Case Update: Walker Co Humane Society in AL

Brett Wadsworth, the attorney representing Boost's owner against the Walker County Humane Society (you might remember that the shelter killed Boost immediately upon admission and then lied about it), says that last week, the shelter made the owner an offer of $2000. They are refusing the offer and pursuing their lawsuit.

Good on them.

You can read all the posts on this case here.

Case Update: Walker Co Humane Society in AL

Couple of updates:

No gag order has been imposed in the Boost case but the surveillance videos I linked to previously have been removed. Thankfully we still have access to the truth here and here.


You're so lame, you probably think this blog is about you.

Someone who didn't pass creative writing in high school has made herself up a webbysite:

Walker County Law is a site dedicated to featuring attorneys located in Jasper, Alabama in Walker County, Alabama. Attorneys featured on this page are here because they have performed outstanding or noteworthy deeds in the recent past.

The attorneyS featured on the site amount to a grand total of one - the attorney representing Boost's owner. I think the page intends to discredit the attorney and his client. Hard to tell from the jumbled mess o' words (I'm still trying to work out "the Imoral Boost"). But what's really a funny coincidence is the page is a twin of looks kinda pretty much exactly like the Walker Co Humane Society website. I assume only high level staff have access to the shelter's web design. What are the odds, ya know?

Boost Video

The Walker Co Humane Society Shelter Director kills friendly dogs and then lies to cover it up.

Surveillance video from the shelter documents the last minutes of the life of a friendly Boxer named Boost who was killed at the Walker Co Humane Society in May 2009. There is a view from the parking lot of Boost being taken out of a carrier, a view from the shelter lobby of him being walked inside, and a view of his dead body being wheeled out the back door in a shopping cart.

Boost's owner has filed a civil case against the lying Shelter Director. The Shelter Director's attorney is trying to obtain a gag order in the case to prevent Boost's owner from telling his story and to get the video proof removed from the web.

Not so fast.

Thank you to my friend John Sibley for editing together this video and helping to get the truth out to the public.

Tech notes: Embed code appears at end of vid. Size of the vid can be adjusted by changing the height/width numbers in the embed code. Keep same proportion for best results. (IOW reduce or increase both numbers by the same factor.)

Case Update: Walker Co Humane Society in AL

You know how sometimes, whatever the reason, you come across something that leaves you feeling like you've been kicked in the chest?

You may remember the story of Boost, the Boxer who got loose and was turned in to the local shelter by good Samaritans in Walker County, AL. The shelter director killed him immediately and so the owner's heart was broken when he showed up promptly to redeem his pet. The shelter director's justification for the killing:

"The dog would not come out of the carrier so we had to use a capture pole. That is when he became aggressive.”

She further hinted that Boost tried to bite someone at the shelter.

Lies, damn lies and lying shelter directors who kill dogs:

• Surveillance video from the parking lot shows Boost being taken out of the crate. (about 1:00 mark)
• Surveillance video from the shelter lobby shows Boost being brought into the shelter (about 1:00 mark)
• Surveillance video from the shelter kennel area - well it shows a shelter worker pushing a shopping cart containing a trash bag out the back door before turning out the lights for the day. [Insert run of curse words here.]

The video seems to confirm what the couple who turned Boost in to the shelter claimed - that he was not aggressive and no catchpole was used. It also might confirm my suspicion that the dog was brought in near the end of the day and the shelter director didn't feel like doing her job so she killed the dog instead of making a space for him. And then made up a story to cover her lying ass when the owner showed up to redeem his pet.

There is a legal case regarding this matter which I will continue to follow with interest. In the meantime, I can't help but wonder how many friendly dogs this shelter director is killing today. Or yesterday. Or tomorrow...

Update on Case Against Walker Co Humane Society in AL

You may remember the story of the Boxer named Boost who was lost in AL and turned in to the Walker Co Humane Society by Good Samaritans where he was immediately killed before the owner could redeem him. The reason the shelter director gave for killing the dog was that he was aggressive - she implied Boost snapped at her while being dragged from a carrier via catchpole. The shelter director's exact words:

“The dog would not come out of the carrier so we had to use a capture pole. That is when he became aggressive.”

The couple [who turned the dog in to the shelter], however, disputes this.

“They put a leash on him and he jumped out and walked right in the place,” Dunn said. “It was a regular leash.”

[slams both feet on brakes]

Martin said he watched every move the dog made once unloaded at the Humane Society. From his account, Boost showed no sign of aggression.

