Did you know that your local, self-proclaimed “progressive” shelter out in Wildomar, CA is actually a house of racism and killing? It has a cute name, “Animal Friends of the Valleys,” and through its name recognition actually comes off as more of a rescue than an actual shelter. Well, it’s a shelter, and they kill a lot, and they really make it near impossible for the Pit Bulls. Check out this “Pit Bull adoption policy.”
So anyone interested in a dog that this shelter deems to be in any way a Pit Bull must first be interviewed by the executive director of the shelter, they must then have a home check done, they must introduce their entire family to the shelter representative, they must have liability insurance, they must sign a “release of liability” form (okay, whatever), the dog cannot go into a home where any other animal resides and the dog cannot go into a home where any child under the age of 12 resides. Wow. You guys are unfair as hell.
I took a screen capture of all of the available dogs that are being displayed on their website at the time that I wrote this piece, therefore giving you a visual representation of how this policy plays itself out…
I don’t know about y’all, but just off of this image alone I notice numerous anomalies. Anomalies that don’t bode well when being viewed under a rational and ethical lens. I see dogs that are labeled as Pit Bull-mixes that might not be. I see dogs that are labeled as something else when they might be part Pit Bull. I see dogs looking nearly identical, where 1 is labeled as a Pit Bull-mix and the other is not. I see Rottweilers and Dobermans and German Shepherds and American Bulldogs and big Labradors that have no restrictions on their adoptions, while anything that is called a Pit Bull has tons. I’m certainly not advocating for those other dogs to have restrictions too, but instead for all dogs to be treated fairly and without this prejudicial profiling.
Worst of all, you see a pair of dogs that were surrendered together (row 7, image 1 & 2) where 1 is labeled a Pit Bull and the other is not… Going off of the AFV “Pit Bull adoption policy” alone it shows that there is no way that these 2 dogs could ever be saved from this shelter together, as the shelter’s policy clearly states that “Pit Bulls will not be placed in homes where other animals reside.” This pays no mind to the shelter’s own notes which say that both dogs (Bourbon and Brandie) are “kind” and “excellent” with each other and with kids.
Speaking of kids, this shelter’s policy also clearly states that “Pit Bulls will not be placed in homes with children under 12 years of age,” and yet many of their listed Pit Bulls at the time of this writing have notes saying how good they are with kids. So unfair.
The Animal Friends of the Valleys shelter is clearly neck-deep in unscientific, inconsistent profiling. And this act alone probably gets the majority of these innocent dogs killed. That’s an injustice and I’d argue that this shelter is openly violating state law and the statute that says you cannot discriminate by a breed or type of dog.
Thank you Josh! Your analysis on the breed discrimination at AFV is spot on. Unfortunately the discrimination is not limited to the adoptions, most of the dogs labeled Pit Bulls or Pit Bulls mix don’t even reach the adoption floor at AFV and they are deems not adoptable (and put to death) based on subjective observation by staff without specific training in animal behavior or not certificated as animal tester. Also Pit Bulls owner are discriminated as they can’t adopt or foster dogs from AFV. I had the opportunity to look at the AFV statistics and I was surprised to find out that Pit Bulls/mix are only 16% of the canine shelter population but more than 50% of the total of dogs put to death as not adoptable. I saw months where more than 70% of the Pit Bulls entering the shelter has been deemed not adoptable which show how biased AFV is when evaluates Pit Bulls.
AFV’s Pit Bulls policies it an unilateral policy not supported by the local cities which pay AFV for the animal services. Actually it’s opposite as the contract AFV signed with the cities requires all animals to be treated humanly and to be evaluated for adoption using trained staff with a standard method (like ASPCA SAFER). No standard method could produce 50% or more of a single breed to be deemed not adoptable.
Having said that, we all must go to the local shelter to adopt a new pet because it doesn’t matter how bad the shelter is managed, dogs are dogs and they shouldn’t not pay the price of people’s incompetence and lack of ethic.
AFV is a joke!!
They are unethical and habitual liars. They deemed my dog aggressive without anything to back them up.
They will try to come into your house without a warrant and seize your Apbt
I hired a lawyer to stop then and remind them they better obey laws before trying to remove APBT or any dog fr someone’s home.
