Shelters fail...

[jocomoreno]

So just thought id share an experience I had yesterday at my local shelter.
Every other day I go in to my local shelter and try and better the life of the dogs that are kept there. Yesterday I walked in and saw a shepherd that had been relinquished by its owner who also gave the shelter a fake phone number.
I noticed that the dog, whose name was Otis, had a sign that said "DO NOT WALK" on his kennel. So naturally I inquired as to why and how come. Because hes very fearful of people and has nipped at one of the kennel workers while they were trying to take his food, the shelter manager said. Whats going to become of him, I asked. They said, we dont know what to do with him just yet, weve been trying to get ahold of the owner and ask them to come back and get him because we cant adopt him out like this. Well can I work with him a little bit maybe assess him to see just how bad the problem is? They know im a dog trainer and wouldnt put myself in a stupid situation. I thought they were going to cite liability reasons. Liability would have been an acceptable response. However instead they said this to me: We cant let you assess or work with him because our evaluator has deemed him un-adoptable and it could cause a clash of ideas if you do anything else with him. Just curious can anyone give me their interpretation of that statement? I have my interpretation but I want to hear anyone elses.
This dog was definitely skittish and had a fear of hands but wasnt outwardly aggressive in anyway. More shy/nervous than anything else. He had a fear of raised hands, which leads me to believe some kind of intimidation was going on in the household. Just an assessment from outside this poor boys kennel. He took really well to me after ten minutes or so of just sitting outside his kennel.
Sorry for the wasted forum space. Just thought id vent here since you guys have been through similar situations.otis.jpg

[Teresa]

When someone is given the power to determine whether a dog is adoptable or not, they do not like having other people evaluate or work with the dog because it makes the other shelter workers second guess every dog that is evaluated. Having said that, it is my belief that in Order for shelters to help dogs, they should evaluate the dogs and at least put a plan in place to rehabilitate them and then place them in the right home.
Most of the time "un-adoptable " dogs are euthanized based on evaluation without ever giving them an opportunity to succeed.