Tales & Tails of New York

Earlier in the week we rescued Romeo, a gentle, loving, healthy Shepherd/Husky mix who had arrived in the Brooklyn shelter after being found on the Long Island Expressway with his (apparent) sister, Juliet.

 

Romeo had ended up on the Euth list, but the shelter had sent out "Rescue Alerts" on Juliet and I was under the impression that Juliet was going to another rescue.

 

Imagine my shock earlier this morning to discover Juliet (pictured above) on the Euth list for today!

 

Normally, if wanting to save an animal from death, rescue is required to call a special phone number before 6AM.

 

I didn't see the Euth list until 8 AM.

 

In a panic, I immediately called the New Hope number and left several messages with staffers at the Brooklyn shelter.

 

But, not being able to get a hold of anyone that early in the morning, I wasn't sure if my calls and emails were in time to save Juliet.

 

Fortunately, another rescuer had a direct line to the shelter director and was able to make contact in time to pull Juliet off the Euth list.

 

I am so relieved! 

 

Had Juliet gone down, I would have been kicking myself from here to California.

 

Of course one is forced to wonder how a beautiful dog who had been advertised and apparently garnered interest from a Husky Rescue group ended up falling through the cracks anyway?

 

Chalk another one up to faulty, "one size fits all, Behavior Evaluations."

 

Although vets and shelter volunteers described Juliet as a peaceful, gentle and easy to handle dog, she apparently didn't do well on the "paw pinch" part of the Behavior Evaluation.

 

Except for the majority of Pitbulls, most other dogs don't.

 

Even my gentle, lovable Tina doesn't like strangers handling her paws.

 

So, the rescue group who originally was interested in Juliet backed out when seeing her "Behavior Eval."  The shelter doesn't generally send out volunteer notes when sending out Rescue Alerts on dogs.

 

But, the best indications of dog behavior are from those people who spend time with the dogs.  If a dog comes into a shelter as an "Owner Surrender," then the profile left by the former owners tells one generally what needs to be known about the dog.  If, however a dog arrives as a "stray," than notes from volunteers and dog walkers are the most reliable temperament and behavior indicators.

 

So-called, "Behavior Evaluations" seem more reliable as rationalizations to put dogs down.

 

Its a very rare dog who scores all "A's" on a Behavior Eval.

 

I never requested a "Behavior Eval" on Romeo and he had never been "tested" in the shelter.

 

I went by a volunteer's notes on the Euth list when deciding to pull him and they turned out to be 100% accurate.

 

Romeo is currently in a foster home with another dog and children.  He is doing beautifully with everything and there is high probability that the foster family is going to adopt him.

 

Now, to try and find something similar for Juliet.

 

She too, has an excellent volunteer write-up despite the poor performance on the so-called, "Pinch test."

 

For the thousandth time, I ask myself, "When are shelters going to get rid of this ludicrous and totally senseless "test?"

 

What purpose can a paw pinch test possibly serve?

 

In all the years I have had dogs, I have never had cause to "pinch" any of their paws.  And though I know I can handle or even pinch if I had to, Tina's paws, she would not react well to other people doing this.

 

My own beautiful Tina would fail a pinch test in a shelter.  Fortunately, they weren't doing pinch tests when Tina came into the CACC in 1997.  Had they done so, she might have been killed before I even got chance to see her, much less rescue her.

 

This very thought makes me cringe.

 

So, what real purpose does a paw pinch test serve in an animal shelter?

 

From what I have seen: Good excuse for killing good dogs. -- PCA

 

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