Two dogs at the Gilmer County Animal Shelter who were scheduled to be euthanized have gotten what will hopefully be a permanent reprieve.
The animal shelter, which only puts down animals when they’re seriously ill or considered not fit for adoption due to safety concerns, recently made the decision to euthanize three dogs. All three had been at the shelter for more than a year and had behavior issues (including biting) with people and other dogs.
Some of the animal shelter’s volunteers were asked if they wanted to adopt any of the dogs, and that query did not fall on deaf ears.
One of the dogs, Brownie, described as a “Heinz 57” mixed breed, was adopted out of the shelter last weekend. Ty-Ty, a pit bull mix, is expected to leave soon with his adopter, who’s making arrangements to take in the dog, said Daniel Laukka, animal shelter director.
“These are the volunteers who’ve walked these dogs and taken them out of the shelter. They see them a good bit and know their behavior,” he added. “We feel confident that they will do what’s necessary to make sure they are contained, but can still lead a good, happy life.”
The adopters, both of whom are affiliated with the animal shelter volunteer group Ellijay Paws in Need, had to sign a liability waiver that does not hold the animal shelter responsible for anything that might occur after the dogs are taken home, Laukka noted.
One of the three dogs, a bulldog mix, was euthanized last week. The main reason is that it had shown signs of aggression toward children. A final assessment with a trainer had been done with this dog, but it did not go “as well as we would have hoped,” Laukka said.
“At least the trainer was honest with us. When it came to children, (this dog) did not pass very well and was very barrier reactive, which is not a great combination,” he said.
The decision to euthanize is not lightly made at the local animal shelter, which is well above the 90 percent standard needed to call itself a “no-kill” facility. When a dog is seriously ill, aggressive or deemed a public safety risk, sometimes the decision to euthanize has to be made, Laukka noted.
“Over the years, we’ve had a handful of situations where it’s come close to having to make a decision like that, but we’ve been able to find somebody or a rescue (to take the dogs),” he said. “Most shelters operate in that same way. They will have a list of 12-15 that are scheduled to be euthanized, and they rely on the public, volunteers and rescues to take them.”
Right now the shelter is at capacity for dogs, but that’s the case on almost any given day. Many of the animals that arrive at the shelter are either adopted or taken in by various rescue groups, but the intake cycle is constant and shows no signs of slowing down.
Laukka said the facility usually takes in anywhere from 700-1,000 dogs and puppies a year. A couple of weeks ago, 20 dogs arrived there the same day. More than 800 dogs were taken in last year. All those numbers are high for a facility its size.
“The moment we open up some space, we usually will have a couple of animal control calls waiting in the wings or people on a waiting list to bring (animals) in,” Laukka said. “In order to maintain our no-kill status, that’s what we have to do. If we take in anything that comes through the doors or go out and get every single stray dog, we’d probably lose our no-kill status.”
The adopting volunteers, who weren’t available for comment, are hoping for the best possible outcome with Brownie and Ty-Ty. However, Laukka said if these two dogs are surrendered back to the shelter, they will be euthanized.