KINNELON, NJ -- After her 10-pound bichon was reportedly mauled by a dog adopted from a local shelter, a Kinnelon resident is calling for a stepped up effort to ensure the proper placement of dogs in new adoptive homes.
At the July 26 Bloomingdale Borough Council meeting, Alice Moore of the Fayson Lakes community reported that her dog walker was walking her bichon when a neighbor's dog, a Labrador mix, adopted from the Bloomingdale Regional Animal Shelter Society (BASS) dodged its fence and attacked her dog.
Moore said she would like to know who checked the dog and determined it would be a good match for her neighbor's family, which consists of first-time dog owners with three young children. Although her neighbors were told the dog was a lab mix, Moore claimed the dog has pit bull in its breeding.
Moore said BASS did inform her neighbor that the dog might go after small prey, but there is a difference between a dog that goes after prey for fun and a dog that goes after prey to kill, she said.
"I'm a rescue person. I even donated $100 for further training for this dog. I don't want it euthanized, but I never want something like this to happen again," said Moore. "My concern is how were they matched? I'd like to understand the background of the dog."
Moore said in her years involved with rescue dogs, first-time dog owners and owners with children are not permitted to adopt dogs with aggressive tendencies. Moore said her bichon was seriously injured and $1,500 in veterinarian bills were incurred to save her pet.
Mayor Jonathan Dunleavy asked if the matter was discussed with BASS.
Moore said her neighbor returned the dog to BASS and the dog was quarantined. Moore said BASS was sorry about the incident and maintained that the dog was a smart animal that had worked with a trainer and done well in the training course.
Mayor Dunleavy said the borough did not take the matter lightly and asked Borough Administrator Ted Ehrenburg to contact BASS about the incident to gather background information about the dog and relay the information to Moore.
On July 28, Ellen Ribitzki, BASS president, said all dogs are temperament tested before they are put out for adoption. Labs, shepherds, huskies, and pit bulls have prey drive tendencies. Though an incident such as this one is one of the liabilities associated with running a shelter, such incidents very seldom happen, she said.
"The dog went through training. This is an unfortunate incident. We do the best we can to match dogs with owners," she said.
(NorthJersey.com - July 31, 2011)
