The Legacy of Oreo

I am prompted today to write about a soulful little pit bull name Oreo, who was tragically killed last week at the hands of the ASPCA. I had received an email from the ASPCA last year triumphantly telling Oreo’s story and how they bravely rescued her from her abusive owner. After Oreo’s extremely sad demise, I am thinking about what “humane euthanasia” is, and what it means to different organizations. I touched on this subject two weeks ago when I wrote about the “no-kill revolution”, and I will bring you back to the notion that a “no-kill shelter” means different things to different people, as does “humane euthanasia”.
Oreo was “rescued” last year by the ASPCA after being thrown off from a 6-story building by her extremely abusive owner. She was around one year old, and suffered two broken legs and a fractured rib. Her story was paraded around by the ASPCA and she was deemed the “miracle dog”. It was a very touching story of a dog that had suffered so much, and her upcoming road to recovery.
Last week, after determining that Oreo, at the age of 2, was deemed “too dangerous and unpredictable around people” the ASPCA decided that she could not possibly live a safe and fulfilled life, and they killed her via “humane euthanasia”. While this has outraged many (including myself), it brings many questions to the table by many different parties: What was the evaluation process that determined that Oreo was “too dangerous” and could not be rehabilitated? How much pain was she still in after recovering from her injuries, and had she been given enough time to recuperate and re-learn how to trust humans again? Had she ever even had the opportunity or reasons to trust a human at her young age? From my research, I have not been able to find any reliable information from the ASPCA giving any details of her evaluation, which they describe as “guarded information”.
I know I talk a lot about Best Friends Animal Society, and I do so because I honestly feel that they set the most wonderful example that a real animal welfare organization should display. Being so close with many different aspects of this sanctuary, as well as the employees that work there, I feel that I can speak knowledgably about some of the incidents there. I have seen so many examples of unbelievably aggressive dogs, among other extreme behaviors, being rehabilitated, that I personally have a very hard time believing that there was nothing further that could be done for Oreo. I do not believe that every dog in the world can be rehabilitated from past experiences 100% and be placed in a home, but I do strongly feel that they can be rehabilitated back into a state where they are living a happier life than they would be in the ground, if given the chance and the right expertise. Don’t we, as a society, owe it to dogs like Oreo? Considering the fact that it was our humane race that put her in the situation she was placed in in the first place? I for one am not convinced that Oreo was given a fighting chance, and I don’t believe that many dogs are in the shelters, because it is simply too easy to just kill them, and call it “humane”. Sad of a fact as it is, no one is help accountable for the deaths that occur in some shelters, and many times, are overlooked or even commended.
Despite what your personal belief on humane euthanasia may be, (I don’t believe common ground will ever be reached on that one) sometimes, especially in animal welfare, we must agree to disagree. I believe that in animal welfare there are 3 types of people. One group, the group who makes the right decisions and is currently bringing us closer to a day where there will be no more homeless pets, another group who wants the same end result, but has been educated wrongly or misguided and makes decisions that bring us further away from this goal, and then one who is just in this business for the wrong reasons. Ed Sayers, the President of the ASPCA, earning a $500,000 salary, falls into the last category for me, not solely for that reason…
Pets Alive, a no-kill sanctuary in New York offered to take in Oreo, and rehabilitate her to a point where she was living a quality life, and not threatening those around her. Last week, once they learned of Mr. Sayre’s plans to kill Oreo, they called and emailed him, as well as every other person listed on the ASPCA website. The ASPCA flat out either denied their help, or did not return their calls, or simply hung up on them. How in the world do we ever plan to fix our problems if we cannot work together, or at the very least rationally listen to each other? Are we really all that self-righteous that we cannot even consider accepting the help from someone else? Did they even consider it? If they did, they have not made any notions that they did, and why they did not accept the help.
My point is, no matter which group you are from above, you have to, as a person, accept the fact that you may not always have all of the answers, and sometimes, you might have to seek out help from other sources, because at the end of the day, we are in the business to help the animals; not to protect our image, or earn revenue, and if you are, then you sadly fall into the third group, and should seriously consider a career change.
This was a wonderful sanctuary in New York who was ready and willing to take all of the baggage that came with Oreo, simply because they wanted to SAVE HER LIFE. We are not doing these animals a favor by pulling them out of abusive homes and killing them. We have to find a better solution than just killing them and thinking it’s ok. If you don’t know the solution, then ask someone else who might. Instead of researching ways that they can prevent this from happening again, the ASPCA is busy posting letters of support from PETA, and defending themselves, while blindly throwing jabs at nearly everyone credited for the no-kill revolution.On the other side of the fence, there are 2 people, New York Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner and State Senator Thomas K. Duane who are planning to introduce a law to ensure that this does not happen again. “Oreo’s Law” will prevent organizations from killing an animal when there is another shelter or rescue that is willing and able to take them in. It is modeled after a similar law, Hayden Law, which was voted into California State with overwhelming acceptance and success in 1998. I encourage you to research and support this law, and the thought of never thinking you are too big, or the politics are too messy to help out our animals. At the end of the day, you will be judged on whether or not you did the right thing, and this killing, to me, was not the right thing. Whether you agree with me or not, keep your mind open and keep your best interest in the right place.