Animal lovers, rescue groups, and adopters are upset and charging that NYC animal shelters are euthanizing pets that had homes waiting for them. The NYC Animal Care and Control system releases a list of “at-risk” animals every evening at 6pm. And potential adopters and rescue groups have until 12 noon the next day to put down a deposit and hold the pet for 48 hours. But because of technical difficulties and flaws in the system, this list was offline in March and several times in February, which proved deadly to some of the pets.
Remy
Case in point, pit bull mixes Remy, Lady and Chard, who were all euthanized even though they had active holds and homes to go to. And the reason? “Computer issues.” Remy’s adopter drove three hours to pick up the loving and child-friendly pup, receipt in hand, only to be told she had already been put down when she arrived. Similarly, Lady had a hold put on her by a Brooklyn rescue group, but it was never recorded, so she was killed a short time later.
Chard
Animal Care and Control maintains that people use fake holds to buy the animals more time, or so they think so. But what really happens is that when an adopter doesn’t show up in the allotted amount of time, the animal is euthanized after the hold expires. The system doesn’t allow for backup rescues or adopters.
Lady
An active rescuer declared,“Frustrating things happen. I’ve pulled two cats and gotten two different ones. I’ve pulled animals [that were advertised as] 3 years old and were actually 13 years old. They always say this is because of computer problems.” Because of this, she sends follow up emails and phone calls to staff members after she places holds at the ACC to try to ensure an animals’ safety.
According to the NY Post, ACC euthanized 5,471 dogs and cats in 2014, up 12.9 percent from 4,844 in 2013. Sadly, these numbers are too high, and demonstrates the need for making this a No-Kill nation. What are your thoughts on this problem? Comment below!
