Comments on: The Ghost of Oreo

By: An Act of Dog

An Act of Dog — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:04:08 +0000

People who want to hold power WITH others…embrace honesty.

People who want to hold power OVER others…avoid it.

ASPCA aligns with the latter.

By: Barbara Saunders

Barbara Saunders — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 07:12:43 +0000

@Sonia – Yes, I have worked in more than one animal shelter. Yes, I have seen decisions to put down animals who were truly suffering or truly aggressive. I have also observed many, many questionable or arguable decisions made on the wrong basis, like an increase in dogs killed after local horror stories of OTHER aggressive dogs made the board “nervous” about lawsuits.

In general, I view it as a copout when a person or entity charged with a problem concludes that it is up to some other people or entity to solve the problem. Since the planet will NEVER, EVER consist of a full complement of “responsible people,” the shelters job is to frame its task as how to handle the aftermath of irresponsibility without killing.

Maybe that is a tough problem that can’t be solved overnight. However, to me any implication that the killing cannot stop until the human race becomes 100% responsible, I hear abdication of responsibility on the part of the shelter.

There will ALWAYS be people who abandon their animals … (and their children, and their elders) … what are we as a society going to do with the abandoned ones. I don’t think “kill them” is a reasonable answer.

By: kessie

kessie — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:47:23 +0000

I have a relation who works for the RSPCA (same as ASPCA but in different country) the reason they have to put down aggressive animals even when someone is willing to take them is a legal reason. They could be sued if the animal attacks someone.

By: Cindy Newburg

Cindy Newburg — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:07:14 +0000

I can’t help but wonder where was the ASPCA’s commitment to saving – really saving – Oreo’s life?

My dog came to me purely by accident – a mix up in paperwork at animal control – and even tho she was deemed dangerous and unadoptable I rescued her with a personal commitment that I would do whatever I needed to do to save her life.

I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into – she was a scary dog who had been used for killing wild pigs. No telling what cruelty she had suffered at the hands of pig hunters. She was under socialized and clearly damaged.

She growled at me regularly for months after I first got her. I was afraid of pit bulls to begin with and could never have imagined that I would end up actually owning one so I figured out right away that I needed good professional help which I was lucky to get.

These days, she is featured in her trainer’s advertising and on his website as a success story. And she is a success story because we discovered she responded well to firm direction and has one of the biggest hearts of any dog you could want to meet. She also has a quality of life – running on the beach and swimming in the ocean are her favorite things – better than anything I could not hoped for 3 years ago.

So, for me, it comes down to the fact that if the ASPCA wants to go “ no kill “ then they REALLY need to stop the killing by not even giving it to themselves as an option.

By: Kili

Kili — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:37:03 +0000

To Emily S.:
Euthanasia IS the humane choice wherever/whenever an animal is suffering. Oreo’s euthanization was specific to what the “A” determined (based on their very back-assward, inaccurate accessments) her temperment to be.
There was nothing humane about the “A’s” termination of Oreo’s life. The humane decision for Oreo have been to get her placed with a rehabilition expert, either with a professional individual or reputable group. The humane decision would mean that Oreo would still be alive and most of us would know nothing of her!

By: Sonya

Sonya — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:25:44 +0000

Question- how many of you commenters work in an animal shelter? No kill or otherwise? How many of you have had to decide who has to be put down in order to properly and safely house COUNTLESS others because the numbers coming in are way higher than those going out? Do you think the shelter workers love putting these animals down? I guarantee you not a single person who’s ever been put in that situation enjoys having to do it, but euthanasia is a necessary “evil” in the shelter world. That’s life, until people can control the pet population, there will never be enough room. And most no kill shelters aren’t much better. Due to the minimal amount of space due to animals never leaving, they are generally VERY picky about who they take in. A dog with aggressive tendencies would be a rare find in most of these places. Also, please consider this animals quality of life! Pits are not easy to kennel and become highly stressed out in this situation. This dog would’ve spent her life in isolation most of the time until she was doing well enough to be adopted (if her aggression was able to be worked with). Her breed alone makes it twice as hard to consider her being spared. In a world where pits are persecuted and scrutinized every day for simply existing, why we put a dog out into the community that has aggressive tendencies? How about we spare the friendly pit who isn’t gonna cause it’s adopters grief and some other pet owner’s vet bills instead? Where’s the cries of outrage for the friendly pities who won’t attack and possible kill another pet? In a world where Oreo is already hated for simply being the breed she is, why are we fighting to set her up for failure? The ASPCA did their job, made sure this dog didn’t suffer, had a chance to be evaluated while in a pain free state as opposed to while recovering from her injuries to get her best possible behavior, and decided unfortunately that this was NOT A BREED EMBASSIDOR. That’s the sad life of a shelter worker. Perhaps a few more of you should try walking in our shoes before setting up the burnin’ stake.

