A dog that was injured by his owner inside a St. Louis business on Wednesday, September 25 is expected to recover, animal shelter says.
“He’s here and he’s safe,” The Humane Society of Missouri wrote in a Facebook update on the pooch on Thursday, September 26.
The Humane Society of Missouri further reveals that law enforcement rushed the dog to their shelter where he received emergency medical care.
They wrote, “He had sustained superficial injuries and upon arrival, was also dehydrated and underweight, but we expect him to make a full recovery.”
“Thanks to you and all of your support we are able to make a difference in this pup’s life,” the animal shelter wrote. “He’s going to get the Second Chance he deserve.”
Kathy Warnick, President of HSMO says that they are very pleased that the innocent puppy is expected to have a “good outcome”.
She also tells KMOV that the pup is a “very sweet and gentle dog, but also is understandably fearful at this time.”
Furthermore, KMOV reveals that the dog is currently not up for adoption. And that the vet is monitoring his condition and checking for illnesses such as heartworm disease.
“We will take good care of him as we do with all the animals we serve,” Warnick says.
St. Louis police reveals that the fatal shooting occurred after a man was seen wandering around the Renaissance Financial building holding the dog.
When the officers arrived to assist him outside the building, the man pulled a knife and began stabbing the dog, KSDK reports.
The police proceeded to deploy a stun gun, but the man was able to break free. After fleeing, he went into a stairwell and began stabbing himself in the neck.
Before the man was able to do anything more dangerous, he was shot by the police. He was then rushed to an area hospital, but was pronounced dead.
An animal shelter is sparking outrage online and across the country after putting down a healthy Golden Retriever shortly after it was brought in.
Criticisms and questions are pouring after Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center euthanized Gunner, a 13-year-old Golden Retriever who went missing on Tuesday, September 03.
John Gilcrease, Gunner’s owner, said in an almost 10-minute TikTok video telling the story, that when it was time to feed the dog on Tuesday night, the family couldn’t find him at the family’s 8-acre property.
“At that point, I’m starting to freak out so I jump in my car and I drive around for nearly 5 hours, up until nearly 1 o’clock in the morning,” Gilcrease tells CNN.
Gilcrease said that he drove around for hours looking for Gunner, but his efforts were futile. However, the next day, a lady, named Deborah, reached out to him telling him that the pooch was at an animal shelter.
The information brought relief to Gilcrease and his family. He said, “I thought ‘he’s safe, they know we’re coming. He’s there, and everything should be good.’”
Gilcrease noted that when they went to pick Gunner up on Thursday, it was still within an animal shelter’s 72-hour hold on strays.
When he got there, the shelter told them that they found Gunner 12.2 miles away from home. However, Gilcrease noted that with Gunner’s age and his legs, there was no way he could’ve walked that far.
He added, “I know there was a fault in the story. I just couldn’t figure out what or where it was.”
The staff then took Gilcrease to the back of the shelter to look for Gunner. However, Gunner was nowhere to be found in any of the kennels.
Talking to CNN, Gilcrease said, “Like, ‘where’s my dog,’ and she took so long to answer that my rebuttal back to that was, ‘Did you kill my dog?’” said Gilcrease. “And she said, ‘Yes.’”
In a statement, the shelter’s director admitted to putting down Gunner. They explained that Gunner “was geriatric, had severe mobility impairment, and no control over his bladder and bowels.”
“‘Your dog was old. He had arthritis. He can barely stand up. He pooped and peed himself.’ I said, ‘Because he’s scared,’” Gilcrease said.
Gilcrease said that the animal shelter returned Gunner in a plastic bag with no apology at all.
“My children are damaged. I’m damaged. I can’t stop crying. My wife can’t stop crying,” said Gilcrease.
In a statement issued by the City of Denton, they explained, “Gunner was unable to walk without assistance and had no control over his bowels or bladder. After a full veterinary evaluation, it was clear that he was in immense discomfort.”
“Our staff attempted to contact the individual listed on Gunner’s microchip, but the email addresses bounced back, and the phone numbers were disconnected,” they continued.
However, Gilcrease disputes the shelter’s claim that Gunner’s microchip information were outdated. He also reveals that he filed animal cruelty charges filed against the shelter’s staff for putting down their family’s dog.
