Public outcry follows ASPCA decision to euthanize Oreo, 'miracle' dog who survived six-story fall

[The Straight Story]

Public outcry follows ASPCA decision to euthanize Oreo, 'miracle' dog who survived six-story fall

Over the summer, animal lovers were outraged over a shocking incident of animal cruelty: A man threw his 1-year-old female pit bull, Oreo, from the roof of the six-story Brooklyn, N.Y., building where he lived.

Fabian Henderson, 19, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, criminal trespassing and "overdriving, torturing and injuring animals," charges that could result in a sentence of up to two years in prison, according to the Brooklyn district attorney's office; he pleaded guilty to a felony animal-cruelty charge in October and will be sentenced Dec. 1.

Officials of the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told the New York Daily News that they'd first received a complaint that an animal was being beaten on the third floor of the building, where Henderson shares an apartment with family members, and shortly thereafter heard from witnesses who reported seeing Oreo thrown from the roof. (For her part, Henderson's mother told the Daily News that she believed her son was not guilty and that he was "basically a quiet person, good with animals.")

Oreo became something of a celebrity and recovered from the physical injuries that resulted from the fall, which included "multiple fractures in her two front legs, severe ligament damage, bruised lungs, a fractured rib, liver injury and internal bleeding," according to the indictment against Henderson.

But her physical injuries proved to be the least of her problems, as the ASPCA staff entrusted with her care soon learned. Once she began to recover from her injuries, Oreo exhibited severe aggression toward both humans and other dogs. Late last week, the ASPCA made a controversial announcement that outraged many animal lovers: Oreo would be euthanized. Friday, that task was carried out, despite impassioned pleas from many in the animal-rescue community to allow her to live out her life at a sanctuary. A protest was even staged outside the ASPCA's New York headquarters.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/11/oreo-dog-thrown-off-roof-euthanized.html

[Nikki Stone1]

1. This is a hard one. If the dog is now being aggressive--and who can blame the poor animal--it might

be better off to euthanize her. But, it doesn't seem fair to punish the dog for her PTSD (which is what it sounds like). I wonder if there is some med they can give the dog.

[dana_b]

2. there are sanctuaries that would have taken her

especially after her story.

[Nikki Stone1]

3. How do they handle dogs like this?

Are there medications?

[The Straight Story]

4. Beer?

;)

[Nikki Stone1]

5. :p

Actually, I was wondering if they might have some doggie psychotropics.

[paulsby]

30. you can't read

great gatsby to a dog, though.

[dana_b]

6. it takes a lot of training and patience

there is a great one near where I live. They took some of Michael Vick's dogs and you can bet those poor dogs had issues.

http://www.badrap.org/rescue/

[Nikki Stone1]

7. Aren't they still a danger to the humans in these places?

I'd feel better if there were some medications.

All the same, if these kinds of folks are willing to take the dog, I am all for it. It's a shame to kill an animal because the owner traumatized it

[dana_b]

9. I don't know about the meds

but I do know that they specialize in dealing with pits who have no where to go and/or have been abused.

I don't know if the everyday dog owner would/should ever have these dogs in their home. We almost adopted a dog from BadRap but, before we were even considered, they asked us a lot of questions about our knowledge of dogs and especially pits (we have a pit mix), what our schedules are like, who would primarily be responsible for the dog, etc. and then they insisted on further training. It was requirement to adopt any of their dogs - even those who had never suffered abuse.

We ended up not adopting as our finances became tighter unexpectedly but I wouldn't dismiss it in the future.

[Nikki Stone1]

11. Thanks for the information on this

I had no idea there were places like this.

[BrklynLiberal]

10. Offers were made...and turned down by the ASPCA

If the Pit Bulls that Michael Vicks terrorized could be rehabilitated, there is no doubt that this little pup could have been.

Someone just decided it was not worth the effort..and it would be easier to kill her.

[Nikki Stone1]

12. Really? Why wouldn't they at least give it a shot?

Was the dog that violent?