That is pretty sad that they think they are above the law.
I hope someone sues the hell out of these pit bull haters one day!!
Or they finally step on the wrong property and those owners aren’t as nice as my attorney was!
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I’m sure I’ll get lit up for posting this, but facts are facts. Of all the fatal dog attacks, amongst hundreds of dog breeds, well over 50 percent of the killers were put bulls.
Specific traits and behaviors have been fine tuned into certain breeds over generations of breeding. Hound dogs were bred to be good tracking and hunting dogs, greyhounds bred to be fast runners, dachshunds were bred to run into badger holes, herding dogs were bred to be the best herders…. You get the point.
Unfortunately, pit bulls were bred to be killers. Even though most of them are sweet (especially claimed by the owners whose dogs maimed little toddlers), visciousness it buried way deep down, and it usually doesn’t surface. Point is, it’s not a random coincidence that pit bulls count for the majority of attacks… They were bred to fight and kill, just like greyhounds were bred to win races.
Most sensible people wouldn’t play Russian roulette, even if the revolver had only one round and a hundred chambers. Yeah, the odds are low of your spin of the chambers being the bullet, but why take the chance. Given a choice of what to play with, most people would choose a water gun over a loaded weapon, just like they prefer having Labradors over pit bulls. It’s the safe bet.
What would you place in your 3 year olds hands, a loaded gun that shoots lead at 900 feet per second or an ounce of water? Yup….. that’s what I thought.
Seems like the folks at AFV keep the safety of the dog owners a high priority. Shame on them.
Andrew, pit bulls were historically bred to be DOG aggressive NOT human aggressive and when tested by the American Temperament Test Society passed over 90%. You shouldn’t listen the hyped up media to gain knowledge regarding dog breeds. I have owned 4 pit bulls, had them live peacefully with rabbits, horses, other dogs, kittens, and yes even young children., without incident.
Rescues (including AFV) do not always know where these pit bulls have come from, or where they are going. More importantly, this particular breed has gotten A LOT of bad press, and I am sure there is some legal trepidation (and liability) in having to do some due diligence in making sure that these animals are:
1.going to good homes, and not used for dog fighting.
2.placed in homes that present minimal chance where the dog could become hostile, especially towards a child. Again, they do not always known where these animals come from. How they were bred, etc.
Pit Bulls are a goofily friendly, but have some very protective instincts. By bred, they tend to be hostile when challenged by other dogs, and this “may” also present some hazard for children as well.
People, we live in the most litigious state in the union, and in the land of fruits and nuts. Did anyone really not think extra precautions would be taken with breeds that have received such bad publicity over the past several years. Whether this publicity is warranted or not is the real subject of debate. Not how some shelters MUST act in order to avoid legal implications.
I like the prior suggestion of volunteering at the shelter if you really think something nefarious is happening there. Everyone has a cell phone with a camera now a days… right?
I had animal control come out to my neighbors home to rescue 2 pit bulls that were taken to Animal Friends of the Valley. I visited 2 times at the shelter and had contact with the director 3 times and showed much interest in their well-being. We were told by 2 different staff at the shelter how they do not euthanize the animals and instead if their shelter is full they have the animals flown to Idaho to a shelter there. the director told me how after the 2 pit bulls gain weight they would be up for adoption. When I went to visit today on March 7th I was told by staff how the pit bulls were no longer there several times. After repeatedly asking them where the 2 dogs were they finally said how the dogs were humanely euthanized. And this happened only 16 days after being rescued. They didn’t even get a chance to gain weight to look presentable for adoption. I did not have the dogs rescued and brought to the shelter to be killed! I was lied to by the staff at this shelter several times!
Joanne, I’d like to speak with you about your incident. I believe the director does not do what’s best for the dogs. I believe she wants to euthanize mine as we speak. They still haven’t been put up for adoption 16 days later. I’m working on saving them but regardless I’m working on a case here to stop the unethical practices at afv. If we work together maybe we can really get somewhere. If anyone else with similar incidents is interested on taking a stand against them please feel free to chime in, the more the better proof we have. My email…. D4m2003@gmail.com
Oh and FYI for everyone on here…. My dogs are NOT pit bulls