From official sources as well as whistle-blowers, I have learned that a small, small number of adoption organizations are taking custody of dogs that the public authorities have declared to be dangerous and placing those dogs in the homes of unsuspecting families including those with small children. The rationale for this practice is that all dogs supposedly will behave safely if they are loved enough, thereby justifying the placement of the dogs in households with kids.
I believe that such adoptions are misguided, dangerous and should be prosecuted as crimes. There is no justification for exposing people to vicious dogs, especially when the potential victims include children and the elderly. Adopting-out a vicious dog also means condemning to death another dog in the same shelter that never hurt a person.
Many of the organizations that engage in this wrongful behavior have received tax-exempt status. Since there is no beneficial public purpose to be served by these groups, they should not be effectively supported by the taxpayers. In other words, they should not exist at all, let alone be entitled to accept donations that pay for their dangerous, immoral activities.
One of the worst ramifications of these practices is that they cast a shadow over the work of legitimate rescues and shelters. Let me repeat myself in saying that this is a small, small number of rescue groups. I admire and support the legitimate ones that conduct themselves ethically and do not knowingly expose the public to unnecessary risks. They make up the overwhelming majority, and they are entitled to our gratitude. But every occupation or endeavor has a few "bad eggs," and the people who intentionally and knowingly endanger children by putting known vicious dogs into loving homes must be stopped.
In the past two years, I have won several large cases against government agencies that unconscionably neglected to take known vicious dogs off our streets. In one such instance, the animal control department of Knox County, Tennessee had, itself, officially designated several pit bulls to be dangerous, but then failed to remove them, resulting in the lengthy, horrific killing of a young woman, Jennifer Lowe. In other cases, innocent pedestrians have been mauled by packs of domestic dogs that were known to roam at large, or even wild dogs that were known to do the same. Next year I hope to bring to light the dangerous activities of these few adoption organizations that intentionally conceal the background of dogs that the authorities previously declared to be vicious. The other 99.9% of the adoption, rescue and shelter groups will continue to have my support and gratitude.
