Shelter under fire for euthanizing an animal aggressive pit bull

ILLINOIS -- Bubbles, a mixed breed American Staffordshire terrier, was ready to go home with his soon-to-be adoptive family until a split second changed his fate.

The adoptive mom brought her dog to meet Bubbles at Anderson Animal Shelter in South Elgin to make sure the two would get along. The dogs basically ignored each other at first. The dogs were then allowed to go free with leashes dragging, then things changed over a ball.

Bubbles bit the other dog's face and latched on to it.

It wasn't the first time she showed aggression toward a dog. Her aggressive nature would show up again, this time toward a human resulting in a bite. Then she attacked a puppy.

The attacks eventually led Anderson Animal Shelter Executive Director Beth Drake, with assistance from an animal behaviorist, to decide to euthanize Bubbles.

Drake stands by her decision, but Bubbles' death has created an ongoing social media fury that has jeopardized the animal shelter's reputation, she said.

Critics argued Bubbles was not an aggressive dog and circulated a petition via social media in an effort to save the dog's life. The effort collected nearly 3,000 signatures, and messages on a Facebook page gathered hundreds of comments, including some that Drake viewed as threatening to her and the shelter.

"We won't stop making noise and continuing our fight until you are gone from Anderson Animal Shelter and the animals that are still there are safe from meeting the same fate as Bubbles," one commenter wrote.

Anderson Animal Shelter is a no-kill limited admission shelter, Drake said. The term is confusing because the public takes "no kill" literally, she said.

"We are a no-kill but no-kill doesn't mean no euthanasia, it means no euthanasia for adoptable animals," Drake said.

If the shelters did not euthanize animals, "we would be housing animals inhumanely," she said. "It would not be OK according to our philosophy to house an unadoptable animal in a cage for its entire life."

Animals with serious illnesses or injuries are treated to see if they can be brought back to health and be adopted, Drake said. The shelter spends over $300,000 a year on routine veterinarian care and another $50,000 to $60,000 on medical procedures such as specialized surgeries, she said. Some shelters will simply euthanize sick animals, she said.

"We don't do that, we spend that extra money, go that extra mile to make the animal sound," Drake said.

If an animal has a behavior issue, the shelter works with an animal behaviorist to try to make the animal better, she said. An animal with aggression toward other dogs could still be adopted into a family without a dog but, if an animal is severely aggressive, it will be put down, she said.

In Bubbles' case, the behaviorist determined the dog was too much of a threat. "There is no way to anticipate the next target of this type of aggression, there is no way to reasonably manage it in a home or shelter environment," according to a post on the shelter's web page.

Anderson Animal Shelter's euthanasia overall rate through October 2015 was 2.44 percent, Drake said. About .75 percent of the animals put down were due to aggressive behavior, she said. The industry standard is under 10 percent for cats and dogs, Drake said.

"We believe firmly it's our responsibility to keep those animals away from the public," Drake said. "There is obviously lots of gray area in between. We work very hard to move them from the not adoptable side to the adoptable side," she said.

Drake and her staff worked with Bubbles, spending extra time with her and having her take agility classes, she said. Euthanasia was the last resort, she said.

Bubbles bit a staff member in February, which Drake did not find out about until the same staff member was bit a second time in early October. Shelters are supposed to file a report with the Kane County Animal Control whenever an animal bites a human but the report was never made in February, Drake said.

"I can't tell you why we did not file. We addressed those issues. The person responsible is no longer here," Drake said.

In early October, Bubbles lunged at the same staff member, biting her on the arm and abdomen, Drake said. Bubbles was on a leash, so the volunteer was able to pull the dog off the staff member.

A report was made to Animal Control. A few days later, Bubbles attacked a puppy, grabbing it by the back and shaking it, according to reports.

"She showed signs of a typical predator," Drake said, explaining dogs are often territorial and will bark and walk back and forth. A predatory animal will stealthy and silently stalk its victims, she said.

