Force the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC to be honest with the public!

UPDATE (11. Oct. 2010): Ms. Marcia Atkins, director of the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC, called today to let me know that I am mistaken with my statements. She stressed that at their facility, NO animal will be euthanized due to over crowding and that EVERY animal does get a fair chance. I was told that they do temperament tests on EVERY animal regardless of issues reported by the owner or whether or not a DHEC report was filed due to aggression. If the animal passes the test, the DHEC report is voided and the animal goes to their adoption center. If the animal does not pass the test due to issues that do not endanger other animals or humans, trainers and specialists WILL work with that animal. If the animal does not pass the test and displays aggression, the animal will be euthanized due to liability issues. IF Ms. Atkin's statements are true and Precious was given a fair chance, Precious proved us wrong and did not pass the aggression test :-(. I was told that Precious was tested by a professional who has been working for the Doc Willams SPCA for 10 years.

We realize that a person like Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, or Jason Flatt, founder of the Friends to the Forlorn Pitbull Rescue, could have maybe turned our girl around, but let's face it, how many of those guys are out there.....Would Precious have been happy with a "regular" person even if she could've been the only dog? Would she have respected that person as a leader or would she have caused serious harm some day? I guess we'll never know; I just wish the whole world was full of Cesars and Jasons.

While we are deeply saddened and are still wrecking our brains as to what we could have done differently and better, we still have a hard time figuring it out. Between my husband and me, we have a life time of dog experience but never ran into a girl like our Precious. We currently have a pack of 4 dogs who listen at the snap of our fingers and are very relaxed and balanced. We never ran into a dog before who had good and bad days. On a good day, she would NOT vibrate the other dogs out of a certain space that she decided to claim. On a bad day (almost daily), she could clean out the whole house, including Brutus whom she loved, with just her vibrations and if vibrations alone didn't to the trick, little snaps would follow. We felt the vibes too and heard the snaps, corrected the situation every time the way we did with every other dog so far, but our previously very successful methods faced Precious only very briefly. She was not like every other dog. Seems she felt like she always needed to be on the guard and watch out for herself and especially me even though none of the other dogs ever challenged her for food or leadership and I tried my very best to display my leadership qualities. Philly is also very attached to me and I%u2019m sure she felt that. Philly, however, while he lets out little growls every so often, never stands his ground to anyone and just leaves the area. Philly doesn't get into anyone's face not does he vibrate anyone out of any areas. He doesn't claim any areas or me; none of the other dogs do. We controlled the food, toys, etc. We don't prepare food unless everyone is relaxed and settled down. Everyone would be relaxed and settled down, except Precious. Food preparation would take a while because every time she got up, we interrupted the food preparation and asked her to sit and settle down again. Again, on a good day, the process would go fairly smooth, on a bad day, she would try to out-stubborn us by not backing off, by not sitting down, etc.. We never let her succeed with her stubborn tactics, always pulled through with our requests, and praised when the wanted behavior was displayed. We claimed the spaces that she tried to claim for herself, wouldn%u2019t let her go on the couch on her own anymore, unless permitted by us, etc. etc. etc. These battles were going on as long as we had her. The only command that she listened to EVERY time was the "spit it out" command. She could be all the way across the yard but every time I used that command, she%u2019d spit out whatever she was chewing on and roll over to let me know that I could have it. I tried to use the same tone of voice and assertiveness with all the other commands %u2013 no success. And it%u2019s not that she didn%u2019t get it; she was highly intelligent and proved many times that she got it and that she got it quick. It really seemed like though as if she, a lot of times, didn%u2019t feel like it; testing us. Is this normal behavior for this kind of breed and does this kind of breed really need completely different leadership than any other dog we ever ran across? Does the breed have nothing to do with it? Did she have issues because of her past? Did we instill those issues in her? We really wish we could%u2019ve afforded a specialist and we really wish we didn%u2019t have to work for a living and that we could%u2019ve spent a lot more time with her. Maybe that would%u2019ve done the trick. We would have LOVED to keep that dog and see her succeed, especially since she was very, very human friendly and affectionate. We%u2019ll never forget that wiggly little behind and how happy she looked when she came running toward us. RIP Precious.

To confirm her words, Ms. Atkins invited me to their facility because, so she said, she would love to show me what they do, how they do it, that they have nothing to hide, that they do their very best for every animal, that they do have a professional staff that does not discriminate against Pitbulls or any other breed, and that they are currently holding 15 Pitbulls at their facility. She also told me that she is a Pitbull care taker herself; of a Pitbull she adopted from their facility.

So, after tomorrow%u2019s visit, I will hopefully be able to inform the world that my suspicions and accusations were wrong and that the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC is doing an EXCELLENT job.

I%u2019ll keep you in the loop.

================================================================
The employees of the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner , SC, tell people that every dog, regardless of breed, size, age, or issues will go through an evaluation and get a fair chance. I was told they work with therapists and trainers, if necessary. I was also told that euthanasia will only be used if an animal is very sick or extremely aggressive. I was impressed!! These conversations changed my whole perception of what I thought is done and probably needed to be done at a place like the SPCA. Yes, they are responsible for a rather large county and take in thousands of animals in each year, but - so I was told - they work A LOT with rescue organizations and fosters to keep the euthanasia rate down.

The same story was repeated during orientation when I became a volunteer at the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner, SC. And that same story was repeated again when we made the tough decision to take our Precious there.

They do not do as they say and they must be stopped! If an animal must be euthanized then tell people so they can make a conscious decision!

For the complete story with pictures click on the  link: http://networkedblogs.com/8Vrue.

Please sign this petition to stop the Doc Williams SPCA in Moncks Corner from lying to the public.

Elke McCauley