I am going to try and get through this without becoming a blubbering fool. I’ve been quiet here since last week because of one beautiful brown and white one year old pit bull who survived against all odds from being thrown off a 6 story building only to meet her end on Friday at the end of a euthanasia order. Yes of course I am referring to Oreo. By now the infamous Oreo.
I was totally convinced we could save her. As soon as I heard on Thursday night from Deanna at For the Love of Dog Blog that the order to euthanize had been given by the NY ASPCA President Ed Sayre, I was on the move trying to get someone to intervene. I emailed everybody I could think of, I even twittered Cesar Milan who was Washington, DC at the time, Best Friends and anybody else in the animal rescue world that was listening. Before too long on Friday morning, it was obvious that I wasn’t the only one campaigning and there was a palatable push throughout North America that quickly spread to global proportions to have Oreo turned over to a sanctuary where she could undergo further testing, training, socializing and above all, a longer time to recuperate from her 1 whole year of being brutalized by every person she ever came into contact with. I refer to her owner of course, Fabian Henderson, who will no doubt get off with slap on the wrist when he shows up at court December 1, 2009 for sentencing on his guilty plea.
But I also refer to her human handlers who took over from the veterinary hospital after she was treated for what must have been hundreds of broken bones from the fall. Her pain must have been excruciating and she had no way of telling these humans where she hurt except by way of lashing out at them when they tried to touch or get close. No one can say for sure whether she was even ready to leave the hospital when she was transferred to the ASPCA shelter, no one can know if maybe something wasn’t causing her extreme pain still.
Her fear must have been accelerated after knowing nothing but brutality at the hands of her owner, pain at the hands of those well meaning veterinary staff and now more pain and fear in an institution that is filled with barking, meowing and generally distressed animals who are also afraid, confused and possibly in pain as well. Now she has more humans trying to “test” her for sociability, aggression, adoptability and the right to live a full and joyous life.
I read about those tests they do to dogs to measure their aggression or sociability. I have not read anything good about them. Running at a dog whose life had been filled with torture to this point waving your arms and making loud noises is not a measure of Oreo’s aggression level or sociability. It is a measure of her fear. And believe me, she was extremely afraid. She had every God given right to be and I’m not a dog whisperer or even an expert in dog behaviour in any way shape or form but I understand them. I know what causes them fear and I know how they react to fear. Fight or flight, it is basic instinct and Oreo couldn’t run anywhere so what was her alternative? Fight of course. It’s so simple and I get so angry that all these trained specialists couldn’t see beyond their stupid accepted “board approved” tests to actually use their heart and their soul to feel what Oreo was feeling.
Oreo should have been released to a sanctuary immediately after she was deemed well enough to leave the hospital. Brought into a quiet, loving atmosphere with people with the time and patience to help her to learn to trust again. Shelter staff at the ASPCA don’t have the time nor the patience and as far as we know, they may not even like their jobs! At least at a sanctuary there is little question of the devotion of the staff and the proprietors. There’s certainly no money making schemes going on because sanctuaries are inherently desperate for cash. No, they do it for love and that’s exactly where Oreo needed to be. So what if she was isolated from the main population for awhile while staff gave her a chance to get used to people she can trust. So what if it took years to bring that trust level up to a point that she could be included in the main population. Imagine the joy and celebration though if Oreo would have been given that chance. I can see the headlines now. MIRACLE DOG FINDS NEW TRUST, LOVE and FOREVER HOME! I would have wept with joy.
Instead at 3:00PM eastern time on Friday afternoon, I wept with grief. Oreo was gone. The ASPCA refused to answer their phones, refused to acknowledge emails, refused dozens of requests from sanctuaries willing to take her and waive liability. One sanctuary in particular, Pets Alive, actually sent someone to the ASPCA shelter to see if they could pull Oreo and were unceremoniously removed from the building by security. I also heard that the Rescue Ink boys showed up as well but I have no verification of that. Didn’t matter if God herself showed up apparently, Sayre was not backing down from his inappropriate decision to euthanize Oreo and that, as they say, was that.
