What's Going on with Pitbulls at NYC Shelters?

This sounds pretty good:

This year New York City Animal Care & Control has not had to euthanize any healthy animals because of space and officials say they would like to keep this going for the remainder of the year, if not indefinitely.

Note: This same info appears on NYC Animal Care & Control's own website.

But then a whistleblower provided some of the animal info from the shelter for the same time period surrounding the above news story. Apparently "New Hope" is code for "Killing" in these records:

My name is HANK. My animal ID # is A819916.
I am a male, brown and black am pit bull ter mix. 2 YR, 0 MO of age. SCAN NEGATIVE BRIGHT, ALERT, RESPONSIVE, HYDRATED PHYSICAL EXAM eent clear, mild dental staining, mild gingivitis h/l sounds wnl smi: bcs 5/9, amb x 4 hyper during exam but sits when asked FECAL FLOAT INCONCLUSIVE FECAL FLOAT NEGATIVE FOR PARASITES

Reason for New Hope: SPACE.

My name is WONGSTER. My animal ID # is A821269.
I am a male, black and white american staff mix. 1 YR, 6 MO of age. BAR; hematochezia; tenesmus A: Large bowel diarrhea/hematochezia P: metronidazole 250 mg: 1 1/2 tab BID x 5 days; panacur sid x 5 days; parvo test (unlikely positive) Exposed to sick ward, monitor for cough/nasal dc SCAN NEGATIVE BRIGHT, ALERT, RESPONSIVE, HYDRATED PHYSICAL EXAM Too tense and nervous Nosf

Reason for New Hope: SPACE.

My name is XENA. My animal ID # is A820324.
I am a spayed female, br brindle and white pit bull. 15 YR of age. Intake Date: 7/16/09 Reason for Surrender: OWNER SURRENDER/ LANDLORD ISSUES Pet Profile: Loves men, women, children and cats SHE IS A VERY SWEET DOG GOOD FOR A HOME THAT DOESNT HAVE A LOT GOING ON NO CONCERN by vet staff SAFER Test and Date Performed: 7/22/09 BEHAVIOR-MODERATE Stare:2.Pulls out three times, still body ears back,mouth closed Sensitivity:3.Pulls away from the touch ears back mouth closed Tag:3.Not fearful but unresponsive, pulls body weight back, does not approach when game ends Pinch:2.Quickly pulls out Pinch2:^ Food Aggression:1.Lifts head allows dish to be moved Toy aggression:1.No interest Rawhide aggression:^ Dog to dog:1.Approaches to investigate and turns away Volunteer Bios: N/A Advertised 7/23 Zip Code: 11385 Medical entry and behavior: BEHAVIOR AS PER MEDICAL-NO CONCERN scan neg barh amb x4 sociable and tolerance of handling umbilical hernia severe tarter and gingivitis, nuclear sclerosis over grown nails-trimmed possible heart murmur geriatric nsf QARH - BCS - 4/9; EENT - nuclear sclerosis, mild dental tartar Hr/Lung - regularly irregularly heart beat did not hear murmur w/synchronous pulses Integ - 1 cm diameter soft tissue mass on left prescapular region, 3cm ST mass on left thorax, 2cm mass on ventral abdomen, fatty deposits present on bilateral thorax MS - amb x 4, nsf GI - nonpainful/soft abdomen GU - nsf NS - nsf A: geriatric -Ventral ST mass r/o umbilical hernia vs neoplasia (benign vs. malignant) vs. infectious -ST masses Thorax and prescap - r/o lipoma vs other neoplasia P: recommend cardiology consult - monitor for lethargy, syncope, cough; FNA masses; +/- CBC/Chem/TXR for geriatric workup Weight:56.0LBS Additional notes: Advertised 7/26

Reason for New Hope: SPACE.

My name is JENIFER. My animal ID # is A820178.

I am a female, brown and white american staff mix. 2 YR, 0 MO of age. Dog tolerates handling and did not become aggressive towards the handler during the assessment. Dog growls while in the vicinity of other dogs. DOG AGGRESSION IS A BEHAVIOR THAT CAN BENIFIT FROM BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION AND/OR MANAGEMENT. Assessment items are scored from 1 - 5 ( least aggressive - most aggressive) Look; 1 - Dog leans forward or jumps up to lick the Assessor's face with tail wagging, ears back and eyes averted. Sensitivity: 1 - Dog leans into the Assessor, eyes soft or squinty, soft loose body, open mouth. Tag: 1 - Dog assumes play position and joins the game or indicates play with huffing, soft 'popping' of the body, etc. Dog might jump Assessor once play begins. Squeeze 1 & 2: 1 - Dog gently pulls back his paw. Dog may lick hand. Food: 1 - Dog lifts head and ceases eating when you reach to pull the bowl away or push him out. Toy: Dog takes toy away, keeps a firm hold. his body is between you and the toy, and he is loose and wiggly. No growling or stiffness. Rawhide: No interest Dog to Dog: 4- Dog approaches with stiff body, high tail and piloerection. Dog growls after prolonged exposure to helper dog. Initial exam Scan negative Barh Slight dental tartar Alopecia located on both front paw's forepaw area Has diarrhea,was parvo tested results:Negative Bring stool to medical sign for fecal float was placed on cage A litlle tense Nosf

Reason for New Hope: SPACE.

My name is MISSY ELI. My animal ID # is A821255.
I am a female, white and tan pit bull mix. 1 YR, 6 MO of age.

Reason for New Hope: BEHAVIOR.

My name is TYSON. My animal ID # is A820961.
I am a male, white and black pit bull mix. 3 YR of age. sURENDERED 7/21 No pets allow Loves men,women, children, dogs WALKED TWICE A DAY. ONLY FED PEDIGREE DRY FOOD. EXTREMELY LOVING AND CARING ANIMAL. EXTREMELY HYPERACTIVE AS WELL. LOVES TO PLAY ALOT. Friendly by intake Mild by vet staff Questionable on SAFER below Look 1:Jumps up to the assessor while licking the assessors face with ears back and averted eyes Sensitivity 1:leans in to the assessor with soft relaxed body,open mouth ,ears back and wagging tail Tag 1 :Follows at the end of leash with soft body ,wagging tail,ears back and open relaxed mouth Squeeze 1 :Pulls paw away Squeeze 2 :Pulls paw away Food 1 :Calmly allows food to be moved follows the dish while soft in body Toy 1:No interest Rawhide 1:No interest Dog to dog 4 :Approaches the helper dog by rushing in with stiff body ,ears forward and growling Advertised to rescue groups

Reason for New Hope: BEHAVIOR.


I can't help noticing every one of these dogs is a Pitbull type. Does NYC Animal Care & Control kill other breeds as well or just Pitbulls? And why was the apparently inaccurate info given to the press about not killing for space when records seem to indicate that killing for space does occur, at least for Pitbulls?


Related Reading: Metro City Tails