Three of the dead dogs pictured here were listed on local Facebook pages as “free to good home.”

The dead husky has a story. She was found dead, wrapped in a shower curtain. She was listed as “free to good home,” and the notice stated that she was purebred and great with kids. In spite of that endorsement, the family “couldn’t” keep her because they were having a baby. She was found dead within weeks of that posting. The person who shared these pictures wrote:

This poor girl has had her face literally peeled from her body and there are deep puncture wounds between her front legs. I do not know what caused them but I can say with CERTAINTY she did not die quickly or peacefully.”

When a local rescuer called the woman who had placed that ad and given the husky to its killer, the woman blamed the local rescues for the dog’s death — not the sadistic killer who tortured the dog before killing it. “It’s the rescue’s fault because they won’t help the average Joe. So I couldn’t get a rescue to take the dog.” She didn’t want the dog to go to the local shelter to be killed, so she gave the dog to a stranger.

The dog died a horrific death. The person who took the picture shared that, “It looked like the face had been surgically removed.” If the owner had taken the dog to her local vet to be killed, it would have been a kinder end.

The two dogs laid out next to each other were also listed on a local Facebook page as “two bonded pits free to good home.” It appears that they suffered greatly before dying. The poster wrote, “There are bite wounds and lacerations all over their bodies. They’ve been here, dumped like garbage after obviously having been fought. They were most likely dumped still alive and left to slowly bleed out. If they were lucky, they got to pass out before succumbing to death.” When the former owner of those dogs was called, even after repeated calls, there was no response.

The last picture doesn’t even look like a dog. It’s the bones of a dog who died anonymously and whose body was disposed of as if it were a thing of no consequence, a piece of garbage. There were multiple broken bones in the garbage bag, but the body was there so long that it’s impossible to determine how the dog died. But the person who found the remains says, “I’d be willing to bet money it was a ‘free to good home’ baby as well.”
This all took place and still takes place in Kilpatrick, Alabama, where the dead and dying dogs are dumped. Animal rescuers go there to try to help those who are still alive. The local law enforcement is no help at all. Unless there is proof that a dog was dumped alive, there is no crime. Dumping a dead dog — no matter how it died — is just against a local ordinance and punishable by a fine. This is in the area where the local animal control officer shot two dogs instead of catching them last year according toWHNT19 News.

Free to good home? There is no such thing.

When you get a “free” dog or cat, it’s not really free. That’s because responsible pet owners have their dogs seen by a veterinarian, vaccinated, and kept on preventatives (like heartworm and flea preventatives) to keep them healthy and happy. Responsible owners don’t give their animals to strangers.

Free to good home?

If someone isn’t willing to pay a rehoming fee, run away. If you MUST rehome a dog or cat, demand a veterinary reference. Most vets will provide that, especially if the prospective adopter gives permission. Make sure that current or past pets were kept up-to-date on vaccinations and were spayed or neutered. If people can’t afford to give their dog proper medical care, they shouldn’t get your dog. And if they can’t give you any references (personal and/or work), don’t give them your dog!

Your pet is helpless and dependent on you for its life, security and happiness. You owe it to the creature that depends on you to make sure that you are delivering it into a safe home. Instead of allowing someone to take the dog or cat home, insist on bringing the pet to the potential new home yourself so you can see where it will live. Also, call and check on how the new situation is working out. Make the adopter(s) sign an agreement that if they ever don’t want the pet, they will call you and give the dog or cat back to you first.

There are just too many animals who are passed from family to family, confused and scared, and who end up chained outside, unwanted, unloved. There are too many cats who are dumped to fend for themselves in hostile environments — cats who once were loved and petted and now dodge stones thrown by ignorant children.

If you know anyone who needs to rehome a pet, please share this information with that person. There are many rescues that will do a courtesy posting of animals in need of homes. The rescue might even be willing to help with references and to make sure that the animal is going to a good home. Your pet is depending on you — don’t let it down!

The original Facebook post can be found here. Some of the groups who help are Furever Friends of the South K9 Rescue and 2nd Chance Shelter.

(This is a reprint of the article originally published on Examiner.com. on April 10, 2016.  69,000 people “liked” it on Facebook, and it was widely shared. It still serves as an important lesson.)

If not for the act of a good Samaritan passing by, Trooper was destined to die slowly, painfully, and cruelly. He was abandoned horribly injured — intentionally — in a rural area near a retention pond. A woman driving by saw a beagle standing in the water. She thought it was curious that he was just standing there in the water, so she stopped to investigate. What she saw horrified her.

