Animal abusers. Murderers. Nazis. Scum.
If you’ve spent time on social media in the past couple of weeks you might have seen these words and worse directed at Auckland Council’s Animal Management team.
The abuse stems from a smear campaign by a group purporting to expose animal abusers and seeking to rescue impounded dogs, with posts widely shared across Auckland’s community pages. They tell the story of an impounded shar-pei cross referred to as Jacket Dog, with urgent pleas for an owner or rescue group to intervene before the council’s supposedly cruel dog killers destroy him.
Staff have fielded hundreds of emails and calls about the dog, many abusive, and on Monday, a protest formed outside the shelter. Small but loud, the group hurled abuse at staff for hours, hitting vehicles and rushing workers who were trying to transport dogs into the building for free desexing.
Impacts on staff
Our Animal Management staff are resilient. They regularly deal with angry customers and shelter lockdowns, as death threats and violent or abusive behaviour from dog owners sadly isn’t uncommon. Even so, the past two weeks have been especially tough.
We’ve said it time and time again: euthanisations are the last thing our staff want to be doing.
I am dog lover with two dogs of my own. I regularly spend time in our shelters, often going in during weekends to lend a hand. I get to see firsthand the care and compassion of our teams.
When I visit the shelters on “euth days” I can feel the shift in the mood. The usually bubbly shelter officers are subdued, often emotional, as the animals they have cared for and built trust with over a week or sometimes much longer are put to sleep. I feel it too. Despite what you might read online, every shelter officer is a dog lover. You couldn’t do the job if you weren’t.
I recently asked one of the shelter staff how they deal with the tough side of the job: receiving dogs that have been clearly neglected, litters of dumped puppies too young to be without their mothers and having to euthanise dogs let down by their owners. Their response was that they focus on giving the dogs the best care they can for the time they have them. This means quality food, medical treatment, and access to warm bedding and shelter - something many of these dogs have never experienced.
Shelters under strain
Sadly, euthanisation rates in our shelters have been growing as our region grapples with too many dogs, too few owners who take responsibility for them. Last year, the council impounded a record 10,000 dogs, only a third of which were claimed by their owners. That left 7000 dogs in our shelters, the majority of which have been poorly socialised and have behavioural issues.
Animal Management’s core mandate is to protect the public from dog-related harm. That means taking roaming dogs off the street before they can go on to attack someone’s child or grandmother or beloved pet. It also means not releasing aggressive unclaimed dogs back into the community.
Each of our shelter teams have members who are highly experienced in assessing canine behaviour. This includes determining when a dog can be safely rehomed versus when they present a risk, and accounting for the stress dogs are under in a shelter environment. Our staff want to rehome dogs wherever possible, but never at the expense of public safety.
Facts vs Facebook fiction
Jacket Dog entered council care on 23 April after wandering into a yard in Ōwairaka. The caller was not able to approach him, and even experienced officers needed a catchpole to transport him safely back to the shelter. Once there, he continued to act aggressively throughout his stay – barking, lunging and attempting to bite officers who approached him. A dog that has been properly cared for and is safe to rehome will not react this way, even in the stress of a shelter environment.
Despite claims by those behind the smear campaign that they had located an owner for Jacket Dog, and despite us holding him for eleven days - more than legally required - no owner ever came forward to claim him. He was humanely put to sleep on Tuesday morning.
As AI images of the dog with angel wings circulate online and the abusive messages continue to pour in, our staff are feeling frustrated and hurt. Their character and values have been misrepresented in ways that in no way reflect the compassion and expertise they bring to their work.
A new approach
We know people are lashing out because they genuinely want to save a life, and they have been fed misinformation designed to enrage well-meaning dog lovers. That’s understandable. The problem is that energy is misdirected.
Instead of sending abusive messages to those dealing with the consequences of irresponsible ownership, why not advocate for those owners to do better? Or for the government to introduce more mandatory desexing? That would mean fewer dogs roaming, fewer impounded, and fewer dogs being euthanised in our shelters. That’s something we all want to see.
And if you really want to give a dog a loving, secure home, how about adopting one of the many dogs who have been temperament tested and are currently up for adoption? Some of them have been waiting for a while.
ENDS