The Little Rock Animal Village, a shelter that itself  is charged with providing care and protection for our city's animals, recently released an unsterilized female Neapolitan Mastiff to a person claiming the dog was his pet named Darla. However, there is significant evidence suggesting that this claim was false and the two dogs bear no resemblance to each other. This incident raises serious concerns about the administration and staff's ability to effectively verify ownership claims before releasing animals back into the community. Another significant concern is that the Director held this dog for 17 days, according to LRAV policies, after 7 days the dog belonged to the City of Little Rock, at which time they had the right to spay her and chose not to. Rather chosing to release her to a known dog breeder using false information for reclaim.

This incident not only jeopardizes the welfare of this particular dog but also risks contributing to overpopulation if she is used for breeding purposes. According to ASPCA statistics, approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year - many of them are bred by irresponsible breeders.

We demand immediate reforms at Little Rock Animal Village to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. We urge local authorities in Little Rock, AR, USA, to review their policies and procedures regarding animal release and ensure they are robust enough to protect our city's vulnerable animal population. We also urge our City Government to reprimand all current staff involved in this incident including but not limited to The Director and two of his employees which are known dog breeders in our city.

We are tired and we have had enough as a community of the careless, uncompassionate handling, and retributive euthanizing going on at our city's shelter. Volunteers work with the shelter animals daily, but cannot speak to any concerns due to retaliatory behavior from the Director of LRAV. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. PLEASE SIGN TO SAVE OUR CITY'S ANIMALS AND ADDRESS THE CALLOUS, INDIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS IN AUTHORITY.

Please sign this petition if you believe in responsible pet ownership and want better safeguards for our city’s pets at shelters like Little Rock Animal Village.

**Any donations requested by this website when signing are not for this petition and not necessary**