Why did I die? URGENT!

The Lorain County Pound is destroying dogs on the date they become available for adoption two hours before the pound doors open. The dogs never have a chance to be
seen by the public or be adopted.


I was available for adoption on 05/08/07 and I was gassed before the dog pound doors opened on 05/08/07.  I never had a chance to meet a new family, to be loved or to give love.  All I wanted was to belong, to have a family of my own!

This dog never had a chance!  How can people adopt when the pound is killing dogs before the available time and date?  The Lorain County Dog Pound opens at 10 am and they are
killing dogs on their first eligible adoption day before the doors open!

I beg you..she did not have to die in a gas chamber!  There were people who wanted this dog!  Several people had gone to or called the pound wanting to adopt her.  She never knew how much love there was out there for her!

The pound will try to tell this dog was aggressive or maybe they will tell you it was sick.  They are telling two different stories as to why this little dog was destroyed.  No dog should die the day they become eligible for adoption
No one had a chance to adopt this dog and give it a loving home. 
I called the morning of May 8th and was told the dog was sick.  I offered to pick her up and take her to my vet but then was told it was too late, the dog had been put down at 8 am that morning!  She was herded into a small chamber and gassed.  The county has funds set aside for medical care of animals at the pound that are sick and injured, they should have sought medical care for this little sweetie.  They may be able to see whether a dog is sick or injured but they are by no means qualified to judge whether the dog should be destroyed!  The Lorain County Dog Pound is a high kill shelter using barbaric methods.  Euthanaisa shots cost 93 cents a piece and are a much more humane way to end suffering if it is the only way.

"The Chihuahua, euthanized at the county pound just hours before it would have been eligible for adoption, has local dog rescuers and County Commissioner Lori Kokoski barking mad.  Kokoski now wants to extend the amount of time dogs are kept alive to give them a better chance at adoption.  "We're trying to promote adoption, and we're euthanizing them on their adoption day? It doesn't make sense, she said".

Deborah Parker, who runs the Saint Francis Animal Sanctuary Inc. in Vermilion, Ohio, said she went to the pound to adopt the Chihauhau Tuesday morning, but the dog was already dead when she arrived shortly after the doors opened at 10 am.  "He's not even giving the dogs
a  chance for us to adopt them, " she said of county Dog Warden, Jack  Szlempa Sr.  Szlempa said he often keeps dogs longer than he is legally required so they have a better
chance to be adopted, but on Tuesday the pound was at more than 80% capacity and he needed the room
He also said the Chihauhau was agressive.  "If I look back on it, I wish I hadn't done it, but I was within my rights," he said. "But what about all the dogs I've saved?"

Kokoski's proposal, which she expects the commissioners to vote on next week, will prohibit dogs from being destroyed on the fourth day after their capture.  If the first day a dog is eligible for adoption falls on a Tuesday or a Friday-when the pound euthanizes dogs- Szlempa would be required to
delay the killing until the next euthanasia day.  Parker said this isn't the first time a dog has been euthanized on the day it would have become eligible for adoption.  In January, for instance, she said an elderly man had come down to
adopt a Scottish Terrier and was told the dog had been euthanized just hours before.  Szlempa just doesn't seem interested in saving dogs, she said.  "That dog never
had a chance," Parker said. Parker also disagreed with Szlempa characterizing the Chihauhau as aggressive, "We're talking about a Teacup Chihauhau that weighs five pounds.  How viscious could it be?" she said. "Jack Szlempa, the dog warden, never returned my call.  The pound workers said, he
makes the decisions as to who gets gassed."

SOMEONE HAS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS AWFUL PRACTICE AND IT HAS TO STOP!

The Lorain County Dog Pound is closed on Sunday and Monday and they gas the dogs on Tuesday before the doors open.  How much of this is going on that we do not know about?

Our petition will be taken to the Lorain County Commissioners meeting on Thursday in hopes that this
little dog did not die in vain! Practices at the pound need to change!

My picture of the dog would not load but if you would like to see her..please email me and I will send you a photo so you can see what we are fighting for!  Thank you!

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