SPCA Puts Dog Down Rather Than Letting Man Adopt

This is an odd story out of Maine where a man wanted to adopt a Saint Bernard and the SCPA wouldn't let him. Their reason was that the man had 2 children. The man had met the dog and seems to have done some background on the dog. Initially the SCPA indicated the dog was friendly and good with people.

Some weeks later the man in the story found the dog had been put down and was later told the dog had aggression issues. Apparently the SCPA felt adopting the dog out with a family having kids was too great a risk, although this gentleman was willing to sign any waiver they required.

The story discusses whether the the SCPA is letting lawyers and liability issues get in the way of what's best for the animals. Perhaps another component at work here is that many shelters test dogs that are brought in for their temperament. While temperament tests are a good idea, not all shelters have the qualified staff to do this properly. As a result some dogs are mis-labeled as having aggression issues when they don't.

This newscast had several other interesting points - 3-4 million cats and dogs are euthanized annually and only 20% of pets people acquire each year are from shelters.