When she pulled the dog from the water, she saw something out of a horror movie. This young dog’s testicles had been wrapped with thick rubber bands and the whole area had turned black. The testicles were literally rotting off his body. She rushed him to the veterinarian, and it was lucky that she did, for without immediate surgery, this dog would have died. The rescuer paid the $500 bill for the surgery, but the dog was also diagnosed with heartworm, and the woman didn’t have the money for treatment. She posted for help on a local Oveido Facebook page.

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Dexter was killed by Miami Dade Animal Services, but only after getting the standard — almost inevitable — label of “agressive.” Volunteers say he was not aggressive at all, and his video would appear to support that statement.

The video of Dexter shows a dog whose purpose in life appears to be getting some petting. He cries and jumps with his tail wagging, begging for attention. Here is another video showing him in his kennel, sweet and thrilled to get some attention.

He was never given a chance by the shelter. It would appear that they had no intention of bringing him to the new shelter. He and countless other dogs remained at the old shelter to be killed at their leisure. (The shelter won’t allow volunteers in the old shelter any longer, so no one knows exactly how many dogs were left behind.)

The volunteers loved Dexter and were networking him to find a rescue to take this sweet and loving dog. He had been kenneled with other dogs without a problem. If he — suddenly and without reason — became aggressive to other dogs, the shelter could have left him alone in a cage. But the speed with which he was labeled and then killed speaks of a plan to not take Dexter to the new shelter. The shelter lied to those who inquired about Dexter. One person posted on Facebook:

I’m so upset and pissed at the same time!! I went there (to the new shelter) to see Dexter when I couldn’t find him I gave his ID number to a guy and he told me he was at the old shelter and I asked him why and he told me he had URI and as soon as he recovered he would be transferred. I even asked if I could go to the old shelter to meet him and was told no!! I’m heartbroken things will never change!!!!”

One volunteer told Dexter’s story. She said, “First time I met him was in adoption floor, he was alone. He was sleeping and when woke up, grabbed his tennis ball, wanted to play. (A) couple of days later, I saw him he was with Sultan (male), same kennel. He was crying for attention, no aggression towards Sultan who was next to him. Next time I saw him he was moved to another kennel in the adoption floor with a bigger dog, female. Dexter only wanted attention.”

Then Dexter was moved to the back of the notorious west wing, where dogs are taken before being killed. No one goes there (except volunteers), and it’s a stressful area for dogs. There are no fans, it’s hot and humid, and the “aggressive” dogs are kept there. Dexter was there, in a small kennel, still crying for attention. He only calmed down when she pet him. This was the Friday before the new shelter opened. Another visitor posted:

I have walked and played with him. Not one single ounce of aggression, very playful, curious and sweet.”

According to volunteers, he was in the west wing for a week before the shelter documented a change in his behavior. That might have contributed to any change in behavior, but the staff didn’t make any effort to help Dexter. It’s much easier to slap on the “aggressive” label and kill them. (See “Miami county shelter labels more dogs “aggressive” so they can be killed“)

Four-year-old Dexter, beloved by volunteers, was killed on June 15, two days after the beautiful new shelter opened to much publicity. Unfortunately for Dexter, his life didn’t matter to those in charge. He was never slated to be part of the new shelter. He was left alone, unseen and unloved, at the old shelter.

34 animals were killed at the end of May in one 24-hour period. This is a shelter that says it’s “no kill,” but when they label animals as “aggressive,” or “sick,” they can kill them without the kills being added to the no kill numbers. So even if they killed 100 animals in one day, so long as those animals were either labeled “aggressive” or “sick,” they could still say they have a 90% live save rate. It’s all about playing the numbers. (See “Playing the numbers game: Is MDAS really no kill?“)

Dexter, there are many who miss you and are sorry that Miami Dade Animal Services and those in charge at this (kill) shelter betrayed you. Please know that you were loved. The volunteers tried to save you.

Watch the short video, Silent Shelter trailer, to see how MDAS and other shelters punish volunteers who speak out about shelter abuses. They take away their volunteer privileges and worse, take away their ability to pull dogs from the shelter. More than one volunteer at MDAS has been told that they couldn’t volunteer at the shelter anymore because of their posts exposing the shelter practices (you are too negative, was the shelter’s explanation). It’s an excellent video and it shows exactly why change is so difficult to enact. When those who desire the change are intimidated by those in charge, nothing changes.