Boost was the beloved Boxer of Marcus Campbell. Boost got out of his yard back in May of this year. He wore a collar but had no tags. A nice, older couple found Boost and did the right thing by taking him to their local animal shelter- the Walker County Humane Society, Alabama.
It was 4PM on that fateful day when Boost arrived with this nice couple. The circumstances surrounding Boost’s arrival become cloudy after this point. Or do they? According to Lane Reno, shelter director, Boost was aggressive and the staff needed to use a “capture pole” to grab him out of the crate from the back of the truck he was brought in. This nice couple has stated that Boost never showed any signs of aggressiveness. And if he did, would they truly put themselves in harm’s way to capture him?
After 30 minutes, according to Reno, Boost, whom staff thought was a pitbull or pitbull mix (isn’t the staff supposed to differentiate dog breeds???), showed aggressive behavior and hinted that Boost tried to bite someone and deemed unadoptable and subsequently “killed” 30 minutes after his arrival.
Someone has acquired the surveillance video from the parking lot of this shelter and inside the lobby of this shelter on this day/time in question. No capture pole was used whatsoever and Boost was more than willing to get out of the crate on his own with a light leash as anyone can clearly see in the video. You can see the video for yourself here. You can also view a newscast with the shelter director in her own words at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAniAxm0VII.
Marcus Campbell arrived at the shelter the next morning when he heard Boost was at the shelter. He arrived before they opened. When questioned about his dog, he was told his beloved pet was euthanized. This has caused an outrage since the video has hit youtube. However original news reports said the shelter was forced to “euthanize” Boost because the shelter was full and there was no room for him.
Mr. Campbell is suing the shelter and rightly so!!! This makes me so furious….so furious…….there is no justification for what this shelter did which leads me to my next question? What if that had been your dog?
Any dog has the propensity to bite and dogs in new situations, particularly animal shelters, do not always show their true personalities. Many dogs are so frightened by the sound of all of the barking dogs and unfamiliarity of their new surrounding that they do act out. I have witnessed it firsthand! BUT……that was NOT the case with Boost. The video makes a liar out of the shelter director and my belief is that she should be fired for killing a beloved pet!
And the other burning question for me is………why wait only 30 minutes before you kill a “stray dog”? If you go to their website , they say they can no longer take strays because they are filled to capacity. Come on, a dog comes into your shelter – a docile dog with a colllar- someone’s pet and you can’t wait and make room for one more dog to see if the owner shows up. What happened to a waiting period for the owner to claim the dog? It sounds as if your pet is safer on the streets than at some animal shelters.
Nothing will bring Boost back……I don’t know what I would do if any shelter did that to any of my dogs………there is no reasoning or justification for what this shelter did. I would try everything in my power to get the director and/or anyone else involved in the senseless killing fired! They don’t deserve to be working with animals. Actually I don’t believe they deserve to have any pets at all.
What would you do if your beloved pet was killed for no reason?
You can view a memorial video dedicated to Boost here.