Why Your Attempt to Save an Animal's Life Could be Put on Hold
By: Marlisa Goldsmith
Updated: February 4, 2013
"I was just frustrated. There was no where to take them. Nothing to do, I had to figure that out," says Penny LaRocco.
Dog lover, Penny LaRocco was at home Friday night when two stray dogs wandered into her driveway... Because the shelter was already closed, larocco decided to contact an animal control officer, but there was one problem.
"There was nobody. Nobody could come and get them and I didn't want to let them out, because i was afraid if i let them go, something might happen to them, or they might hurt somebody, or a child or anything," LaRocco explains.
LaRocco gave the dogs a place to stay for the weekend and Monday morning she headed to the animal shelter. Once she arrived, she ran into another problem.
She continues, "The lady there told me it wasn't her problem, because they were not open."
Just as LaRocco was about to leave, she says she saw a dog catcher walking out and asked him to take the dogs.
"He said no, we don't start until ten o'clock. I said no, you're gonna start. So I got out and I opened up the back door, and there come the dogs," she says.
LaRocco says in this situation she was torn and did not really know what to do.
"They're not mine. They're not my responsibility and she didn't really care. It was like, figure it out. There was no answer, there was no solution to the problem," she explains.
As much as LaRocco loves her dogs, she can only hope that something will be done to change the system...
She says, "There has to be a solution, has to be some kind of a, think outside the box. Ya know?"
Dog lover, Penny LaRocco was at home Friday night when two stray dogs wandered into her driveway... Because the shelter was already closed, larocco decided to contact an animal control officer, but there was one problem.
"There was nobody. Nobody could come and get them and I didn't want to let them out, because i was afraid if i let them go, something might happen to them, or they might hurt somebody, or a child or anything," LaRocco explains.
LaRocco gave the dogs a place to stay for the weekend and Monday morning she headed to the animal shelter. Once she arrived, she ran into another problem.
She continues, "The lady there told me it wasn't her problem, because they were not open."
Just as LaRocco was about to leave, she says she saw a dog catcher walking out and asked him to take the dogs.
"He said no, we don't start until ten o'clock. I said no, you're gonna start. So I got out and I opened up the back door, and there come the dogs," she says.
LaRocco says in this situation she was torn and did not really know what to do.
"They're not mine. They're not my responsibility and she didn't really care. It was like, figure it out. There was no answer, there was no solution to the problem," she explains.
As much as LaRocco loves her dogs, she can only hope that something will be done to change the system...
She says, "There has to be a solution, has to be some kind of a, think outside the box. Ya know?"
Comments
This is very common with our Animal Control. I came home one day at 5pm, there was a large pit bull in my driveway. As a dog lover I approached the animal and knew right away he was not a friendly dog and scared the hell out of me. I immediately called Animal Control to report this possible thread to children in the neighborhood, only to be told we are closed. It literally took a call to the City Manager to get something done that afternoon. Come to find out the animal had been picked up several times and reportedly biten someone in the past. Come on City of Abilene, we are big enough to have on call staff to assist with the ever growing problem with stray animals or in my case threats to tax paying citizens
Dan I.
February 5, 2013 at 6:19 am
