Thursday, March 15, 2012

(VIDEO) IS THE STARK COUNTY DOG POUND ADOPTING OUT DOGS THAT MAY POSE A DANGER TO THE PUBLIC? VIDEO FEATURES STARK CITIZEN JOSEPH BUCHANAN EXPRESSING HIS CONCERNS OF THE SAFETY OF "JOCK" - AN AMERICAN TERRIER PITBULL - BEING ADOPTED OUT.



UPDATE:  03/15/2012 AT 3:10 PM

Joe Buchanan tells the SCPR that it is erroneous to attribute dog adoption sponsorship to the Stark County Dog Pound as originally written by The Report.

Here is Buchanan's e-mail which set forth the basis for being a sponsor, to wit:
Martin,

I did notice one thing with your article, the stark county dog pound is not the dogs sponsor, what a sponsored dog means is that a person or rescue has paid part of the dogs adoption fee. So if you or i wanted to "sponsor" a dog, we would go in and pay a set amount of money (I believe $50 but please don't quote that) and then the person that finally adopted that dog would have to pay the balance, so if it is $50 this dog would only cost the general public $36 dollars to take home instead of $86

On Thu, Mar 15, 2012 at 1:02 PM, Joseph Buchanan
ORIGINAL BLOG

A dog put up for adoption, but now the being "up for adoption" is "on hold?"

And not just any dog, but an American Terrier Pit Bull that was used in dog fighting training and which is being held at the Stark County Dog Pound the sponsor putting the dog up for adoption in the first place.

Really?

Why was the adoption "put on hold?"

Because its sponsor, the Stark County Dog Pound placed "dog on hold" on the ad after a Stark County citizen, a Mr. Joseph Buchanan, complained to County Administrator Mike Hanke on Tuesday about the advisability of adopting Jock out given the text describing him as set forth in bold type which appears below.

(The text provided in this blog has been withdrawn by the county after Buchanan's complaint but before the SCPR could get to the URL listing the dog.  However, Buchanan had recorded the text and provided it to The Report, to wit: (format may vary from original post)
Release date 3/9.
Jock has not had a good life.
He came from the HS [Humane Society], and we are trying to find him a happy home, something he has never known.
Jock is thought to have been used as a bait dog for fighting. His teeth have been filed down, so he couldn't injure the dog being trained.
It makes us sick and angry, to think of what this poor dog has endured, there are scars over his entire body.
A volunteer from the HS told us Jock came in very frightened, and wanted to be right next to someone, very clingy.
Saturday at the pound, he did so much better. He was enjoying all the attention he was receiving, and was behaving wonderfully.
Jock would love to be a lap dog, but he's a little large for that! It's amazing how forgiving animals can be, Jock has no reason to trust a soul, but he is.
Jock was made to fight, he was doing what his owner asked of him.
If only the owners of this dog could be found and prosecuted.
It is unfortunate, but there are so many stories like Jock's, even worse.
If you ever suspect someone is fighting dogs, please report this to the proper authorities.
Buchanan says he is concerned that a dog with Jock's history will fall into the wrong hands (in the sense of the adopter having the capability of dealing with such a dog) and that there could be dire consequences for an unwary/unprepared new owner.  He asked commissioners to review their adoption policies, procedures and practices and adjust them to minimize the possibility that an adoption will lead to unwanted (by anyone) consequences.

Buchanan says it is an open question as to whether or not the commissioners will deal satisfactorily with his complaint.

He said that the response from Hanke on Tuesday was not satisfactory and so he brought the matter before commissioners at yesterday's meeting in the Public Speaks portion of the commissioners meeting agenda.

Here is a video of Buchanan, who has impressive credentials in his knowledge of dogs such as the American Terrier Pit Bull - which he spells out in the video, addressing the commissioners, their response and portions of a post-meeting press conference with him. 




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