Dog failed by rescue group: Senior Dalmatian returned to shelter

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A nine-year-old male Dalmatian named Poochie has been at Downey Animal Care Center since June 11.Poochie

He is listed as available for adoption to the general public on July 12. Sadly, when a rescue organization recently arrived to help Poochie, he became fearful as he was being led into the car, and therefore the organization decided not to take him; from the parking lot Poochie was walked back into the shelter.

Click here for Poochie’s adoption listing. Animal ID#A4957607. “My name is Poochie and I’m an approximately 9 years, 1 month old male dalmatian.  I am not yet neutered.  I have been at the Downey Animal Care Center since June 11, 2016.  I will be available on July 12, 2016.  You can visit me at my temporary home at D101.” If interested in this dog, contact the shelter at (562) 940-6898.

A Facebook page to help share Poochie’s plight can be found here. Advocates who have met and interacted with Poochie describe him as an older dog-most likely suffering from arthritis and in pain.  Shelter volunteer Sal Valapena stated,

“I worked with him and he’s so sweet. He’s big so I can only imagine the pain he was in.”

Scroll down to watch Poochie’s video as a volunteer scratches the dog behind his ears. Advocates continue to pledge funds for this dog available to an approved rescue organization. Share Poochie’s plight with friends, family and social media contacts. How tragic to look at his picture here and see how he has given up. Every life is worth saving; please help Poochie by sharing his story.

Follow the National Pet Rescue on Facebook.

(Photo Sal Valapena)


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49 COMMENTS

  1. At this difficult time for Poochie he really needs the help of an UNDERSTANDING and COMPASSIONATE rescue group to step up and realize how very scared he is and give this little /big guy a chance to have a happy life!!!

    • Absolutely, I’m shocked that the rescue could make the effort to calm him down instead of walking him back to his kennel. The photo is heartbreaking.

      • they didn’t bother to tell the entire story.. he bit the rescuer in the face, 2 times ! I’m sorry, but after a dog attacks a person there is no way for any rescue group to adopt that dog back out. that’s just too big of a liability

      • Why didn’t they bring a crate ? What kind of rescue doesn’t prepare for a senior that may be fearful, or unable to jump into a car ?

    • I say if you want to rescue animals and have an animal shelter atleast have a proper clean place for the animal to sleep and stay instead of a concrete cell.

  2. They should have brought a crate and helped him, and understood he’s old and must be in pain. They are shameful as much as the pos owners. His future now rest in their hands, and I pray he falls on the heartstrings of someone else and is given love and treatment he deserves.

  3. Why wouldn’t he be “fearful”? I would imagine the last time he rode in a car he was dumped at the shelter. You would think a rescue would know this and not just leave him there! They should be ashamed to call themselves a “Rescue”!

  4. Deb I have been in that same situation with scared Bassets. The whip their heads back and snap….its kind a normal giving the situation.. I learned very fast to never, ever have my face near their heads (all those teeth) and to take a shelter lead if its get that far and wrap it around their mouths to put them in the car, without getting bit and then it comes off….Getting them out of the car is much more easy….I rarely had an issue after that…I give them time to calm down like 30 days…This usually happens because of fear and pain…it sounds like he needs an experience rescue person, for this issue

  5. Wow rescues know that they have to take time to decompress from the shelter environment. .

    Shame on that rescue
    How can they call themselves a rescue

  6. This is heart ripping who the hell does this shit who my god this baby’s old and in pain what the hell u expect and scared he knows no better u people never gave this precious baby a chance look what y’all did to this poor baby u should be ashamed and call yalls self a dam rescue rescues don’t do this shit to no animal shame shame on u people

  7. This is so sad and a dogs protection is to snap if there in pain or scared , im not sure what this poor baby has been through . my dog had an op i accidentally caught her cone she had on and she warned me i hurt her by snapping , bearing in mind ive had my dog 10 yrs and not once has she done this . they cant tell us how they are feeling and why and what pain they are in . its such a shame .

  8. OMG! Poochie is the kind of dog a rescue should take! A dog that frightened should not be left in a shelter where he is not likely to find his way out even if he is purebred. A couple of the reasons I adopted Octavius were that it was obvious he’d been abused, and because of it he was absolutely terrified of us and everything. I was afraid that if we didn’t bring him home, no one would, purebred or not, and he was a mess, and all of that in a small, rural shelter. Downey is a horror, a well known kill shelter that I wish no dog or cat ever even entered.

    That makes me wonder what kind of a ‘rescue’ it actually is…..

  9. Isn’t there a Dalmation rescue in the area? They would know more about the poor dog’s temperament and how to handle him. Very sad situation.

  10. This is extremely heartbreaking and distrubing! This poor dog is old and in pain, traumatized, and in distress. The frightened dog bit because that’s what dogs do when they are fearful and scared. This innocent dog was heartbroken and betrayed in many ways. We don’t know the devastation, physical and emotional pain this sweet dog was suffering. Shame on that “rescue” for not giving this poor dog a fair chance, and give him the help he desperately needs and deserves. Please, please do NOT kill this helpless dog. This beautiful dog would make a wonderful, loving and great companion for someone. We must be the voice for this defenseless dog. Please, don’t let humanity fail this special dog again; he needs some TLC, understanding, treats, and a fair chance to prove he is a sweet dog and is deserving of a loving, caring home, and a happy life.❤️

    • I have always been under the assumption that Rescue’s had an understanding about fear, hopelessness, despair, this poor broken senior is feeling!!! Apparently not!!! I sincerely hope a Rescue with compassion, understanding, and dedication will PLEASE come forward to ASSIST this animal before it is too late!!