The City of Denton also talked about their 72-hour stray hold period and how that was not applied to Gunner.
“While the hold period typically applies, there are exceptions, such as when an animal is suffering or has a poor quality of life, which allow staff to forgo the 72-hour requirement,” the City of Denton wrote. “Given Gunner’s degenerative condition and severe suffering, our staff acted within policy to humanely euthanize him.”
However, Gilcrease said, “The animal facilities and shelters should be a safe place for dogs, for lost and scared dogs to go to, so owners could find them in a 72-hour timeframe.
“And that’s a city ordinance. I have 72 hours, and within the first 24 hours, they killed my dog,” Gilcrease added.
New information released by Denton Record-Chronicle revealed that Gunner was found 2 miles away from home, and not 12 miles. Furthermore, the shelter staff didn’t consult with a veterinarian over whether to euthanize Gunner.
The animal shelter’s decision has sparked outrage. The shelter’s Facebook page posts are now filled with comments seeking justice for Gunner.
A Facebook user wrote, “saying goodbye to your pet is especially hard when shelter employees decide it’s time for them to die simply because they are old. Gunner had a loving family at home waiting for him!! SHAME ON YOU!”
While another wrote, “Gunner had a home. Guess arthritis is a death sentence? Justice for Gunner.”
Currently, there is a petition on Charge.org titled “Demand an Investigation into the Unfair Euthanisation Practices at Linda McNatt Animal Care & Adoption Center” that has now over 40,000 signatures.
Woofy Acres dog rescue’s neglect on shelter dogs leads to criminal investigation after the San Bernardino County Animal Care seized 114 dogs from them in mid-July.
The San Bernardino Sun reports that county officials said that the dogs seized from the dog rescue were primarily large and aggressive Pit Bulls with severe health issues.
They also report that the dogs lived in “inadequate conditions” at the over-capacity kennel that Woofy Acres was running in Pinon Hills.
Unfortunately, because of the dogs’ aggressive nature and declining health, 93 out of the 114 dogs were put down.
County animal care spokesperson Francis Delapaz reveals to the San Bernardino Sun that 19 dogs have been placed. Meanwhile, two dogs, a female Pit Bull Terrier and a Shepherd mix, are still up for adoption at 19777 Shelter Way in San Bernardino.
Animal advocates and people who work and volunteer in animal shelters reacted strongly upon hearing the news about the ongoing investigation on Woofy Acres and its founder, Dianne Bedford.
Heather McDermott-Perez, a volunteer with Orange County Animal Care said, “(Bedford) needs to never pull dogs again.”
The San Bernardino Sun reveals that the Orange County Animal Care released a total of 149 dogs to Woofy Acres, with the last placement in January of this year.
Additional insight to the dog rescue and the neglect that the dogs experienced were revealed by Lauren Cardona, co-founder of Saving Devore Dogs.
Hannah Carl / Shutterstock.com
Talking to the San Bernardino Sun, Cardona reveals that one dog seized by San Bernardino County from the dog rescue, named “Checkers” was emaciated.
Cardona described Checkers as “literally like looking at a skeleton with skin over it”. She also noted that the Woofy Acres site in Pinon Hills “was in the middle of the desert. I don’t know how these dogs didn’t die.”
Earlier this year, Bedford and Woofy Acres made headlines after they were accused of abandoning 32 dogs at Shanderin Kennels, a Rowland Heights dog grooming and boarding business.
“We don’t understand how anyone would think this is OK,” Shanderin Kennels Vet Tech Samantha Redline tells KTLA in February. “We heard that she did this to two other facilities.”
KTLA also reveals that Bedford owed the dog grooming and boarding business nearly $40,000 for the amount spent on the dogs she abandoned there.
After Bedford abandoned the dogs, local shelters were forced to take the responsibility and find a solution that did not involve returning them to Woofy Acres.
A Reddit thread further exposes Bedford and how Woofy Acres “specialized in pulling drama dogs – biters, big aggression, big fear, non-adoptable dogs.”
Furthermore, the San Bernardino Sun reveals that Woofy Acres has a “delinquent status” with the state Attorney’s General Office, meaning they cannot solicit nor disburse donation.
