UPDATE: Dog ‘Pursuit’ set to be killed by Harrisburg shelter moved to unknown location

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A dog named Pursuit, a likeable four-year-old American bulldog, has been the longest resident at the Humane Society in Harrisburg. Late last week, however the shelter announced Pursuit would be euthanized on Monday, February 13; volunteers at the shelter were stunned at the shelter’s decision and contend the dog has adapted well to shelter life and had not been given a fair chance.

An afternoon protest had been organized in response to the decision over the weekend. Volunteers have described the dog as fun, goofy and great on walks. When volunteers approach Pursuit for his walk, the dog approaches the front of his kennel and patiently sits while he is leashed. Also, his caretakers have not seen any signs of stress; Pursuit seems to take life at the shelter in stride; and perhaps he is just thankful for the love and attention he receives from the kindhearted volunteers.

The following message had been held up by protestors:

Dauphin County,Pa – let pursuit live.

Facebook

Volunteers had been stunned when the officials at the shelter announced that Pursuit would be euthanized, citing his “unpredictability and multiple incidents.” The shelter further explained that, in the opinion of the team, that all safe options had been exhausted.

On Monday morning, according to Fox News, protestors had been outside of the shelter when one of the shelter volunteers had spoken to police, went into the Humane Society, leashed Pursuit and drove away. All that is known at this time, is Pursuit is very much alive, although it is not known if the volunteer had been given permission to take the dog.

On the Facebook page of the Humane Society in Harrisburg, the organization posted a statement on events surrounding Pursuit including their reasons for the decision to euthanize the dog:

Here’s a background on Pursuit’s time with HSHA:

• He arrived in October 2021. For over a year, there was little interest in adopting him. HSHA offered him to outside rescues, but none were interested.

• In May 2022, during a meet-and-greet with a family interested in adoption, Pursuit lunged at a teenager, attempting to bite him.

• In June 2022, Pursuit bit an employee and broke skin when they were conducting an evening feeding.

• In August 2022, the shelter started a foster-to-adopt program for longtime residents, including Pursuit. Unfortunately, he didn’t receive any interest.

• Last month, Pursuit had a couple interested in adopting him. He was given time to settle down prior to the meeting, but then lunged at the man’s upper body and attempted to bite him. After this incident, experienced senior members of the staff evaluated Pursuit. To ensure we conducted a thorough evaluation, HSHA brought in a third-party trainer to conduct mock meet-and-greets. The team and third-party trainer concluded Pursuit was not safe to adopt.

The organization has confirmed Pursuit had been removed from the shelter:

This morning, Pursuit was removed from our shelter by a volunteer. It’s unfortunate Pursuit was taken from us. We had decided to delay any decision for 72 hours to identify next steps. HSHA thanks everyone for their concern and love for animals. We love them, too.

Facebook

Former volunteers have described the culture at the shelter as being toxic and that the dogs suffer from poor kennel conditions. An inspection completed in June 2022, from the Department of Agriculture, however showed the shelter in compliance.

For now, Pursuit is alive, but we have no idea how all of this is going to end. We are following it.

Read the original article here.

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Sneezing fit.
Dog wants to rescue his toy!

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2 COMMENTS

  1. IF EVER THIS ULTIMATE SWEETHEART IS RETURNED TO THE SHELTER, WHICH I HOPE IS “NEVER,” THERE ARE MANY MANY OF US WILLING AND ABLE TO DONATE AND/OR SPONSOR, INCLUDING A RESCUE ORGANIZATION.

    WHAT THE VOLUNTEER DID WAS UNDERSTANDABLE DUE
    TO THR SHELTER’S DECISION TO EUTHANIZE!

    BOTTOM LINE–HOPING AND PRAYING PURSUIT IS SAFE AND WELL MANY MANY THANKS TO THE HERO AND ANGEL THAT SAVED HIM!

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