  11. I’ve read the posts. I want to say that if one rescue doesn’t take Poochie, there are many other people certainly capable of helping save this boy. There are other rescues that could tag the dog for someone passing judgment on the first rescuer. The dog could be saved by YOU!.

    People need to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before criticizing. Would YOU take a dog that had bitten you in the face? Some can and some can’t.

    It is great that there is money pledged for Poochie and that people care, but he needs someone to step up for him rather than blaming others. Anyone can complain or criticize; few can or will do. Quit blaming the first rescue and get him out of there, people! Just do it!

    • I would be happy to step up and save Poochie, but it’s a little hard from across the country, I have shared the situation, pledged what more can I do? Many of us are in this situation, and you shouldn’t be assuming we aren’t doing all we can and just sitting here passing judgment.

      You chastise us for having an opinion about how this rescuer handled this situation and she was the one that “rudely declined” help according to Sal above. Yes I would have taken a dog had he bitten me in the face because he was in pain and scared, I would have made sure I took steps to even prevent being bitten.

      As “wonderful” as it was that this rescuer showed up to help him, what did it accomplish, Poochie is still in Downey and most likely, now will not make it out of there, now he has bitten someone.Yes he needs someone to “step up”, instead of criticizing the rest of us for having an opinion, why not you?

      • I would take Poochie if I could but we currently have 45 dogs in our rescue with several more needing to come in. to come in. A volunteer in CO has offered to go get him but we cannot find an appropriate foster home here for him. If someone wants to foster, we can get him to CO at least.

  12. Most of these emails make me just livid, so I have to keep expressing myself.

    IT cannot stand reading all the criticism. Wasn’t the rescuer there to save him in the first place? Was anyone else? Give it a break…She would have taken him if she could have. She at least cared enough to go to the shelter and she had planned to take him home.

    People make mistakes and yet it’s amazing how many people do nothing but criticize and share ugly statements. Nothing in this world REQUIRES that rescue take any dog. Nothing REQUIRES that a person do more than they can. Rescue is a volunteer effort. How about you folks volunteering rather than just bitching at people who do? Put action in your words or shut up. It’s that simple.

    I know the first rescuer and she tried very hard to save Poochie. She felt badly about what happened and she feels even more badly from what non-doers are saying. Have YOU ALL ever considered how many hundreds of dogs she HAS rescued? Dumping on people who give of their lives, their hearts and their resources, not to mention risking physical injury, is SO unChristian. Walk a mile in the other person’s shoes, y’all!

    • You are assuming that all the non-doers here are keyboard rescuers…… That isnt the case, I have pulled from shelters for 15 years and have been in this situation. I also know rescue people that will take the dog right back in, if it growls or snaps…I don’t, once I pull the dog he/she is my responsibility for life…. You should never assume others are non-doers, specially ones that have rescued/ worked with close to a thousand dogs…Its insulting to a rescuer who really does go beyond everything for the dogs… 🙂

      • I suppose that we all might stop making assumptions, me included. What I don’t like is just what I did…not knowing and yet making statements. There are often extenuating circumstances, as there are in this case.

  13. I recently pulled a 9 pound Pappilion/ Chihuahua mix from a shelter, to transport for a small breed rescue group. Trying to get this little dog into a travel crate was a challenge for two people, she put up such a fight! We got her in the crate and into the car, and had a 45 minute drive, with her crying an protesting the whole way.When we got to our destination the foster was waiting with another crate for the ride to her foster home. Transferring her to the new crate was traumatic, and she tried to bite and scratch both of us, before we could get her into the new crate. Thank goodness we were in a small bathrooms with the door closed! That night I got post in her in her new home environment, and she had a big smile on her face! There were no problems once she understood her life had just changed for the better and she did not have to be afraid anymore! The rescue group could have prepared better by spending some time with Poochie at the shelter before abruptly taking her to the car. And a crate is very important for transferring a frightened dog you don’t know. I wouldn’t want a dog running loose in the car. Two people should have been doing the pick up. Praying for a happy ending for Poochie… She deserves a chance!

  14. Yes, 2 people, Crate, slip lead and harness.Could not agree more.You cannot expect a dog to know your one of the good guys, when it is terrified and looking for any opportunity to make a run for it.And a muzzle in your back pocket for a last resort.

  15. I feel so bad for poochie. I want to get him so bad. And they easily could have said that the dog bit them, but that was just a cover up. Poochie didn’t bite them, or they would have put him down. They were too lazy and careless to sit with poochie for a minute to calm him down, so they brought him back. Who wants to sound that stupid? So they said that he bit them so they had a “reason” to just be idiots and leave him there. Its very sad, and breaks my heart to know that people put dogs down if not adopted.

  16. if you are not prepared for disaster and think you have a CUTE LITTLE POOCH shame on you. You obviously needed to be ready for reactions. I was told that many times when I fostered why didn’t a rescue immediately see that and be prepared. NOW THE DOG WILL PAY. OMG

  17. What kind of rescue leaves a dog in a kill shelter because hes scared ! Poochie deserves a chance to find a loving careing forever home! Please give him that chance he’s still has a lot of love to give????

  18. I too think there should have been more CARE in transporting this terrified boy..!!!!you must need to look in their eyes & they tell you all!!!!are they becoming more indifferent because of so many like situations. A burnout??? Please e kind & think about the about the soul of these creatures who we are responsible for & are failing!!! Patricia

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