A mother dog was euthanized at the Amarillo Animal Shelter, immediately after giving birth, officials from Amarillo Animal Management and Welfare confirmed on Friday.
This week, a post surfaced on social media regarding the story of a dog that was euthanized this week by Animal Management and Welfare immediately after giving birth. The post said the dog had just given birth and was euthanized, just moments after giving birth. The post went on to say that the dog spent her last moments licking her newborn puppies.
In an interview on Friday, Animal Management & Welfare director Richard Havens told the Amarillo Pioneer that the dog gave birth the day after it was turned over to Animal Welfare officials.
"The original owners called us, reported the dog as being aggressive, and signed over custody of the dog to Animal Management & Welfare," Havens said. "She was the legal property of the City of Amarillo."
Havens said after the dog gave birth the next day, officials chose to euthanize the dog, due to its aggressive reports.
"She went into labor and we made the decision to euthanize," Havens said. "She was not a candidate for adoption or to be placed into a foster program, due to her aggression."
When asked for the status of the puppies, Havens confirmed that the newborn puppies were also euthanized with the mother. Havens also pushed back against claims that the dog was licking its newborns, calling that "absolutely untrue."
According to Havens, there is a "high probability" that female cats and dogs brought into the shelter will be pregnant due to the climate in Amarillo. Havens also said that euthanasia is used in some cases for pregnant animals, but spay aborts are more common, due to that practice being considered a "best practice."
Officials from the Amarillo-Panhandle Humane Society, the group responsible for adoptions at the shelter, released a statement on social media on Friday, stating that it does not condone euthanasia of animals that are in labor.
"The Amarillo-Panhandle Humane Society in no way condones the euthanization of any animal while giving birth," officials said in a Facebook post on Friday. "Please understand that APHS and Amarillo Animal Management & Welfare are two separate organizations. AAM&W is city funded. It is responsible for the intake of all animals that come into the animal shelter. AAM&W also has the sole responsibility for euthanization."
According to intake numbers from April, 984 animals were taken into the shelter in April 2018, with 21.75 percent being euthanized. That number was up from the 19.60 percent euthanasia rate of March 2018, with 1,061 animals being brought into the shelter. Numbers for the month of May are not yet available.
For more information, please visit http://amw.amarillo.gov/home-animalmanagement.
Photo by Dacia Anderson