Live release numbers from the Hillsborough Pet Resource Center show hundreds of dogs and cats left the shelter alive, but they actually ended up dead days later.
When Rocco, an American Staffordshire Terrier was turned into the Humane Society of Tampa Bay as a stray, his picture and information were uploaded to the Pet Resource Center website. After three days, Rocco officially belonged to the Humane Society, but the Pet Resource Center took credit for his “live release.” A live release or save rate is the percentage of animals who left the shelter, whether it be through adoption, return to owner or transfer.
In a Facebook post, Rocco’s previous owner described him as a companion for her 9-year-old son with autism who was “never, ever aggressive.” But despite the owner’s claim, the Humane Society euthanized Rocco, claiming the dog was aggressive.
“It was a euthanasia, regardless of who euthanized it, it wasn’t a live release,” said Dr. Christy Layton.
Dr. Layton sits on Hillsborough County’s Animal Advisory Committee. She says the PRC’s live release and euthanasia numbers are all smoke and mirrors.
“They’re immediately transferring it to a partner facility and that partner facility is euthanizing the dog and they’re not counting that as a euthanasia,” Dr. Layton said.
The same thing happened to Snow, and Dawson and Spatola, three others dogs the PRC is credited with releasing that were all euthanized at the Humane Society.
The PRC’s records show they had 16,058 live outcomes last year. It counted 2,243 transfers to the Humane Society as “live releases.” The PRC does not count the 285 stray dogs and cats euthanized by the Humane Society.
“Regardless of what happens now at the Humane Society, that is still considered a ‘live release’ at Pet Resource Center,” said Dr. Layton. “And so it’s smoke and mirrors as a number. I mean essentially we’re transferring the euthanasia from one facility to another to make PRC’s numbers look better,” she stated.
Better numbers mean a better evaluation for the PRC’s Director Scott Trebatoski, who chose not to be interviewed for this story.
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