed solid went awry. “Perfect” potential adopters changed their minds. Rescue partners were overwhelmed and couldn’t help. Owner give-ups poured in. Like all open-access shelters in this area – and, as far as we can discern, in most parts of the country – AACACC is very full with dogs despite offering all of its pets for free since early July.
But what has made this week almost unbearably sad is that three longtime shelter dog residents were euthanized: Buckaroo, Handsome and a dog we will call “Henry.” The first two dogs were well-known to followers of the shelter’s daily live Facebook video, and the shelter has been transparent when asked why they no longer are being shown. Their fates underscore how hard it is to safely place large, difficult dogs at a time when shelters are brimming with friendly, easygoing dogs who also aren’t finding homes.
Buckaroo, for example, was found as a stray with a shattered kneecap on June 1. Thanks to the shelter, he had major reconstructive surgery June 3, after which his owners were found. When they hesitated when told what his surgery cost, Friends of AACACC offered to pay for it so he could go home. The owners stopped responding. As he healed, Buckaroo became more unruly. He had several meetings with potential adopters, but all declined to take him because of his behavior with them, their existing dog and/or a child. In the shelter’s final plea, a shelter supporter offered $500 to the rescue partner who would take him, knowing that he needed intensive training, and others matched that. But, as one very responsible rescue partner explained, money for training was not the main deterrent: Finding an experienced foster capable of handling Buckaroo was, and they had none available. He is shown in the first drawing below, which was made by a shelter staff person who does these at night to help her cope with what she must do during the day.
Handsome, big and very strong, had been a handful since he showed up as a stray May 8. The shelter’s administrator took him on long runs to try to burn off some of his excess energy, but his anxious jumping, mouthiness and grabbing at clothes continued to worsen to the point where many experienced volunteers and staffers would not handle him. The shelter’s rescue partners were understandably reluctant to take on such a difficult dog at a time when so many well-behaved, friendly shelter dogs also need their help. So the shelter administrator took Handsome for one more romp outside with his favorite toy before he went inside to be sedated. She held him as he slipped away and told him he was loved and that his stress-filled days were now over. His drawing is in the comments below this post.
“Henry,” as we are calling the third dog, had been at AACACC since the end of 2019. Yes: for almost 20 months. He was one of the many owned dogs now filling shelter cages while their legal cases take a year-plus to crawl toward final conclusions. Henry was beloved by shelter staff and volunteers because he was so good with people, but he was a severe danger to other dogs. After several terrifying incidents, he was removed from his home and stayed at the shelter while his owner appealed the county’s decision to declare him vicious, which required he be euthanized. On the day this past week that was to happen, he received a special breakfast from his best volunteer friend, who comes every day in the very early morning to walk Henry and others like him. Shelter staff also gave Henry a steak, and many gathered together to comfort him and each other as Henry received his halo, shown in the drawing on the right below.
Please be kind. Responsible owners who have euthanized their beloved pets for dangerous behavior often are vilified, so much so that more than 13,000 of them have joined Losing Lulu, a private page that offers them a nonjudgmental place to share their experiences. Shelter workers are forced to make these gut-wrenching decisions not once, but again and again and again, usually because less responsible owners did not. Rest in peace, Buckaroo, Handsome and Henry.
