I am going to give some real world context for this because this case is all about the realities of rescue and how hard decisions are made.
Owners actually do legally have the say when they hand in an animal to the vet OR the pound -- if they ask for the dog to be put down, technically the vet or pound cannot refuse. Some vets do -- but others will say they cannot if they are specifically asked.
I must stress we also knew nothing about this particular dog. I would have liked him to be released but if we had tested him and he was reactive, we may have had to take the same decision -- to pts. I would not hesitate to take this decision. While he seemed to be fine in the short exposure the rescuers had to him, this doesn;t mean he was't biting people. And I DO know of aggressive cavaliers -- sometimes from bad lines due to backyard breeding, sometimes due to them being puppy farm dogs or badly treated. ANY dog can be violent and dangerous INCLUDING a cavalier. Lisa was recently bitten for the very first time during one of Dog Training Ireland's special classes for difficult dogs -- they have run these a couple of times -- and guess what breed bit her? Yes: a cavalier.
Also to give some context: pounds everywhere are the same. Some will work with rescue -- and this particular one does -- but that does not mean they will feel they can take the legal risk of releasing a dog known or said to have bitten. If we rehomed, and he hurt a child seriously, and the new owner sued the pound for releasing a dog which its own records show was biting -- the pound would be in serious trouble as would the county council. Most pounds will not take this risk. We had hoped this one would in this case be willing to turn a blind eye but I was fairly sure they would not release him.
Also I think maybe people need to go in and do some general rescue from the pounds to see how under pressure they often are and the rescuers are. Most pounds are always full. New dogs come in every single day. To make room for them all that can be killed, are. A surrendered dog has at most 24 hours to find a home or is pts as these are the dogs the pound is allowed to pts right away -- and they often do not have the room to accommodate them so they go first. This is why there was such urgency about this dog -- if there was any chance of the pound releasing him we needed him out immediately that morning. They do not hold dogs for a day or two or even til the afternoon much of the time.
Ann deals with dozens of dogs a week being killed -- dogs that are perfectly rehomeable -- not because the pound insists it will put them down but because there are no fosters for the dogs, no homes, no funds to pay for short term kennelling. So there is a very big picture that goes beyond this dog and which I'd urge anyone in Ireland to learn more about at irishanimals.ie and anvil.ie.
This also is not an Irish issue: pounds in the UK and the US will also put down dogs as soon as they are able and that includes cavaliers. The problem is NOT the pounds -- unpleasant as they may seem, they are there to offer a humane alternative to dogs being drowned, shot, or otherwise 'disposed of' in the old ways. They also offer a safe place for a dog to see if the owner will reclaim rather than leaving it roam on the streets. A lot of them could be more accommodating to rescue and more willing to work together, but I do understand the legal situations surrounding their operation and the fact that they simply do not have the ability to make special exceptions for dogs most of the time.
The problem is us, meaning people generally. Collectively, we can always do more -- talk to county councillors and politicians, write the relevant minister on the need for better animal welfare infrastructure and funding and spay/neuter programs, consider fostering (I still have only a tiny handful of people willing to foster even on a short term basis -- I don't yet have any offers to foster the spayed female I may have coming in, for example -- and if I cannot get fosters for cavaliers known to be of good temperament then imagine Ann's situation with one or two dozen mixed breeds, all sizes, needing out every single week? That's the difficult position everyone in rescue faces. People get upset at a rescue coming in... but wait for someone else to do something about it, collect it, offer foster, offer a home. That someone else could be you!
So please consider directing some of your frustration in a positive way -- and think about what YOU can do rather than getting upset at what you wish someone else had done. Pushing for change at the political level, donating to local or national rescue groups, fostering, transporting, pushing for spay/neuter -- and NOT BREEDING unless you have the background and knowledge of health and conformation to be doing it correctly -- all make a difference.
I am sad about this fellow and we'd really hoped to give him a second chance, but once I heard he was handed in for biting and the owners had actually brought him in to be pts I feared we had little chance. I am thankful to all those who tried to help in many ways.
Remember there are many more cavaliers in pounds everywhere and no one knows they are there if someone doesn't go in and see them and try to get them out. Let's not forget those hidden dogs that get no chance -- and maybe consider liaising with your local general rescues to offer to help with any cavaliers; or consider establishing a relationship with your own local pound to see if you can be notified if any cavaliers come in.
