SHAME on the THS - killing a lactating mum is beyond disgusting

Meet Hetzel’s puppies… meet Hetzel – oh sorry, you can’t- the THS killed her and left her 11 puppies without a mother. (photo from Huffington Post)

Hetzel was dumped at the THS in early February. Shortly thereafter, this abandoned mum gave birth to 11 beautiful puppies.

Nursing mothers are by nature protective.  Any new mother should be given a quiet, safe environment with minimal interaction and only necessary handling of the puppies.  She is territorial, protective and apprehensive about anyone approaching her puppies. That is NORMAL behaviour.  The inevitably busy shelter environment, compounded by the greater possibility of germs and transmission of conditions which could be fatal to young pups made this a  less than ideal environment for a nursing mum.  Yet she was apparently doing ok- if stressed and unhappy and worried about her pups.

When a mother dog gives birth, a powerful hormone cocktail invades her system. Oxytocin, prolactin and estrogen are all released into her bloodstream and each provides her with a way to bond with and protect her puppies. She needs a place where she feels safe and protected.  Due to the declining levels of progesterone, the increased levels of prolactin and climbing estrogen (versus declining progesterone) means mum may be more grumpy than usual as well.  Again, that is NORMAL behaviour and to be expected.

Hetzel was then transferred to a foster home (about which I know nothing).  Dealing with nursing mums requires a highly specialized skill set.  Keep in mind, Hetzel was dumped when pregnant so already in a stressed and anxious mindset; then in a less than perfect atmosphere (a loud, chaotic shelter – while I’m sure the THS did their best you can’t provide the kind of healthy quiet environment that would be optimum for a dog giving birth) gave birth to 11 puppies which in itself would be a challenge for any dog. She is sent to a foster home.  I have no idea what the situation was in the foster home – whether Hetzel was with provided a safe, quiet and remote area where she wouldn’t be bothered … whether her puppies were handled too much, her space invaded.  If so, these could be exacerbating factors to making a dog aggressive.  In a best case scenario, the foster home was an experienced one used to dealing with mother and pups, but that would still leave mum in a hormonally charged, anxious state of mind. 

Then this past week, Hetzel was killed.

This lactating mother was killed, leaving her less than 6-week old puppies without a mother and without a mother’s care and milk.  Mother dogs naturally start the weaning process at around 4 weeks- but nursing continues together with important socialization from the mother to between 8 and 12 weeks. But that aside (as the pups can be bottle fed as a poor substitute), I am seriously trying to get my head around how the THS could kill this mother in view of the circumstances surrounding her arrival there and subsequent experiences. 

How, in the scant 7 weeks or so that they had this dog (whom, I might add, they utilized, I’m sure very successfully, as a donation driver), they were able to ascertain she was unable to be “rehabilitated”?

She was still with her VERY young puppies!

She was still in a hormonally charged, stressed and anxious state of mind.

In a scant few weeks, she dealt with some major, life-altering, frightening situations, compounded by massive hormonal fluctuations and changes in her body.

I have been told it was because she bit. 

Frankly, that sounds like a normal reaction to a stressful, frightening situation  scared dogs protecting their pups will bite.

The THS claims to have experienced, specialized staff.

They claim to have experienced foster homes.

When questioned about their euthanasia policy, the THS has responded in the past that when it is a behavioural issue, every attempt is made to resolve the problem before the consensus is that there is no rehabilitation possible.

Considering these pups are barely 6 weeks old, the mother is lactating and full of pregnancy hormones, she has experienced several massive lifestyle shocks and been thrust into situations over which she has no control hardly constitutes giving her a chance.

Just how much behavioural modification could have occurred in the past few weeks?  Simple logic dictates next to none.

At the very least, she should have been spayed and allowed the time for her body to normalize.  Spaying has often proved to be a helpful and positive tool when dealing with maternal aggression.

This was a massive and unforgivable failure.

The fact that this dog was not provided with an opportunity to be rehabilitated ONCE her pups were weaned (properly at 8 weeks minimum) is so incredibly wrong that my philosophical differences with the THS which precipitated my leaving 2 years ago have now become an active and implacable belief that this organization has betrayed the very values it purports to exemplify and at this point, is beyond redemption.

I bet they get good money for those pups though; ironically I remember members of the current Board criticizing Trow for getting the best bid on puppies back in the day.

How the mighty have fallen.

“And what sort of lives do these people, who pose as being moral, lead themselves? My dear fellow, you forget that we are in the native land of the hypocrite.”

― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Note: I have attempted through email to get the THS viewpoint for the past day or two and despite contacting several board members and Board President Marcie Laking (as well as the THS communication and media department and facebook messaging) not received an answer.  I would be more than happy to hear from them.

UPDATE: Board Member David Bronskill got back to me and said that Hetzel had bitten numerous times and THS policy had been followed in terms of the decision to euthanize her as she was deemed a "significant risk".  I stand by my comments above.  I continue to question how in view of the timeline and the stress this dog was under that ANY type of meaningful behaviour modification was attempted. Thank you for your reply however.