I will include a list of links at the end of this post that I would recommend you read if you want to know more about what happened, who make it happened and what’s been said about it since it happened. But my questions are these:
1. Why was Sayre in such a damn hurry to kill this dog? What was the rush? Another 24 hours would have made no difference. Another 24 hours would allowed him to visit Pets Alive (which is just outside of New York City) and inspect the place to ensure that Oreo would be well provided for.
2. Why did Sayre even issue the press release the night before? He knew of course and actually stated so in his press release that this news was going to cause a huge backlash on the ASPCA? That they would get email and telephone calls. Why issue the press release when he could have just done the deed on the Friday and not announced anything until after it was done. Or not at all. Did he draw all this negative attention to the ASPCA deliberately? Why? It wasn’t to bring in sympathy donations I hope, because from what I’ve seen and heard, the exact opposite has been true since the news broke. Thousands of people have withdrawn support and I even read tonight where one person changed their will yesterday to take the ASPCA out of their estate.
3. Why wouldn’t Sayre answer his phone on Friday and changed his voice mail to dial 0 to reach reception? (Who simply hung up on all calls about Oreo by the way.) This agency is funded by people. Sayre’s 500K a year job is paid for by people. People were calling him and he refused to take their calls. If I refuse to take a call from those who are paying my salary, my ass is grass! Just like that!
4. Where is the documentation from these so called “59 sessions of 45 mins. each” that resulted in Oreo being judged too aggressive to be rehabilitated? I want to see them. I want to hear from the so called “experts” that were supposedly called in.
5. And finally, remember if you will, that it was this very same ASPCA who said that Michael Vick’s fighting dogs all needed to be destroyed. That there was no way to rehabilitate them and that they could never be adopted to normal families? What say you to that, Ed Sayre? Is that why you destroyed Oreo? In revenge for Best Friends, Bad Rap and other sanctuaries who proved you so wrong about the Vick dogs?
I am a cynic I know but I can’t help but wonder if Oreo wasn’t used as a “take that” kind of gesture from an egomaniac who didn’t like being proven wrong. That would explain the press release the night before, the deliberate attempt to stir up the public and draw attention to who…? Ed Sayre of course and it would explain the big rush to destroy Oreo before anyone with any clout could intervene or interfere with the big Boss Man’s spotlight. I wouldn’t be surprised to find Sayre’s name in the top 10 at Google Trends. That’s how much “free” publicity he’s received since this whole drama began late last week.
I’m just saying is all…
Meanwhile my poor heart aches for the life that Oreo should have had and was robbed of. Her original abuser will not get what he deserves because courts don’t have the power yet to throw any kind of justice at assholes who beat on defenceless animals. I am planning on doing everything in my power to bring pressure on the ADA and the judge on this case but it will probably be futile. If the law isn’t there to begin with, there’s little the courts can do about it. The best guess is that he will get 5 years probation and a 5 year ban on owning animals. BIG F___G DEAL! I will be providing names and addresses in an upcoming post about that so make sure you’re subscribed to my RSS feed so you know when that happens.
Here then are the links I mentioned that I suggest you read (including comments if it’s another blog) if you want to know more about what happened to Oreo and why?
Links:
On Oreo, Mabel, and Killing Abused Animals
The meaning of Oreo (excellent article not to be missed)
Despite pleas, Oreo is Euthanized by the ASPCA
And: More Press on the Destruction of Oreo (Thank You to Pets Alive for compiling this list)
All of our efforts to save Oreo failed. But we cannot forget her. No, we must never forget Oreo. Because she is now the symbol of dogs and cats all over the world who are being failed by the national humane societies, SPCA’S and the courts in providing a safe haven against harm for these dear ones who cannot speak for themselves. We must pick up our tissues, wipe our eyes and carry on with the good fight to ensure that laws are passed AND enforced that will, once and for all, protect our four legged brothers and sisters and ensure that each and every one of them is given a chance at a joyful and humane existence. And Big Shots like Ed Sayre who have no compassion, think only of press, money and their own ego requirements need to be removed from a place where they make decision like this asshole did last week.
Add your name to the growing petition to demand Ed Sayre resign or be removed from his position as President of the NYC ASPCA
DEMAND RESIGNATION OF ASPCA PRES. ED SAYRE
Until next time…
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How sad, ‘man’ abused her during her entire short life,for her to finally feel somewhat safe. Only to have people end it. Who are they to DECIDE?Shame on you Aspca.