Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home (EDCH) were forced to call in police after being branded a “kill centre” and savaged online after they euthanised a fit and healthy boxer dog called Kody. Although the dog had injured three staff.
The dog displayed aggressive and unpredictable behaviour according to the shelter. One staff member needed hospital treatment. However, staff have been told to hang their heads in shame by furious animal lovers.
Kody’s previous owners had struggled to cope with his behaviour and it appears that staff at EDCH also struggled and had reluctantly given up trying to save the dog.
One Facebook user said that the shelter were paid blood money and that they were working for a “killing shelter”.
Would not trust EDCH with a cockroach. Despicable. Hang your heads in shame.
Staff at the shelter defended themselves when a spokesman said that they had been the brunt of false accusations and misinformation.
A staff member said:
Even our staff members with decades of experience in dog behaviour found Kody highly unpredictable.
Kody displayed aggressive and threatening behaviour towards our staff resulting in three attacks and one hospital visit.
Staff members have been bombarded with personal abuse from outraged animal advocates. The shelter reported the abuse and harassment to the police. The chief superintendent at the Scottish SPCA supported the shelter by saying:
Sadly, this is the harsh reality of what responsible animal welfare organisations have to deal with. Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home is a highly reputable organisation and will have done everything within their power to help this poor animal.
Police Scotland said that they had found no criminal behaviour having investigated the matter and spoken with the parties involved.
Comment: Nowadays, animal advocates expect more from animal shelters. There is definitely a general trend towards higher standards in animal shelters driven by social media and great animal advocates such as Nathan Winograd. Nathan is the world’s leading no-kill shelter campaigner.
Facebook is the home for many animal shelters. This generates a lot of social media comment and activity. Things can go viral. However, at the bottom of this is a fervent desire by animal advocates to improve standards at shelters. It appears that on this occasion EDCH has been unjustifiably criticised but perhaps we don’t have the full story. Sometimes information can be missed or distorted online and people can let their feelings run riot a bit.
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