“When they took it (pet taxi) off the truck they took a little old leash and put it on him,” Martin said. “He got out of the box and they went inside, walked down the hallway around in the back and that was the last I saw of him.”

Well ain't that somethin'? The director's lame excuse for killing the dog was paper thin at the outset anyway, but now *poof*

***

A lawsuit was filed May 26 against the shelter director and the Walker Co Humane Society.

***

There is an online petition to reform the shelter here.


I will post additional updates on this case as warranted.

Fastest Kill in the East: AL Shelter Breaks Record

A lost Boxer wearing a collar was found Tuesday by a couple of good Samaritans who brought the dog to the shelter in Walker Co, AL at 4:00. The relieved owner was waiting to redeem the dog the next morning prior to the shelter's opening. But shelter staff had "evaluated" the dog and killed him by 4:30 the previous day. The shelter director explains:

"We can have any individual bring a dog in. It's a family pet. It's never bitten anybody. It's really nice, but I guarantee you if it tries to bite one of us while we're reaching for it, we cannot and will not put that animal up for adoption."

Where to begin?

A dog wearing a collar that is turned in to the shelter may well be owned by someone looking for him. That's just common sense. Evaluating whether to put the animal up for adoption is a non-issue until the owner has had a chance to redeem the dog. Typically that's at least a few days. What is this shelter's policy for holding dogs for redemption - 14 seconds?

Temperament evaluations are a useful tool when conducted by a qualified individual with an understanding of dog behavior in a shelter environment. I'm pretty sure if I was lost and on the run, and somebody brought me to this shelter and introduced me to this shelter director, I would not be on my best behavior. Or even my normal behavior. And I can talk.

The evaluation is a guide to determining what type of training and home environment best suits the dog's needs. It's a chance for the dog to be placed successfully in a home either now, or hopefully at some time in future after some rehab. It is NOT a Pass/Fail with Fail equaling Death. That is not an evaluation. That is a lazy and cowardly excuse for killing.

Every shelter dog deserves a fair evaluation. And you know, shelter too.

Added: Thank you Heather for posting the link to an additional story on this case in the comments. In that piece, the shelter Director, finding herself in a hole, keeps digging:

The dog would not come out of the carrier so we had to use a capture pole. That is when he became aggressive.”

According to [shelter Director, Lane] Reno most animals brought to the Humane Society become frightened or agitated, which she said could explain Boost’s reaction.

“Some of the friendliest dogs change their demeanor as soon as they get here,” Reno said. “They smell the smells and hear all the dogs barking and it scares them. It changes their mind about cooperating.”

She acknowledges that dogs are often scared and not behaving in their normal manner when they arrive at the shelter. And yet inexplicably, she stands behind her decision to immediately kill the dog. In fact, she seems to be upset only at the allegation that she possibly sold the dog and lied about it. Apparently selling someone else's dog is rude but killing him=A-OK.

“Mr. Campbell [the Boxer's owner] wants to say I sold his dog or gave him away to someone, which just isn’t true,” Reno said. “I hate the Humane Society is getting a black eye over this, but we have a lot of animals brought in on a daily basis and many of them have to be euthanized. But no one here stole his dog.”

Reno alleges the Humane Society did not have any room for the boxer, despite Campbell’s claim of three empty pens. Reno said the pens to which Campbell referred are useless because of damage.

Gee, if only they would invent some kind of thing which could be done to fix damaged runs - something like a "repair". That could be useful for a shelter I would imagine in my La La Land of Fantasy Animal Shelter World. In reality, I guess the only answer is to kill dogs.

When confronted with AL law specifying that impounded dogs must be held for at least 7 days, Ms. FancyShelterDirectorPants has an answer for that too:

“That doesn’t apply to us, We aren’t a pound. We are a animal shelter,” Reno said when read the code. “The only pound that is in this building is on the city side. The building belongs to us, but the City of Jasper has Animal Control. When you have animal control you have to provide impound. Impound is what ever the city want’s to make it. Jasper City has a 72-hour hold. Jasper City pays us to feed and house their city impound dogs. Anything else that gets directly turned into us becomes our dogs. This is a not-for-profit organization, and is privately owned and operated by a board.”

Unless your business sign that reads "Humane Society" is actually made up of characters from some now defunct language which translate to "Dog Killin' Hole", I'd say you've got some kinda problem. We are the real humane society and we don't kill people's pets. I don't care what part of the building you're in (?!) or who pays your salary. You are not above the law lady, even if'n ya thinks so.

Contact info for the Walker Co Humane Society:

2302 BIRMINGHAM AVENUE
JASPER, AL 35501
PHONE: (205) 221-6621