Just happened to come upon this article...... so sad..........Hundreds of Pit Bulls Euthanized
On the other side of the city, the cages at Rochester Animal Control are filled with pit bulls and pit bull-mixed breed dogs. For nearly all of them, this is the end of a short, sad road.
“We’re injecting them, we do it every day,” says Andy Dunning who no longer works at RAC. “We do it professionally but it’s day after day, week after week.”
Patches, Rocky, Prince, Honey. They are among the hundreds of pit bulls who were euthanized in the year that ended last June, according to documents 13WHAM News obtained under the Freedom of Information Law.
“They just come in and they’re glad to be out of their cage- when they get there they like the attention, they’re wagging their tails” says Dunning.
Most of the dogs are around 18 months old. But in the age column many are listed as “0” – new born puppies.
As part of our investigation, 13WHAM News obtained photos of a mother dog – and her eight puppies- injected one at a time. “It’s like a look of surprise sometimes, then they just keel over,” says Dunning. “Every time it’s sad, this innocent creature has been put to sleep.”
Because of liability issues most shelters rarely adopt out pit bull dogs of any age. In the last year Rochester Animal Control put down 1,028 dogs of that breed. Almost three a day.
Backyard Breeders
“It’s a breeding problem,” says Dunning.
Back yard breeders trying to cash in on the popularity of the bread are saturating the streets with unwanted animals. Darryl Bridges says he “rescued” his two dogs Yaayo and Bella from the guy who lives around the corner.
“He had about 12 puppies in just one room,” Bridges says, but no sign of the mother dogs. “One room, 12 puppies, one bowl of food,” he adds. At four weeks old the puppies hadn’t been weaned and nearly died.
He fed them formula from a baby bottle. “Their ribs were showing and they wouldn’t eat for the first week I got them,” he says. He figures the rest of the dogs either died or were dumped at a shelter.
“People are jumping on the backyard breeding bandwagon thinking they can make a quick buck,” says Chris Fitzgerald director of Rochester Animal Control. “We get all kinds of dogs with genetic deformities coming in.”
Yet Fitzgerald acknowledges sick, injured or dangerous dogs account for just one in 10 euthanasia cases. Records show most dogs are healthy and young.
Jenn Fedele- founder of a put bull rescue organization called Pitty Love Rescue- says pit bulls are often surrendered or left to run the streets when they become too much for an owner who is often unfamiliar with the breed.
“If you buy from a backyard breeder and you have a problem with your dog- even at six months old- you’re stuck,” says Fedele. “People end up taking them to a shelter.”
Disposable Dogs
So many pit bulls are euthanized at the shelter on Verona Street, it’s too expensive to cremate their bodies. Photographs obtained by 13WHAM News show the mother dog and her eight puppies being wrapped in a black garbage bag.
They are kept in a freezer and eventually taken by dump truck to a landfill. “They’re dumped basically,” says former employee Andrew Dunning. He says employees “do it humanely and with compassion” but it also takes a
On the other side of the city, the cages at Rochester Animal Control are filled with pit bulls and pit bull-mixed breed dogs. For nearly all of them, this is the end of a short, sad road.
“We’re injecting them, we do it every day,” says Andy Dunning who no longer works at RAC. “We do it professionally but it’s day after day, week after week.”
Patches, Rocky, Prince, Honey. They are among the hundreds of pit bulls who were euthanized in the year that ended last June, according to documents 13WHAM News obtained under the Freedom of Information Law.
“They just come in and they’re glad to be out of their cage- when they get there they like the attention, they’re wagging their tails” says Dunning.
Most of the dogs are around 18 months old. But in the age column many are listed as “0” – new born puppies.
As part of our investigation, 13WHAM News obtained photos of a mother dog – and her eight puppies- injected one at a time. “It’s like a look of surprise sometimes, then they just keel over,” says Dunning. “Every time it’s sad, this innocent creature has been put to sleep.”
Because of liability issues most shelters rarely adopt out pit bull dogs of any age. In the last year Rochester Animal Control put down 1,028 dogs of that breed. Almost three a day.
Backyard Breeders
“It’s a breeding problem,” says Dunning.
Back yard breeders trying to cash in on the popularity of the bread are saturating the streets with unwanted animals. Darryl Bridges says he “rescued” his two dogs Yaayo and Bella from the guy who lives around the corner.
“He had about 12 puppies in just one room,” Bridges says, but no sign of the mother dogs. “One room, 12 puppies, one bowl of food,” he adds. At four weeks old the puppies hadn’t been weaned and nearly died.
He fed them formula from a baby bottle. “Their ribs were showing and they wouldn’t eat for the first week I got them,” he says. He figures the rest of the dogs either died or were dumped at a shelter.
“People are jumping on the backyard breeding bandwagon thinking they can make a quick buck,” says Chris Fitzgerald director of Rochester Animal Control. “We get all kinds of dogs with genetic deformities coming in.”
Yet Fitzgerald acknowledges sick, injured or dangerous dogs account for just one in 10 euthanasia cases. Records show most dogs are healthy and young.
Jenn Fedele- founder of a put bull rescue organization called Pitty Love Rescue- says pit bulls are often surrendered or left to run the streets when they become too much for an owner who is often unfamiliar with the breed.
“If you buy from a backyard breeder and you have a problem with your dog- even at six months old- you’re stuck,” says Fedele. “People end up taking them to a shelter.”
Disposable Dogs
So many pit bulls are euthanized at the shelter on Verona Street, it’s too expensive to cremate their bodies. Photographs obtained by 13WHAM News show the mother dog and her eight puppies being wrapped in a black garbage bag.
They are kept in a freezer and eventually taken by dump truck to a landfill. “They’re dumped basically,” says former employee Andrew Dunning. He says employees “do it humanely and with compassion” but it also takes a
