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Megan Wamhoff November 19, 2009 11:55 AM

The story of Oreo brought me to tears. I was a member of ASPCA and have been meaning to renew my membership. However after this, I'm not sure I will. I cannot look at Oreo's picture without crying. She had a chance to be rehabilitated and yet they chose to kill her? I just don't understand this. Was this just the easy way out? If so, should the people who made this decision really be running the ASPCA? All I can say is I am appalled!

Lisa Robinette November 19, 2009 12:03 PM

I am a huge dog lover myself, and own six, most of whom are "rehabilitated rescues". However, occasionally (and usually because of the abuse of stupid humans) there is a dog who truly has no quality of life because they have become untrusting and vicious. Some dogs have seen so much pain and misery, that they truly can't be rehabilitated and become their own worst enemies...just like some people I've known. In that case, they have no real future of a loving home or human companionship, and the kindest alternative is to put them out of their own misery. It is very sad, but I have seen it, and know there are cases where it is the only viable and fair alternative. Blame the human who made the poor dog unable to lead a decent life....who made this outcome the only right thing to do. Sometimes there is no other choice....

Louise Reichwein November 19, 2009 12:44 PM

I think, even though Oreo was probably a danger at the time. She should have at least been given the chance to see if she could be rehabilitated. THEN if she could not, then considr putting her down. But to put her down before that chance is just wrong.

Margaret November 19, 2009 12:47 PM

After all this poor baby had been through, why would the ASPCA make such an abusiive choice? Oreo deserved a chance to live and have a chance to be rehabilitated. Did they think thay the reason why she was aggresive was from the the beatings she received by her heartless owner? In my opinion, by not giving Oreo the chance to life, their decision puts them in the same class as the previous owner. RIP Oreo...you deserved a chance and society failed you....

Ruth from England November 19, 2009 12:48 PM

Poor Oreo,why did the ASPCA nurse her back to health only to destroy her ? They may as well have destroyed her straight away rather than her having to suffer while recovering from injuries caused by the abuse.
To say she was aggressive and dangerous was a load of rubbish, what dog wouldn't be on the defensive after the horrors she lived through ! Did they expect her to hold up a paw and thank them ?
This is a really sad and heartbreaking story.
R.I.P Oreo I hope you are in a better world now than this one which contains some really cruel people !

Cindy November 19, 2009 1:03 PM

Seems to me that the people in power have too much power if they can arbitrarily determine that a dog is "vicious" and put an end to it's life. Seems to me that there should be more oversight in a situation like this - especially if this is truly a "no kill" shelter. Seems to me that they would have direct links with organizations such as Pets Alive in Middletown, so that they can offer that chance to all their animals - even those they haven't got the time to work with. Seems to me...

ZORRY NYC,NY November 19, 2009 1:34 PM

I am so sad that the ( ASPCA )a place which should help animals would do such a heartless thing to **Oero** may he be in a better world then this one!! How could they refuse to give him up to someone who was going to give him Love Hope and Joy & Life something they always give us. This story is so sad that I can't see the ASPCA the way I did in the pass!! ~~~~R.I.P OREO ~~~~
*I hope and pray that other Animals that are hurt like Oreo was have a Happy Ending at the ( ASPCA ).

*AM SO SCARED NOW FOR ALL THOSE ANIMALS WHICH WILL COME AFTER ~~ OREO HURT AND ABUSE!! WHO CAN WE TRUST WITH THE WELL BEING OF OUR ANIMALS!! THE ASPCA HAS ALOT OF MONEY WHICH HAS BEEN GIVEN TO THEM TO TAKE CARE OF ANIMALS THAT HAVE BEEN ABUSE!! WHY COULDN'T THEY JUST LET HIM GO., :-((

Vicki November 19, 2009 1:56 PM

I am so outraged I am honestly at a loss for words. If this poor dog was so vicious how were they able to treat her in the first place. This makes no sense to me. There is something terribey wrong with a situation such as this one.

jmuhj November 19, 2009 3:47 PM

I'm your #1 dog-disliking poster, probably -- but I, too, am outraged by the blatant betrayal of this huge, multi-million dollar organization toward an abused survivor who would definitely have found a loving home with responsible caregivers had they not decided to kill her. There are petitions circulating all over the net asking for Sayres to be fired. We all know what we can do, don't we?

