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Rosie’s Fund

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This article was originally posted on Bob's Council Watch, a blog dedicated to following the actions of our local government leaders.

I met Rosie a few weeks ago. She was a beautiful young girl, with loads of energy, and a personality that would melt the coldest heart. She would gaze into my eyes as she leaned into me for attention. Watching her play, I couldn't help but think how lucky would be the family that she became a part of.

Two days after I met her, Rosie was dead.

To this day, the circumstances of her passing, and those of a not-so-clear number of her fellow housemates at the Rockwall Animal Adoption Center remain shrouded in controversy. According to some reports, several dogs began showing signs of an upper respiratory infection early in the week. The symptoms "looked like" canine distemper, a contagious and often fatal disease. Several dogs were quickly selected to be put down to prevent the spread of the virus. Rosie was one of them.

The timing of this incident could not have been worse, as the City Council had only a few weeks before adopted a ninety percent adoption goal for its shelter population, which would have effectively made it a "no-kill" facility. The resolution attracted the attention of rescue groups nationwide, as there are few city or county-run shelters that strive to do any more than "control" stray or unwanted pets. We were in the spotlight.

To make matters even worse, when calls came into the shelter seeking information on the situation, staffers did the worst thing they possibly could have done - they clammed up. There is nothing like a stony "no comment" to fuel speculation and rumors. Facebook and Twitter pages lit up like a West Texas wildfire. The shelter was killing all the animals. Staffers were picking out the animals they didn't like for euthanasia. Pit bulls were the first to go. On and on it went.

The firestorm has died down somewhat, but facts are still hard to come by. Were animals tested for the virus before being put down? What symptoms had to appear before an animal was selected for euthanasia? How many, exactly, were killed? With so many volunteers ready and willing to help, why were they shut out?

At the October 3rd City Council meeting, these questions and more were brought up in an emotionally charged public forum. One after another, shelter volunteers and animal lovers who worked hard over the last year to make no-kill a reality in Rockwall expressed their shock and dismay over the apparent dismissal by shelter staff of their efforts. In an especially touching moment, volunteer Darla Rupert tearfully recalled her last encounter with Rosie.

"I walked Rosie, the brown and white pit bull, and she was just as happy as a dog in a shelter can be. During one of our walks, we stopped and she basked in the sun and smiled at me while I rubbed her belly. Her tail never stopped wagging the entire 30 minutes that I walked and bonded with her. If I would have known she was going to be killed, I never would have left her there."

When it came time for Council to act on a protocol for handling situations like this in the future, it appeared that they had been listening. A euthanasia protocol drafted over the last few weeks by city staff was put on hold pending further study in light of last week's events. Since it has become clear that there is a disconnect between shelter workers and volunteers, guidelines for cooperation between the two groups are in order. Most importantly, stronger wording is needed specifying euthanasia as a last resort after all other options have been exhausted.

Ms. Rupert suggested in a Facebook posting this morning that the re-worked protocol should be labeled "Rosie's Law". Seems appropriate to me.

Update: Rosie's legacy lives on! Local shelter volunteer group Rockwall Pets has established a fund in her name to help shelter dogs who might otherwise be put down due to treatable disease. To find out more about Rosie's Fund and how you can help, visit rockwallpets.com/rosie.html.

Bob Lewis, Planet Rockwall
Posted Friday, October 14, 2011 in Living, Special Features, Pets, Volunteers, Communities, City of Rockwall,