A behaviorist evaluated Bubbles following the bite attacks with Drake, another staff member and three volunteers present. The evaluation took into account Bubble's history and past behavior.

Using what is called Ian Dunbar's bite scale, the consultant found Bubbles was a Level 5. Dogs at this level are "extremely dangerous and mutilates. The dog is simply not safe around people. I recommend euthanasia because the quality of life is so poor for dogs that have to live out their lives in solitary confinement. Based on this, I would not recommend Bubbles in a position to be adopted at this time," the report stated.

"There was an absolute high probability Bubbles would bit again. We couldn't predict who it would be," Drake said. "I have every indication she is going to hurt someone."

Anderson Animal Shelter had an offer from a Crystal Lake based shelter to take Bubbles but, Drake did not want to release a dog she knew would attack again. She did not want to risk any liability for Anderson, and she felt it was an ethical issue as well, she said.

"How in the world could I sleep again releasing a dog I knew would attack someone," she said.

Bubble's story drove one volunteer to start a Facebook page titled "Save Bubbles" which then became "Justice for Bubbles" and to create the petition to keep her alive.

"They don't want me talking about the Bubbles situation," said Debbie Szenda, who started the Facebook page to save Bubbles. She said the shelter's attorney sent her a cease and desist letter stating if she defamed Drake or the shelter she could face legal action. "I am not allowed to say anything negative about Anderson and I can't say anything positive."

Szenda and another volunteer who donated to a fund to sue the shelter were asked not to return, Drake said. The shelter felt the two volunteers' actions were detrimental to its mission, she said.

"Anderson doesn't want the truth to be known," Szenda said. "They've done everything and anything possible to stop the negative press even getting rid of volunteers who've been there years and years."

Drake said only two volunteers were asked to leave and a cease and desist letter does not prohibit anyone from commenting on a situation.

The fallout over Bubbles story has resulted in rumors that Drake wants to address. Among them, is a rumor that Anderson Animal Shelter get puppies from puppy mills to sell, which Drake said is not true. The shelter gets puppies from southern Illinois and other areas in the south, where there is an abundance of puppies and kittens, she said.

"We are not dealing with puppy mills." she said. "I can absolutely guarantee puppies are not coming (here) from puppy mills. We don't sell dogs, we adopt them out."

Another rumor is the shelter has animal bodies stored in a storage shed on the property. The allegation prompted a surprise inspection by the Illinois Department of Agriculture which found that was not the case. The shelter passed its inspection, according to a copy of the report.

Drake said Anderson Animal Shelter has made changes in the last year that have helped ramp up adoptions, she said.

A few examples: the average length of stay for cats and kittens is 19 days from the time they are ready for adoption and dogs and puppies stay an average of 11 days, according to the shelter's records.

Statistics from 2013, the latest full year data the shelter has, showed the average length of stay for cats and kittens was 251 days and 63 days for dogs and puppies, Drake said.

This year, the shelter has had close to 2,000 adoptions, while in 2013 there were 673 adoptions, she said.

Drake also reorganized the foster home program and the shelter now has 200 foster homes, up from 20 to 30 in 2013, she said.

In recent years, the shelter conducted a $700,000 remodeling that also changed some of the philosophy of care. Anderson staff and volunteers have also been implementing positive reinforcement to improve dog behavior. The remodel added cages that allow cats to hide, climb or relax. Cats are predatory animals and become aggressive if they feel they don't have a place to hide, she said.

The Bubbles controversy, however, hasn't ended completely. Calls continue to come in from people begging her not to euthanize Bubbles.

In the next few weeks, Anderson Animal Shelter will be doing its annual mailing to raise funds. Drake worries how the negative feedback and rumors will affect donors and the shelter's ability to help save animals.

"It doesn't take a lot for people not to donate," Drake said. "This is absolutely undercutting our philosophy to take in and save as many animals as possible through adoption."

(Courier News - Dec 5, 2015)