Saving Tron: One dog’s life…
Despite its claimed commitment to “No Kill” standards and a 10-million-dollar annual budget, killing has become the preferred method of disposition for homeless animals at Multnomah County’s animal control department (MCAS). For the past 9 months, MCAS has been under the leadership of Interim Director Wade Sadler, an individual without public shelter experience who has aggressively carried forward the harsh policies and practices established by former director Jackie Rose, an individual who left for Ventura California after low animal welfare marks in 2 consecutive audits. Tron, once an MCAS “poster child” on an MCAS shelter advertisement, is the latest victim of “No Kill.”
Although multiple rescue and foster offers have been made for Tron, one a non-profit Washington sanctuary and rescue, another an MCAS non-profit placement partner for 20 years, as well as two volunteers all of whom have reviewed his records and have come to know Tron well, MCAS management has refused to listen, remaining silent when offers are made. Community professional input is rejected as well, viewed as intrusive. The legacy left by Jackie Rose is a tyrannical one in which the public and rescues are excluded from participation. Her policies, unabated and now set in stone, continue through those she selected and left behind.
Deliberate silence from the fortress at MCAS means we don’t know whether or not Tron is still alive. So, we will act and behave as if he is still, hoping to save his life.
Tron (pictured above) is an ordinary family dog. His history is unremarkable: two dog fights while “at large,” both with the next-door Rottweiler and multiple at large charges of no consequence (no one hurt; no attacks). He was impounded on October 05, 2017 with a demand for owner surrender when his owner failed to keep the fence and house secure. Until he was impounded, Tron had lived happily in a multi -generational family. He was very good with children and his close companion, Kiwi, a Golden Retriever, fine with some dogs and not others. He was not an independently motivated escape artist as described by MCAS but an “opportunist” who wandered out when gates and doors were left open or fencing was allowed to become insecure. Offered for adoption throughout the first 10 months of his impoundment Tron was declared “unadoptable” in January 2019, one month after MCAS posted the following description.
- “Hello! My name is Tron. I'm a 5-year-old Pit Bull that weighs 59lbs! Today, during the Days of December Adoption Special, you can bring me home for a $29 adoption fee plus a license fee! I am a bit of a sensitive guy, but I do love being pet and I am big on booty and belly rubs! I also like to play with balls and squeaky toys. I know some cues, like "sit", "down", "shake", and "roll over"! Sometimes I can jump fences, so my new home will need to have a fully enclosed space for me, with a secure, 6ft fence. I will also need to be the only pet in the household as I want all your love and attention to myself. Our adoption counselors will go over my needs and adoption requirements with you more in person. I AM IN A DIFFERENT AREA OF THE SHELTER, SO PLEASE ASK A STAFF MEMBER IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MEET ME! (REALLY EXCITED TO MEET YOU, NOT SCREAMING!)“
When no adopters materialized (in large part because of all the unreasonable adoption restrictions: $100 carry over fine that belonged to the owner, a “potentially dangerous dog” sign featuring a lunging slathering red eyed dog sign suitable for a Stephen King novel; a kennel, and muzzling. Tron was immediately labeled “unadoptable” and slated for killing. There was no reported change in behavior. There had been no new incidents, just a “reinterpretation” of known history towards the preferred outcome of killing.
Until late December 2018, Tron was free to exercise and play. When he was placed on the “unadoptable” status, newly imposed conditions and restrictions, ended all of Tron’s freedom to play. He was only allowed out on short muzzled walks at the direction of MCAS “Canine Specialist” Danielle Haywood with the obvious and intended effect of increasing stress. Without play and exercise, he became distressed. No plan to offset his distress caused by the punishing effects of solitary confinement, isolation, and severely limited activity was ever put into place.
He was placed on an “unadoptable” status and slated for killing simply because he was unadopted and despite the fact that two qualified rescue organizations and two responsible individuals have repeatedly asked to take him. Even when Tron’s owner offered to give up his legal claims and his lawyer offered to pay for a behavioral assessment by a veterinarian known by MCAS to be both expert and realistic, MCAS did not respond. All offers were rejected or ignored without explanation and Tron’s fate was sealed. Two dog fights were translated into a “history” of aggression that required a death sentence when all that was needed was a good fenced yard, a responsible owner, and minimal training. Nothing more. Tron’s case is unfortunately typical now.
MCAS claims to be No Kill while in fact rejecting the entire field of animal behavior science and available rescue assistance in order to justify killing. Diagnostic and prognostic terms mean whatever they want them to mean, only used as terms of convenience. The assessment system and process at MCAS are shockingly unprofessional; animals are labeled “unhealthy and untreatable” when they are not and when their needless killing could be easily avoided. As long as an incident can be prevented, that means a companion animal is manageable, rehabilitable or both.
MCAS has created a grotesque caricature of No Kill and placed it within an authoritarian regime whose mission is zealous killing behind doors closed to the public, and requiring death when many safe humane options can be found. The agency treats sentient animals like prisoners awaiting final sentencing, not simply animals for whom a path toward rehabilitation can be planned.
Once MCAS’s secretive Shelter Review Committee decides upon killing, it twists, changes, inflates and distorts information in order to pursue its goal. This happens in case after case. When MCAS wants to promote a shelter dog, it writes glowingly. When it doesn’t, the dogs are knocked out of the game, losers in the competition for life. It is a quick slide from the adoption floor to the crematorium.
The pictures above of Tron at play with an MCAS volunteer demonstrate that Tron deserves to live. I hope it is not too late to save Tron. Please telephone, and/or E-mail the following government officials and ask that the rescue offers made for Tron be permitted.
Gail O’Connell- Babcock, PhD
Citizens for Humane Animal Legislation/Watchdog
Contact Information
Jamie Waltz, Interim Director, Multnomah County Community Services, Telephone (503) 988-7968, E-mail jamie.waltz@multco.us
Marissa Madrigal. Chief Operating Officer,
Telephone (503) 988-3292, E-mail marissa.d.madrigal@multco.us
Multnomah County Board of Commissioners
Deborah Kafoury, County Chair,
E-mail mult.chair@multco.us Telephone (503) 988-3308
Sharon Meieran, District 1,
E-mail district1@multco.us Telephone (503) 988-5220
Susheela Jayapal, District 2,
E-mail district2@multco.us Telephone (503) 988-5219
Jessica Vega Pederson, District 3,
E-mail district3@multco.us, Telephone (503) 988-5217
Lori Stegmann, District 4,
E-mail district4@multco.us Telephone (503) 988-5213