[BrklynLiberal]

14. The ASPCA assessmentw as VERY questionabale.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. There is a petition going around to demand the resignation of the

ASPCA President.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/demand-resignation-of-aspca-pres-ed-sayre

The "assessment" was questionable. This was horrible.
Pets Alive, a no kill animal sanctuary - one of the largest in the United States offered sanctuary to Oreo and was rebuffed.
When the head of the ASPCA decided that DEATH is better than rehabilitation under a well respected organization, it is time he GETS OUT.

This was a disgusting tragedy.

[Nikki Stone1]

15. I signed it.

The dog deserves a second chance if someone is willing to give it.

[BrklynLiberal]

17. I posted a statement made by an ASPCA volunteer. She is not kind to the ASPCA.

[BrklynLiberal]

13. If Michael Vick's dogs could be rehabilitated, this pup sure could have been.

The guy probably threw her off the roof because she was not vicious enough. He wanted a fighter.

[BrklynLiberal]

16. Statement by an ASPCA volunteer.

http://jacquelincangro.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/tough-decisions/


Oreo with broken legs


Tough Decisions

November 15, 2009 by jacquelincangro

As a volunteer at the ASPCA, I was shocked to learn that the end was near for Oreo, a pit bull. She wasn’t sick. In fact medically speaking she had already overcome great odds. She had been thrown off the roof of a six story building by her former owner. She was taken in by the ASPCA who put casts on her two broken front legs. Although she had a permanent limp, she was in good health. Her behavior, however, was another story.

Behaviorists and trainers worked with her, but she couldn’t seem to move past her aggressive tendancies toward people. Not hard to imagine after the abuse by her owner and then months of being poked and prodded for medical treatments by well-meaning staff members. The ASPCA determined that Oreo was unpredictably aggressive, often lashing out at people who came too close.

This becomes a troublesome decision for a shelter. What do you do with a dog like Oreo? The ASPCA is an urban shelter on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, meaning space is limited. For the sake of all the animals who need help, it’s important that they be adopted to good homes quickly. They just don’t have the capacity to keep an animal they’ve determined is unadoptable.

The animal rescue community is rather small. Everyone knows everyone. As soon as the word got out about Oreo, other shelters offered their services. The ASPCA was concerned about the liability. What if they turned Oreo over to another group and she bit someone? But the other groups persisted. They called and emailed and showed up on the ASPCA’s doorstep. Some rescue workers were forced out by security guards. Those who called were hung up on and messages went unreturned.

On the ASPCA’s part this is arrogance combined with foolish pride, a lethal combination. By refusing to send Oreo to another shelter, in essence the ASPCA is saying “if we can’t help her no one can.” Maybe what Oreo needed was different trainers in a different setting. Not that the ASPCA doesn’t have dedicated, knowledgable staff, but Oreo may have been better served in a foster setting where she could get one-on-one care and training in a place she didn’t associate with being hurt. (Imagine being in a hospital for a long recuperation. You might get cranky. Maybe you’d get cabin fever and hate the guy in the next bed. Maybe you’d even yell at a nurse. You might not have such good memories of the place.) It’s possible Oreo could never be adopted into a home. If that was true, there are many shelters around the country in suburban or rural settings where she could have lived out the rest of her life in peace. But we’ll never know because the ASPCA put Oreo down on Friday.

The ASPCA doesn’t claim to be a no-kill shelter, but I thought their euthanasia list was limited to providing a humane end only to terminally ill animals. Perhaps I should have read the fine print. I never realized they put dogs and cats down for behavioral reasons. I had worked with Oreo once in a behavior modification class. She hadn’t shown any signs of agression in that one session, though that is not to dispute the ASPCA’s claims.

