Every day that goes by is 1 more day that I become more experienced in the area of NOT understanding shelters…
Do I understand and see quite clearly what they are doing? Yes. But do I agree with the process? Does it make sense to me? Do I feel it’s the only way? All NO’s. Hence the “not understanding” part… We all know–there are some really unfortunate trends continuously playing out, and I’m going to start pushing back in the only way that I know how to…
This is BART:
Clear as day, THIS IS WHAT HIS KENNEL CARD READS:
It was written there by a volunteer who (you guessed it) actually INTERACTS with Bart! This same card has been out and on display since Bart came into the shelter back on May 23…
This past Friday I called the shelter (prior to the big holiday weekend) to ensure that the staff had noted “being networked” within Bart’s file… It was at this time that the phone operator said that Bart was deemed “Rescue only,” due to him getting a “D” on his temperament test. I will leave my immediate response out of this article, but lets just say that this judgment by the shelter is a complete disgrace… Anyways, this test that Bart apparently “failed” was given back on June 3. By my count that was 28 days ago… Even more shocking than this, was that I was told that 2 interested adoption parties were turned away due to this profiling…
On Saturday morning I called again, and made the request that Bart be Re-temp-tested… Guess what? I was told “No,” flat out. This was the same response that an actual volunteer was given when she called Friday afternoon and requested the same thing… When I asked the phone operator why not, I was told–because Bart was “VERY AGGRESSIVE”–so not just aggressive, but now VERY…
Let’s get back to reality here for a second… In the video you can see one of the volunteers going in and getting Bart out for a walk… As you can see, Bart is extremely scared. He’s putting the brakes on out of fear and uncertainty… He doesn’t know, for all he knows he’s being led to the “kill-room.” The volunteer eventually leads him out by being friendly and supportive–and notice Bart’s tail, always wagging (even after he initially retreated, he came back to her, tail constantly moving)… Yet, according to the phone operator, it was the kennel cleaners and feeding staff who were the ones that noted this mystery “aggression.” They claim Bart “cowers in the corner” when they enter his kennel… Well, maybe he does? And maybe it’s justified? What do you do when an unwanted person enters your space? It might be scary… Or maybe he’s afraid of water? These persons just hose down the kennels, sometimes with no regard whatsoever for the animal… My own girls run to the other end of the yard the second I turn the hose on… Does that mean they are aggressive? Or sketchy? Or unfit for living? No, No, and No!
Point blank, numerous things don’t add up… How has an “aggressive, rescue only” Pit Bull survived 42 days in Carson’s extremely high-kill shelter, when totally friendly and adoptable Pit Bulls on average only last there a fraction of that time? I mean seriously… Carson killed about 10-12 totally harmless pitties this last week alone, and that number is only based on the dogs that I know of, because I photographed them just days earlier… If Bart was even partially as nasty as they claim he is, how is he still alive after 40+ days? By their own logic it’s beyond puzzling… The only answer I can come up with is that every time someone asks about Bart, that Carson then confuses the dogs? And I know that’s not the case because you can’t mess up the same way 20 times in a row… Clearly Carson knows who Bart is, and they honestly think he’s an aggressive dog–or they are just taking the word of an employee and don’t care to check it out for themselves, or their temperament-testing methods just suck, or all of the above…
All I know is that this bungled, confused, mess of a reality is costing dogs their lives! Carson shelter discriminates against all Pit Bulls, by putting them (no matter the age) through this rigorous situational course of foolishness before allowing them to be adopted out by any member of the public… Am I against temp-testing as a concept? No, not really… I think all dogs of EVERY breed should be payed attention to, showed love, and monitored accordingly… But when it’s being done by uncaring individuals with bad energy, with big sticks, and with fake hands, used to pull at the dogs food while it’s eating and so forth… It’s just bullshit. You know your concept of “temp-testing” ISN’T WORKING when angelic dogs who wouldn’t harm a damn fly are getting scores in the D-percentile range… But enough about that.
Back to Bart… Look at him, watch that video, go visit him and see for yourself… This dog is the exact opposite of an aggressive dog. It insults my intelligence to have this shelter staff even utter that phrase… To know that they have DISALLOWED 2 separate opportunities for Bart to actually get a home, it’s enraging. Not only that, but that they are now denying multiple requests coming from myself and others, to have Bart re-tested by their shitty temp-test… Why? Why fight so hard against people that are actually wanting to help? You’ve kept him alive for this long… All I’m trying to do is get that “aggressive” label back off of him so that he’s given the pure chance that he deserves… Maybe 1 of the interested parties are even still interested in adopting him? It’s worth checking into… Isn’t the point to save the dog? (Sometimes I feel I’d be horrified at their honest answer back)
As it stands right now, Bart is still alive… Since there has been this level of push back concerning the original temperament test, he has been spared until at least Tuesday–which is when the sargeant gets back in, at which time he will hopefully reassess the situation.
Just to be clear, I have used some very harsh phrasing within this article… Should that then categorize every person who makes up the shelter staff? No. Absolutely not. There have been individuals who I’ve found to be helpful, others who I’ve found to be just the opposite, and then others still who obviously exist and who are allowing things like this to continue to happen… 3 different realities, but 2 different problems, and sometimes the problematic areas seem to overlap.
Finally–yet another thing I found interesting… Even though the kennel card pictured above remained on Bart’s cage through his intake week AND THE ENTIRE MONTH OF JUNE, it is now GONE… Replaced with a new card that has no notes on it… Carson shelter.