GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Walking through the kennels at the Guilford County Animal Shelter, Logan Rustan, the facility’s director, stopped every few feet to point out a different dog.
“This is Gideon,” Rustan said, pointing to a black dog with a white spot on his chest. “He’s cool.”
Several doors down was Betty, a black dog with white toes. “Can you say, ’Hi,’ pretty girl?” Rustan said, leaning down as the pup’s back end began to wiggle. “That’s a good girl. She came to us pregnant. She’s a sweetheart.”
Like every animal approved for adoption at the shelter, the dogs were friendly and eager for attention, with good temperaments.
But until a few weeks ago, a long-standing shelter policy prevented Rustan from placing them on the adoption floor - because they’re all at least part pit bull.
Pit bulls, along with Rottweilers and Chows, were prohibited breeds under the United Animal Coalition, which operated the county’s shelter on a contractual basis for 15 years. The rule - attributed to the coalition rather than the county - was meant to decrease the shelter’s liability by limiting the adoption of traditionally “aggressive” dog breeds. Since taking over the shelter last summer, county officials have pushed to change the policy, largely because of the high volume of pit bulls that end up there.
The Guilford County Board of Commissioners reversed the policy at a work session on April 7 to allow Rustan to fill empty cages on the adoption floor with adoptable dogs that previously couldn’t be placed in cages because of their breeds.
Since the policy change, eight pit bulls have been adopted, according to shelter data.
Two were transferred to rescues, 10 were returned to their owners, and 10 were euthanized for temperament issues, which happens after shelter staff members evaluate an animal to determine whether it’s inherently aggressive or unfriendly.
Between 80 and 85 percent of dogs at the shelter at any given time are at least part pit bull, Rustan said. Last week, 98 dogs were available for adoption. Twenty-seven of them were pit bulls.
“They get a bad rap,” Rustan said. “There are plenty of pit bulls who just want to lick you to death.”
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Information from: News & Record, https://www.news-record.com
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