When the feds and local law-enforcement agencies busted a big dog-fighting ring a while back, there was much talk of the more than 100 dogs that had been “rescued.”
If by “rescued” you meant “Sent to Doggie Death Row,” then they were indeed rescued.
A commenter to our item on the arrests said the dogs were being euthanised with “no temperament tests, no allowing rescues to assess them, nothing.”
Is that true, Houston SPCA?
Well, the killing part is true, at least.
“These animals are bred from a long line of fighting dogs to be aggressive,” Houston SPCA spokeswoman Meera Nandlal told Hair Balls this morning. “We have made the decision that they will be humanely euthanized.”
She wouldn’t answer our other questions, since being helpful with the media is apparently not necessary for a group that depends on public support.
The Houston SPCA, as we’ve noted, has a firm policy that it does not adopt out pit bulls.
While it’s not likely all of the recently seized dogs were pit bulls, it was close enough, we guess.
— Craig Malisow
This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2008.