I prattled off a mostly incoherent message to the volunteer coordinators who work very hard, care very much for the animals and had nothing to do with the decision about Oreo. I said that I had adopted a red listed dog. I know how much work is involved, but even though he may never be a happy go-lucky guy, he’s made amazing strides. It can be done. I don’t believe in giving up, especially on a dog like Oreo who had shown such a will to live. One of the coordinators wrote me back a truly nice message. She reminded me of all of the great work the ASPCA does. (There is absolutely no doubt about that.) She countered my assertion that these kinds of dogs can be rehabilitated with the right guidance, saying that perhaps it could be done, but there are no guarantees. She said that there is a point as rescue workers when we have to realize that we have done all we can for a dog, but I believe we also have to be big enough to admit that someone else may be able to do more in a different combination of circumstances. I feel if there was even a chance, we owed it to Oreo.

There are a lot of stories we tell ourselves in order to turn a blind eye so we don’t have to accept the truth or so we can do what we want. I loved volunteering at the ASPCA. It was my second favorite place to be, after my couch. But once you know something you can’t un-know it, you know? I can’t look the other way. Doing so would be an insult to everything I’ve achieved with my dog who is snoring softly at my feet while I type this. Doing so would be supporting something I cannot abide by which is, in my book, the ultimate hypocrisy. I told the volunteer coordinator I was very sad to say it, but I wouldn’t be able to come back.

[Nikki Stone1]

18. +1

.

[BrklynLiberal]

19. What are the odds that if she had been any other breed, she would still be alive.

[Nikki Stone1]

20. I don't know.

I don't have dogs so I don't know much about the other breeds.

[BrklynLiberal]

22. Pit Bulls are suffering badly due to bad reputation they do not deserve. It is their owners

and tormentors that are at fault.

[Nikki Stone1]

26. Aren't they a naturally dangerous breed?

?

[BrklynLiberal]

27. Nope. They are naturally friendly and devoted.

They are strong, so there are disgusting people like Michael Vicks..who torture them into being mean and fighting. And when I say torture..I mean TORTURED. You would not want to know what they do to these dogs.

Almost all the dogs that were saved from Vicks have been rehabilitated and found good, loving homes.

If you have the stomach, you can click on the "SAD REALITY" Link to see what these dogs are put thru...
http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/breedinfo.php



Note: Throughout discussions of the Pit Bull breed, you will notice two words repeated over and over again: Responsible Ownership . With media hysteria and BSL looming closer every day, we good owners, find ourselves endlessly having to defend our breed. Every bad story and headline damage our dogs even further. Irresponsible and ignorant owners have done almost as much damage to these dogs as dogfighters have. The Pit Bull is an exceptional breed that requires exceptional dedication and ownership.This page may seem to paint a grim picture of Pit Bull ownership, but the breed's very survival depends on new owners knowing what they are getting into, and ALL owners being responsible and protecting the breed's reputation.

[EndersDame]

28. I love Pitties and Think they are sooo sweet

I would love to own one once I learn how to properly train my little 15lb pup ! Having a pit is a big responsibility (well any dog is) There is a regular at the dog park who brings his sweet loving pit mix pup that plays so gently with my little terror! It really kills when the owner related to me that she was a bait dog and had her ears docked with scissors . It is horrifying to hear that about any dog but especially one that you know and love

[BrklynLiberal]

29. All the Pitties that I have met were loving gentle dogs.

It is important that responsible owners are the only owners that are allowed to have dogs.

[Ignis]

21. "if we can’t help her no one can"

That's a really unfortunate message for the ASPCA to be sending, whether or not that is their intention.

:(

[EndersDame]

23. I was just going to post that SARA sanctuary in TX handles cases like this

http://www.sarasanctuary.org/newsite/index.php

[Nikki Stone1]

24. There seem to be a lot of these places

I certainly had no idea.

[amborin]

25. in Southern CA, alone, 630,000 dogs await adoption! most are sweet & great!

the Petfinder website lists their pics and details

poor, unfortunate beasts are languishing in "no kill" shelters

the other poor dogs go to the city pound, where they are quickly euthanized