Phoenix rescue questions county shelter’s kill list after husky euthanized
E-list #E-list
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — The troubles at the Maricopa County Animal Shelter are well-documented. In the past four months, they’ve mistakenly euthanized two dogs. Now, they euthanized a husky named Moscato after the rescuer sent an email to the wrong inbox.
Rescuers argue that Moscato should not have been on the euthanasia, or e-list, to begin with. Instead, the county animal shelter places those dogs without a home if they have medical or behavioral issues, which include not faring well in the shelter environment. “She was letting us pet her, she was so sweet, she was just a scared dog,” said Alison Nicolosi, the co-founder of AZ Husky Rescue.
Nicolosi was working on getting Moscato out of the shelter. Since Moscato was on the e-list, she was only made available to rescue groups like Nicolosi. The co-founder was emailing a worker at the county animal shelter and did not email the inbox for pulling Moscato off the e-list.
Emi Litcof is a volunteer with the rescue who showed up at the shelter to get Moscato, but it was too late. “Your heart just dropped to your stomach knowing that there was a dog that deserved to get out that didn’t,” said Litcof.
Litcof and Nicolosi argue that Moscato and many other dogs should not be on the e-list because she was scared. “She was very sweet; she was very scared in a shelter environment. She had no aggressive tendencies whatsoever,” said Litcof.
A Maricopa County Animal Shelter spokesperson said, “We are deeply heartbroken for what has occurred.” On the county’s website, regarding the e-list, they posted, “We don’t want to see animals suffer, and in their condition, it is not humane to have them in a shelter environment. Euthanasia is always the last resort.”
Nicolosi has helped hundreds of huskies, and she’s saddened that Moscato is not one of them. “We’ve seen so many dogs that were so much worse than she was, and she had so much potential to be a really good loving family dog,” she said.
A spokesperson for the county animal shelter said they’re sending the rescue Moscato’s ashes and hiring a behaviorist to work with dogs.
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