Dog Bites Children after Adoption! Shelter Must Ensure Dog Safety Before Adoptions!!

Please sign and share this petition nationwide to alert everyone about this and other shelters that adopt dogs out that often times bite their new owners. This family adopted a dog that ended up attacking two of the children, outraging the family that this animal with aggressive tendencies was allowed to be adopted out. Shelters like the Queens Animal Rescue needs to ensure the dogs are highly trained and sociable, passing all aggressive tests before it leaves their facility. Don't just adopt these animals out if there is any possibility the dog could hurt its new owners and others!!

There are so many wonderful organizations that give their time in the care and well-being of animals such as the Queens animal-rescue organization and Second Chance Rescue; without them, so many animals would not have a second chance at life. However, this particular shelter recently adopted out a dog to a family without rehabilitating it fully and advising the new owners of its menacing history. As a result, the dog became aggressive towards members in its new home. A report from the Brooklyn Animal Control Center advised against placing this dog with kids but that warning was dismissed when Melo was placed in a home with two children that he eventually attacked.

Melo became enraged and bit Jade, 9, on the leg while she sat on a swing in the family’s back yard. Her courageous brother, Justin, 13, nearly lost his nose after he pried Melo’s jaws from her flesh. The children had to be rushed by ambulance to a hospital, where Justin needed five stitches to his face and Jade’s gnawed leg was patched up. Obviously the dog had to be put down!

This dog was definitely not ready to be adopted and no one wants to see an animal lose its life in such a situation. He should not have been placed, at least at this time and certainly not with children. The dog went through an assessment evaluation by a volunteer who also advised against placing him with children. She stated that he comes from an abandonment situation and “When approached in his kennel, Melo freezes in the back of the kennel, hard stares and lip curls, low growls, and then charges the front of the kennel while hard barking. It seemed Melo was finally acclimated and was letting his guard down — revealing the sweet, playful affectionate boy I knew was always there!”

Reports are that Melo's troubling past was related to the new owners but why would they place such an animal in a home with children when it was clearly stated not to do so?? Shelters need to do more to ensure that the animals they adopt out are rehabilitated enough to join society and a new family with complete confidence and safety. If this were done efficiently, maybe Melo would have been properly socialized, placed in an appropriate home without children and he would still be alive today.

Before adopting out any dog, despite over-crowdedness, the animal must be socialized enough to guarantee a happy, healthy pet! If not ready, do not adopt the pet out until it is! Please sign and share this petition nationwide to alert everyone about this and other shelters that adopt dogs out that often times bite their new owners. This family adopted a dog that ended up attacking two of the children, outraging the family that this animal with aggressive tendencies was allowed to be adopted out. Shelters like the Queens Animal Rescue needs to ensure the dogs are highly trained and sociable, passing all aggressive tests before it leaves their facility. Don't just adopt these animals out if there is any possibility the dog could hurt its new owners and others!!