Posted on 04/01/2015 8:43:50 AM PDT by CedarDave
They have names like Pappy, Taz and Smokey – pleasant names to make them better candidates for adoption.
But these and dozens of other dogs adopted out of the city of Albuquerque’s animal shelter last year have something else in common: They have killed and maimed other pets, bitten children, attacked their handlers or displayed other signs of aggression.
In more than 100 cases last year, the Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department has allowed the dogs to be adopted by families or returned to their owners even though they flunked nationally recognized standardized tests that showed the animals had dangerous tendencies.
One dog was so aggressive he couldn’t be tested, but was still adopted out. Some volatile dogs were even taken to the Lucky Paws adoption site in Coronado Center. This unidentified child was attacked last year by a dangerous dog adopted from the city animal shelter. The photo was included in a complaint to the Inspector General’s Office.
These are among the explosive allegations in a complaint filed with the city’s Office of Inspector General by the Animal Welfare Department’s second-in-command and its behavior specialist, who said Monday she has resigned out of frustration and alarm for the community.
Both say they have taken their concerns to city animal welfare director Barbara Bruin, who has dismissed their complaints, overruled their recommendations and even reprimanded them for raising the public safety concerns.
Bruin on Monday defended herself and the reputation of her department.
“Public safety is our No. 1 priority,” Bruin said in a telephone interview. “We try to get every adoptable dog out alive, but we do euthanize several dogs a day for behavior issues.” She said the agency took in 11,894 dogs last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
This picture of an unidentified young girl was included in a document submitted to the city's Office of Inspector General. The nine- page document is presented in it's entirety at the end of the article.
A follow-up story in the April 1 Journal will be posted shortly.
One of the best ways to test a dog’s tendencies is to give it some food or a treat or bone, and then see if you can take it away without any aggressive response from the dog.
It’s also wise to use a fake hand!
if the dog fails this test, do not get it.
The story says that many of these dogs failed the test, which is one given nationally to test aggression. They were adopted out anyway.
Mostly pitbulls, I see. No shock there.
I still lean toward genealogy rather than environment to explain aggressive behavior ....although I think with a lot of work an aggressive dog can become more civilized
From the Inspector General report: Pappy was one of 215 dogs who left ABQ animal shelters last year after failing a national-standard behavioral test that reveals dangerous tendencies. Eighty-three of those dogs were reclaimed by their owners. But 100 of the dogs were adopted into households, and 32 of the dogs, like Pappy, were turned over to rescue groups. The live exits accounted for 18 percent of all behavioral test failures. Still another dog who failed the behavioral test is listed on our kennel records as “missing.”
Statement of Jim Ludwick to Office of Inspector General, March 27, 2015
Statement of Carolyn Hidalgo to Office of Inspector General, March 27, 2015
For your “doggie ping” list. Be sure to read the statement by Jim Ludwick to the city’s inspector general at the link.
My brother had adopted a shelter dog named Ginger when he was in college in Virginia. She was a sweet dog, he loved her very much. A mix between a black lab and something else, not sure.
A number of years later, after he moved to Colorado, got married and had his son, Connor, I went over there to visit, and I got to experience Ginger guarding her food bowl from Bella, his wife’s little dog, I can’t remember what breed, but tiny, little dog.
Ginger literally sounded like a demon guarding this bowl. My brother and his wife laughed, and it was funny, but I knew this is not a good sign at all.
Somewhere around a year later, got a phone call, Ginger bit Connor in the face. My brother body slammed the dog and pretty much almost killed it, but it lived. I am an animal lover, but had this been my child bitten in the face by my dog (I woulda got rid of her over the food bowl guarding, however), there is a good chance I would have shot her right then.
I advised them to just have her put down, because as she demonstrated over the food bowl and the biting of the baby in the face, she’s too dangerous to give to anyone else. But he was unable to do so, so Ginger was adopted out to someone who they said lived alone, and I do hope that is the case, because the dog has already demonstrated its tendencies.
Only one tooth penetrated the baby’s cheek. It left a considerable bruise and wound considering how delicate baby’s skin is, but Connor suffered no permanent damage to his lovely face, thank God.
Behavioral tendencies of dogs is extremely important, and they need to be tested, and those results need to be heeded. A family does not want a dog that believes it is the alpha. That is a very dangerous situation.
I live alone except for my two dogs. The big one who is young is a female and on walks I let children 5-10 yrs. pet her while holding the leash close and after telling them to let her see and sniff their hand first. She exhibits no sign of aggression toward them.
But she is not friendly at first with other female dogs so at the dog park I let her run in a field first with my other dog before letting her socialize.
I have to be kinda careful with my beloved girl dog too. She is a 80 lbs German Shepherd who is not always keen on meeting strangers, and everyone wants to come up to her and love her, because she is just adorable.
Most of the time she is sort of cool to adults, giving them signs that she just doesn’t want to be messed with or isn’t interested in being pet. She will sit and turn her head backwards away from the person extending their hand, but she’s not aggressive to anyone.
She is much more receptive to small children, especially young girls it seems. She will let them approach, she doesn’t give off the signs of I’m not interested in you, and she will let them pretty much do whatever they want, and that makes me feel real good, cuz I hate to turn a child down when they ask to pet, but I do hold her leash close just in case something goes wrong.
Once Isis accepts someone onto her friends list though, she does not forget that person even after a long absence of them. I generally do not let her socialize with other dogs off leash, because she is either overly frightened of them (if they are small barking dogs) or otherwise seems to lean towards aggression to them (if they are larger dogs).
She does love my cat, Stormy, though, so that makes me happy.
Here in Atlanta its just Pit Bulls, Pit Bulls, Pit Bulls. So many have to be put down. All the Blacks just have to have a Pit bull or 5. Then they get lost or given up to Animal Control and they can’t get adopted because they have such a bad rep so the poor things are euthanized. Its sad.
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Can't say it often enough...know your family, know your capabilities, and then know your dogs!! There are great dogs out there that would never be suitable to live at our house...
It's disgraceful that some of these dogs have even been released for adoption. It's also a big problem that so many dog adopters are well-meaning but ignorant.
We've had only rescue dogs, and our latest were older when we got them...you always take a chance with a "new" dog, and I realize you can't always have a "home visit" in advance, BUT, it's the adopter's responsibility to NOT take an aggressive dog, and to NOT romanticize their "dream dog"...if you're not going to be able to keep up with exercise and attention that some dogs need, then don't bring them home! If the younger dog is potentially going to bully the older/smaller dog, don't bring them home!
If you can't train the dog, don't bring him/her home, just saying.
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