“Henry has been a staff favorite his entire time he’s been at the shelter, loves to go on off-site walks and hikes.”
“Henry’s affectionate nature knows no bounds, and he enjoys long walks in the park. He’s a lovely boy with some much love to share, so don’t hesitate coming down to meet him today!”
The above is from a post for Henry, a 3-ish-year-old mix that was at the shelter. Henry was loved by volunteers. He went on hikes with some of them and everyone had a great time. Multiple people who knew him said what a good boy he was.
Henry had an adoption meet and greet on Friday, Oct 20. “Henry is a big, energetic guy” as it said in his description. In his excitement, our understanding is he bit and pulled at his potential adopter’s shirt. He did not bite a person.
And that was somehow enough to label him too dangerous to be adopted.
One strike and out for Henry. He was scheduled for euthanasia on Monday. We understand the shelter reached out to some rescues; how many we don’t know. We just found out on Saturday when we learned of his situation, we had two days to help Henry.
We emailed the shelter Sat, Oct 21, 10:23 AM, and asked if Herny could have more time so we could find a rescue to tag him. We also asked for additional information.
We did not receive a response.
On Oct 22, 2023, 2:35 PM we emailed again. We let them know we found a PACFA licensed rescue and they had a foster and they could tag and pull Henry.
We did not receive a response.
Since the shelter had so far ignored or failed to respond, on Monday, Oct 23, 2023, we sent a person personally to the shelter. Around 1:30 in the afternoon she entered the shelter to inquire about Henry, see if they had gotten any of the correspondences, and if we could tag and pull him at that time. They told her he was killed at 11:15 on Saturday morning. Just an hour after we reached out to ask how we could help Henry.
Henry was dead.
Not because he did not have a place to go - but because the shelter killed him.
Not because a foster stepped up to save him - but because the shelter killed him.
Not because people did not work all weekend to save him - but because the shelter killed him.
Not because the shelter was full, not because of poor communication from lifesavers, not because there is an irresponsible public, not because he was irremediably dangerous. He died because the shelter killed him. Because shelters in Colorado can kill any homeless pet, anytime after a stray hold for any reason. And some of them do.
And that needs to change.