By: baltimoregal

baltimoregal — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:16:22 +0000

This is hard to read and hard to think about. This dog definitely deserved another chance, as did the 60+ pit bull puppies destroyed by the HSUS in one 2009 incident. [http://bluedogstate.blogspot.com/2009/02/hsus-kills-puppies.html]

I would love to believe in the dream of no-kill but right now I just want to believe we can get to a place where healthy, adoptable dogs don’t get put down due to lack of resources. Right now that is the battle fought every day in Baltimore. I volunteer at BARCS, the city shelter, [http://baltimoreanimalshelter.org/] which is undersized, understaffed and underfunded. The stray dog population is 90%-95% pit bull/pit bull mix. People here don’t want them due to their ignorance or the ignorance of others. Even if they don’t mind that, a lot of these dogs are large or have training needs- and people don’t want the hassle. (I love my pit and the pits at BARCS, fyi.)

So what’s the answer? Education, I guess. Learning what’s trainable and what’s fixable. Giving victims the second and third and fourth chances. But please don’t forget the rest of us, I guess.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:48:54 +0000

Michael, thank you for keeping this discussion out in the open. The secrecy which runs rampant throughout the shelter industry will, at every opportunity, keep these stories from reaching the public. If only your heartfelt telling of Oreo’s story could reach the general public…

The obvious arrogance of A’s leadership and their lack of knowledge in dealing with the Oreo’s of the world is offensive. But let me share what makes this one case so very tragic:

Not too far away from Manhattan and this “incident,” lives a man named Alan Papszycki. He has dedicated his life to dealing with dogs like Oreo. In fact, judging by the pictures of Oreo I suspect she really was not a threat at all. Alan deals with nearly 100 “dangerous” dogs every day. He works miracles and little Oreo wouldn’t have been a challenge to him at all. And Alan’s shelter/sanctuary is right there in New York. I won’t post the link here, but you can do a search on Youtube for Spirit Dog or “70 dangerous dogs.” Watch as nearly 70 dogs just wander around enjoying life in a communal exercise area.

Please don’t tell me there were no alternatives or that Oreo would not have enjoyed a reasonable quality of life! I do the same work as Alan. I do mine in a home setting so I cannot deal with large numbers. But my court-adjudicated dangerous dogs are healed and can be successfully rehomed.

This is happening quietly all over the country and eventually shelter management will have to admit to the public they haven’t a clue on how to deeal with problem behavior. We’ll all be standing there waiting to help when the plea goes out. Look for names like Steve Markwell, Brandi Tracy, Thomas Cole, Alan Papszycki, Tia Maria Torres, Leah Purcell. There are a few others (yes Michael, I didn’t forget John Garcia at Best Friends!). Hopefully, Oreo’s needless death will help bring about an opportunity for these rehabbers to work with shelters in the future.

By: Belle

Belle — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:23:52 +0000

Unfortunately, in the rescue world, not every animal can be saved, nor can every animal be rehabilitated. I know first hand the damage dog aggressive dogs can cause. I can’t judge whether Oreo was one of those that was a hair-trigger reactive, and neither can anyone else commenting. Given the choice of keeping an aggressive animal alive or humanely putting it down, I’d have to opt for the other animals that could be saved with the resources being allocated to the aggressive animal. In any case, I’ll continue to assist the ASPCA. They’re not like HSUS ready to put down every pit/pit mix. I understand that HSUS is changing their tune, but I can’t forget all those that have already died because of their policies.

By: Lisa Young

Lisa Young — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:53:03 +0000

Micheal, Thank you for a spot on article about Oreo’s law and the consequences of what I see as one organizations ego/pride or what have you, getting in the way of the no-kill movement. I believe “A” would own up, many that now look upon it with disdain would see them in a much more positive light. It would do wonders to heal the wounds and start anew. Their staunch stance put many organizations in a hard spot and created friction w/in those organizations own members and friends. The ripple effect of one bad judgment call has affected so many. I have read things defending the “A” and articles slamming them. Yours has been the best so far. You have done a wonderful job and I truly appreciate it. I hope that the “A” can swallow their pride, admit the error and allow all of us to move on and get the no-kill movement “moving” again.