A different kind of takeon PHS policy

There was a dog named Zeus. Very affectionate to everyone and dog friendly too, Zeus won the affection of most of the staff at the Peninsula Humane Society, PHS, but because of a policy, Zeus had to be killed. Most of the staff at the any Humane Society get offended when the term killed is used instead of quote, "put down," or euthanized. I purposely used the term killed, because Zeus had the temperament and health required to be put up for adoption, but could not even be considered because of being the wrong breed.

When I first meant Zeus, an animal control officer had brought him to the PHS. I being a receiving technician did health checks on all dogs brought to the shelter. Zeus allowed me to look him over as if I was his owner. Once in a while Caroline, another technician, and myself would each take a dog out to walk around. I already had Zeus on a lease, when Caroline opened the cage to take an Australian Sheep Dog out for a walk with me.

Even though Caroline is very efficient handling dogs, the Australian Sheep Dog slipped past her and aggressively attacked Zeus. To my surprise, I easily pulled Zeus away, while Caroline struggled to get the Sheep Dog back into the cage. This proved how friendly Zeus was toward other dogs, because all though much stronger, Zeus was more interested in going for a walk than fighting!

Since Zeus had dog tags, he was allowed to live for ten days, instead of just three days, before being injected with sodium pentobarbital to make room for more incoming dogs. In those ten days Zeus won the affection from all the staff members who took care of him. Lisa, an animal care technician, tried to adopt him, but was turned down for being a new hire. The only excuse given to why such a loving dog had to be quote, "put down," was because, Zeus was an American Pit Bull Terrier, APBT.

This policy of euthanizing all unclaimed APBT is ignorant and unjust. The Humane Society's own national statics list Rottweilers as having severely attacked more humans than any other breed since 1996, yet Rottweilers, like all other dogs, except APBT, are evaluated to be either put up for adoption or "put down." Another fact that makes this policy so unjust is that quite a few employees of the PHS, including the head man of the Animal Control Officers department, owns an APBT. Only employees are allowed to adopt APBT!

After interviewing most of the administrative staff of the PHS, the only some what justifiable excuse for euthanizing APBT regardless of temperament is that some people would adopt an APBT to fight against other dogs. When I asked about the adoption process, the excuse given to me was that the policy is better now. Some dogs that are pit bull mix can be put up for adoption depending on the temperment. Empoyees of PHS are allowed to adopt APBT of course depending on temperment and an inspection of the person's home.

The main excuss for putting APBT to sleep is that some people might adopt an APBT to fight against other dogs. Only a small minority of people fight dogs and those few people face felony charges if caught. Could you imagine if this kind of thinking was applied to all forms of illegal activities? Guns, cars, medication, buildings, houses, and just about everything else would be banned. Each Humane Society and SPCA, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, create their own policies. The San Francisco SPCA has a no kill policy, they only euthanize unhealthy animals. Maybe it is time for the Peninsula Humane Society to reevaluate their policy toward the American Pit Bull Terrier?

Dogs are reflection of their owners. Educate the public on the responsibility of owning a dog, and how to avoid being attacked by a stray dog of any kind!

Chris J. Torres

Belmont