The Brodies
The results for the first annual Brodies are in, and I am proud to announce that the Dog Spelled Forward blog……
Debarking
The New York Times published a story about debarking, something that I had thought was a thing of the past. (Of course the fact that the procedure is illegal for elective reasons in NJ probably contributed to that notion.) Dancing Dog Blog covers the debarking controversy very well. Take a look.
Oreo’s Law and the Politics of Destruction
Moving on to another controversy, you’ve probably heard the story of Oreo and Oreo’s Law. Oreo was rescued by the ASPCA after being thrown from a rooftop by an apparently very abusive owner. After spending months (and no doubt thousands of dollars) nursing Oreo back to health, the ASPCA made the heart-wrenching decision to euthanize him because of serious aggression. Professionals in probably the best staffed behavior department in any shelter on the East Coast made a decision about a dog’s behavior.
At some point prior to Oreo being euthanized at least one rescue offered to take him. For whatever reason, and there has been some ambiguity on what and how things happened, the APSCA did not hand Oreo over.
The reaction to this situation has been loud, intense, and unfortunately, very predictable. Some people in the “no-kill” movement thrive on the politics of destruction, and what better target is there than an organization with a national presence that has done tremendous good for animals? Is there a better strategy for raising your own profile than playing “gotcha” with someone bigger than you? After all, when it comes down to it, the people that really cause the pet overpopulation – puppy mills – are faceless and nameless, but when you can tear down an animal welfare icon, you’ve struck gold!
But I digress.
Part of the fallout from the situation is “Oreo Law’s,” which runs the risk of allowing rescues that are already ill-equipped to deal with serious behavior problems the ability to demand any dog they want from a shelter, especially if the dog has serious behavior problems. Speaking from experience, this is not good. Here is a great essay on Oreo’s Law from Animal Law Coalition.
13 Comments
Thanks for posting the link to that essay. I hadn't heard about Oreo's law. Definitely doesn't sound like a good law to me. I think responsible organizations such as the ASPCA should be able to decide when an animal is unadoptable and should be put down.
From a purely economics stand point, there are hundreds and thousands of unwanted dogs and cats. To me, it does not make much sense to expend tons of resources (time, money, personnel) to try and rehab an animal that might or might not get better and who still will always probably potentially be a bite risk. Take those resources instead and put a dozen shelter dogs through a basic obedience course, increasing their adoptability and potential for being good pets. But, I do understand what a hard issue this is. Shelters want to be able to help and save all the animals that come through their doors, especially if the animal seems like it could be rehabbed.
Mary
Eric, You've got my vote. Your blog is so informative and well written. And the post at Animal Law Coalition on Oreo's Law is a good one.
Thank you!
Sorry you lost the Brodies. We like your blog!
I'm a Mets fan, so I'm used to saying “Wait'll Next Year!”
What is it with people who figure if they can't do something, it must not be doable? Shelters are commonly staffed with 'evaluators' who take caged and confused dogs, set them up to fail some preposterous 'test', classify the dogs 'unrehabilitatable' and kill them. You could take Lassie and get her to fail these tests under these conditions. Watching the Animal Cops-type shows on Animal Planet you get to see firsthand how time after pathetic time these people goad helpless-feeling animals into misbehaving, then prattle about how unfortunate it is that the dog 'must' be put down. Shelters should be elated at the opportunity a rescue offers the victims of these miserable tests, not decrying these organizations' offer of assistance. The often ill-trained ill-informed employees of these city shelters have no legitimate claim to either omniscience or infallibility
So…you think they saved Oreo from the roof, spent 5+ months nursing her back to health, and then killed her because she failed a temperament test?
Please, do some research before you shoot your mouth off. Google is your friend.
Oh yeah…and try actually volunteering at a shelter. You might learn something.
To quote your own writing: “the ASPCA made the …decision to euthanize him because of serious aggression. Professionals in … the …behavior department …made a decision about a dog’s behavior.”
I've done more than enough research into the travesty of shelter behavior testing. An excellent description can be read at the following link:
http://www.pgaa.com/tempermenttesting.html
Lastly, while it is certainly true that in shelter volunteering one can always learn something, I find the most productive use of my time in that regard to be in teaching, and sadly there aren't any openings in that department. I'll just have to settle for posting a few informative paragraphs here and there and hope a few virtual passersby take advantage.
Where are the words “temperament test” in that quote?
Yes, I can see how tossing rocks from the sidelines (and watching TV) instead of actually doing something works out for you.
Look, I've dealt with more than my share of 'aggressive' dogs, dogs that scare everyone else away shaking their head saying 'damn, that dog is Crazy'. In every single case after taking the necessary time to properly approach, properly encourage and properly reinforce I have seen these dogs become every bit as relaxed and respectful as anyone could want in a pet. As Cesar Millan points out in his TV show, it's not the dog, it's the handler. Getting this thru to people (like yourself) is by far the hardest part of dog training.
Yeah, those wonderful people skills are definitely coming through. Keep up the good work.
Either the dogs you speak of were not as violent and abused as Oreo, or you are lying.
Either the dogs you speak of were not as violent and abused as Oreo, or you are lying.
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