The purpose of this petition is to prevent the sudden decision to euthanize 11 rescue dogs at Hawaiian Humane Society and instead continue to seek out viable treatment solutions from local resources.

Back in October of 2016, over 330 dogs were confiscated by Hawaiian Humane Society from a Waianae rescue that kept them in filthy, unhealthy conditions.  This was the largest rescue undertaken by HHS.  In March of 2017, HHS finally won custody of these animals, meaning HHS now has legal right to make the animals available for adoption.  As of May 19, 2017, over 300 of those animals were adopted out successfully!  However, eleven (11) of the original 330+ dogs have now been scheduled for euthanization within the next few days, and only HHS can reverse this decision.

Naturally, any no-kill shelter would deem space as a determining factor for many decisions.  However, HHS claims it is not an effort to make space in the shelter, but more of a decision that these 11 dogs are not fit for adoption due to behavior or medical issues.  Many, many volunteers are devastated by the news because these problem behaviors have been known for quite a while and volunteers have invested their hearts and so many hours into seeing that the dogs receive the care they need, all the while thinking that all of the dogs are on their way to full rehabilitation and adoption.  All the while, volunteers believed that professionals were at work with these dogs to treat their behaviors in the shelter, but that may not have been the case.

As a volunteer since these dogs were first confiscated and coming from a background in dog obedience training, in my observation, some dogs' general behavior have declined while in the shelter, but some dogs have made vast improvements and may even be treatable if paired with professionals or at least attentive handlers.  One such dog is Scout, who came from the Waianae rescue as a quite skiddish dog, seemingly high energy with a tendency to jump a lot, or pull on leash and lunge at other animals.  I've worked with him just about every week, naturally becoming quite fond of him, and found that with a little bit of training and my undivided attention, he is a great walking partner!  He enjoys burying his toys in dirt or loose grass, and given the choice between lunging at a cat and a yummy treat, he would choose the treat.  But he was not even given a chance at adoption yet.  If a willing, attentive, and knowledgeable person comes around, then Scout would be a great candidate for adoption because his behavior has the high potential to be curbed with treatment!  To see him come this far only to be euthanized is not why I volunteer.

I believe that one or more of the eleven dogs are treatable for behavior and the decision to suddenly euthanize such dogs without first reaching out for local professional and expert advice would not fit the definition of a no-kill shelter.  Such a sudden decision to euthanize would cause volunteers, donors, and the community to lose faith in such a reputable company like the no-kill shelter Hawaiian Humane Society.  But because HHS is so large and visible, community members will continue to support and surrender animals to HHS, not knowing that the better alternative is a different shelter that makes more effort to treat problem behaviors.

We, the undersigned, call on the Hawaiian Humane Society to halt the decision to suddenly euthanize the 11 remaining rescue dogs from Waianae.  We ask that HHS reaches out to local experts for advice and the opportunity to meet and implement a training plan for those dogs that are charged with behavior problems before considering euthanasia in the future.