The State Attorney’s Office said recently that the dogs’ owner had tried to surrender them several times before and the shelter could not take them.
Putnam County’s shelter does not euthanize dogs, which means that dogs can be turned away when the shelter is too full. (A kill shelter might euthanize one dog to make room for another, for a variety of reasons.)
The organization called the no-kill policy “inhumane,” and said it increases the population of unwanted animals. The letter says that no-kill policies force shelters to turn dogs away to avoid euthanasia “at all cost.”
“When ‘no-kill’ shelters inevitably and almost immediately fill to capacity, the animals most in need are turned away, an inherently dangerous and deadly policy that results in the birth of more unwanted animals and potentially fatal consequences when the rejected animals are aggressive,” said PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA urges Putnam County to open its shelter doors wide and take its obligation to serve and protect its residents seriously.”