Laura November 19, 2009 4:01 PM

Such a sad and angering story. I think what upsets me the most (aside from the abuse poor Oreo endured at the hand of her owner) is that she was let to endure the pain of recovering from her injuries, only to be killed after she was on the road to recovery. She should have been given a chance. Sayers had no right to take that chance from her. I realize that some dogs may never be rehabilitated, but this poor soul wasn't even given the chance she had been offered.

RIP Oreo. You deserved better.

shirley nov 19th 2009 507p.m. November 19, 2009 6:11 PM

I am heart broken over this sad sad story!! the person that did this needs to be arrested, and pay for it by being put in jail, and i feel that this poor little doggie needed a chance to survive, after all it had been thurs. thats very cruel, and they should have given it to someone who loves animlas poor little doggie~

annie November 19, 2009 11:38 PM

i agree this is a sad story. but i actually took the time to go to the aspca's website and read about what happened in this situation.

yes, oreo was nursed back to health. but no, oreo could not be rehabilitated. the aspca bent over backwards to try to rehabilitate her. but the situation got sooo bad that not only was oreo attacking other dogs at the facility, but she was also attacking the people who were trying to rehabilitate her.

she absolutely could NOT have been given to that no kill shelter. it was much too risky for other people's lives.

the saddest part about this is that the abusive owner ruined her for life. he will, if lucky, go to jail. but when he gets out, he'll just do the same thing to another poor animal.

Amy November 20, 2009 5:12 AM

Annie you did what most folks didn't bother to do, you went to the source and dug up information on your own to verify this story.
Yes I am upset that Oreo was put down, but in reality it was the only option they had. If she was attacking people as well as other dogs then she was a danger to every one human and animal she came in contact with.
Again "bravo" for taking the time to go to the source and learning more facts about the story.

Joanne November 20, 2009 10:03 AM

This is a tragic story. Unfortunately "no kill" can sometimes mean that the dog although alive has no quality of canine life. Sometimes the dogs even adopt "psychotic" behavior from being institutionalized for so long - not unlike human beings. There was acontroversial documentary on HBO not so long ago about a shelter run by very caring peopl who refused to be "no kill" because some dogs were just so damaged that their quality of life would be horrible.
Now that said - I don't know if the ASPCA gave Oreo enough time to see if she could be rehabbed. It's just a sad story all around starting with the sub humans who abused her in the first place. So sad.

vetmed November 22, 2009 5:03 PM

Speaking as a DVM, I went to the ASPCA website as well and read what happened, but that's only their side of it. I'm not going to give credence to something like this where lay people make life and death decisions about dogs. A good friend of mine who is a canine trainer and behaviorist and one of the BEST deals with these types of issues. There were other options, but the ASPCA is nothing more than another bureaucracy with arrogant suits portraying themselves as more knowledgeable than DVMs and PhDs. Sayers make me sick and if I had my way, he wouldn't be sharing the planet with our beloved pets or any other human beings, for that matter.

Junior December 3, 2009 10:50 PM

Having worked in an animal control shelter for several years, I have seen the cases so ruined by human behavior that they are beyond any hope for quality of life, and I understand and respect the ASPCA's decision. I know the Nathan Winograd fanatics would like to believe they can all be saved and brought back from the realms of abuse, but the truth is, some of them are damaged to the point of being truly, irrationally dangerous.

Pit bulls have a bad enough reputation as it is; it would be absolutely reprehensible and irresponsible for anyone to try to place one with human-aggressive tendencies.

My heart goes out not only to the little one in question, but also to the staff that cared for her and tried to bring her around. It is tragic what her dirtbag owner did to her, and I hope he gets more than his rewards in jail, but nonetheless, I would, one hundred times over, euthanize an aggressive dog---especially a pit bull---before I sent them to a life of isolation in a no-kill shelter. I worked in a no-kill for two years and saw firsthand what kind of life they are reduced to living, even once so-called "rehabilitated" ... and I honestly believe that in some cases, death is a kinder option.

RIP Oreo, may you now find the peace you deserved but never found in this world.

Louise January 31, 2010 11:24 AM

Louise-
Look at the NY Daily News today, the vet at the ASPCA kicked and killed a dog and they covered it up. Why? So they could keep getting money from people? Who allowed this, Sayers?