KAUKAUNA, Wis. (WBAY) – A Kaukauna neighborhood has been left wanting an explanation, after finding a stray dog and learning of euthanization by the Fox Valley Humane Association. Neighbors say the dog was gentle, full of energy, and was getting along great with those who found him.
The Fox Valley Humane Association is a no-kill shelter which refers to organizations that find homes for 90 percent of the animals brought in. The shelter says they only euthanize when they feel adoption is detrimental to the animal and potential adoptive families.
News of the stray dog in Kaukauna being euthanized has gone viral on social media. Those who turned the dog over to the shelter say they’re shocked this happened and now want more answers.
On Oct. 16, a stray dog named Duke was found. Many people in the Kaukauna neighborhood, including Chera Greene, took care of him saying he was full of energy and gentle.
“He took toys, he didn’t have any food aggression,” Greene recalled. “He had good manners. He knew how to sit and he took treats.”
Two days after finding him, Duke was taken to the Fox Valley Humane Association with the hopes of finding a family. Greene was told in an email from the shelter that Duke was doing well. Greene later noticed his listing on the shelter’s adoption page was taken down. Assuming he was adopted, Greene later realized that wasn’t the case.
“When we called to check the status, we’re told he was euthanized for behavioral issues,” said Greene. “We were brokenhearted. We just, we felt like we handed this dog over to these people that euthanized him and it was just devastating. It was horrible.”
After further evaluating Duke’s health and behavior, staff determined he had both medical and behavioral concerns that would require a specialized foster home. They decided the best course of action was euthanization.
Below is the Fox Valley Humane Association’s Facebook post regarding the euthanization of Duke going viral on social media.
Greene stated she doesn’t think two weeks is long enough to offer any behavior modifications and hopes change is coming.
“I just hope that you know changes are able to be made and that the Humane Society can be transparent about what happened in this situation,” said Greene. “Then you know, if there’s an apology that’s needed, and to show the community what we’re going to do moving forward to offer these dogs and cats every fighting chance.”
Following this story, the Fox Valley Humane Association put a post out on Facebook, addressing the need for qualified foster homes to serve its more challenging pets.
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