The ironically named Animal Protection and Safety Shelter in Houston, Alaska had 4 dogs and 4 cats in need of homes,
until this week:
Some of the four dogs and four cats had been unclaimed at the facility since November, and the city wasn't prepared to keep them forever, said department head Sgt. Charlie Seidl, who shot them.
"We stretched out as long as we could," Seidl said. [...] "And like I said, we can't hang on to them indefinitely."
Right. You stretched it out as long as you could, maybe you should get a medal.
No one at the Houston city offices seemed prepared to take credit for directing the action. Several involved parties, including Seidl, said Mayor Roger Purcell ordered the animals put down.
[...]
The chain of events recounted by [Evelyn] Rohr [a shelter volunteer] also included an order from the mayor to police to kill the animals after an officer at the shelter -- who could not be reached for comment Tuesday -- refused to do it.
Amidst the horror of this betrayal and brutal killing of helpless shelter pets, I want to say one thing that might otherwise be overlooked. Someone whose job it was to care for the shelter's residents was told to shoot them all. That person said no. He or she might be at risk for losing his or her job over this, I don't know. But I know it's easy to flap our gums and type our blogs about how we would all do the right thing if faced with similar circumstances. It's not so easy to actually
stand up and do that thing. In this economy. In a small town. In a remote state. But this person did it. Whoever you are, I say thank you.
Posts
2 comments:
Kudos to the person with a conscience. As for the rest - Alaska is a warped place. Sarah and Todd, Ted Stevens, helicopter hunting, shelter employees who abandon their animal charges to die of starvation and hypothermia - remind me again why they're a state?
I live in SE Alaska and I didnt vote for Palin nor Stevens, I dont approve of helicopter hunting. We have one of the best animal shelters in the state in our town. Most people dont understand partly because the media only portrayed Anchorage when Palin was running for office. SE Alaska is different than the northern region of Fairbanks and Anchorage and I would venture to guess even some folks in those towns didnt vote for Palin nor do they approve of this office shooting those animals. I hope the person that shot these animals is brought to justice but as we have seen, even in the recent case of ChemNutra, animals dont seem to be allowed justice in our courts & society.
Post a Comment