Pursuit was featured on the cover of TheBurg’s July issue.
Several dozen people gathered outside a local animal shelter on Monday morning to protest the euthanasia of one of its dogs.
Protestors stood in opposition to the Humane Society of the Harrisburg Area’s scheduled euthanasia of Pursuit, a 4-year-old pit bull mix and one of the nonprofits longest residents.
Pursuit was featured on TheBurg’s July magazine cover, during a time when the society was still searching for someone to adopt the dog. But according to a Facebook post by the society on Saturday, officials decided that a behavioral euthanasia was necessary.
“If we believed Pursuit could have a good quality of life and live safely in the community, this decision would not be made,” the post read.
After over three hours of protesting, people shared videos on Facebook of an alleged volunteer driving off the nonprofit’s property with Pursuit in the car, according to those who were on scene.
On Monday evening, the Humane Society issued a statement confirming that Pursuit was removed from the shelter by a volunteer.
“It’s unfortunate Pursuit was taken from us,” the statement read. “We had decided to delay any decision for 72 hours to identify next steps. HSHA thanks everyone for their concern and love for animals. We love them, too.”
Jennifer D. is one of the co-organizers of a Facebook page, “Let Pursuit Live,” which has gained nearly 1,800 members. Jennifer attended the protest on Monday and said that she volunteered with the Humane Society for five years and experienced what she called, “a toxic culture.”
“There’s a lack of transparency,” she said. “They’re not upholding their mission. No volunteer thinks that every dog needs to be saved; people are realistic. But it doesn’t make sense in this case.”
Jennifer said that during her time as a volunteer, several other dogs were also euthanized, against volunteers’ wishes.
Another former volunteer, who asked to remain anonymous, said that she often worked with Pursuit and took him for walks. While she explained that it takes him longer to trust people and training him took time, she was shocked to hear of the shelter’s plan.
“I care for Pursuit,” she said.
She also said that recently shelter officials were asking volunteers to do dishes, among other tasks, which took attention and time away from the dogs.
The Monday statement from the Humane Society provided background on the decision to euthanize the dog, citing incidents in May and June of 2022, as well as one last month, where Pursuit attempted to bite or did bite employees and families interested in adoption. According to the statement, the shelter also brought in a third-party trainer who concluded that Pursuit was not safe to adopt.
According to Pennlive, several other local nonprofits have offered to take Pursuit, but have not received a response from Humane Society officials.
An online petition to stop the euthanasia had also garnered over 2,300 signatures by Monday at noon.
Protestors across the street from the Humane Society of the Harrisburg Area on Monday.
Paul Smith has been a donor to the shelter for about 10 years and adopted his two cats from the society. However, he said that has halted his funding due the decision to euthanize Pursuit.
“I feel so profoundly hurt,” he said. “This has brought so much to my attention. This is such a dramatic letdown.”
A mother and daughter at the protest said that they fell in love with Pursuit through seeing pictures of him on the society’s social media and decided to bring him toys at Christmas time.
“He was super sweet,” said the daughter, Rachel Kangas. “What has changed? I’d like to know what has caused this decision.
The Humane Society of the Harrisburg Area is located at 7790 Grayson Rd., Harrisburg. For more information, visit their website.
UPDATED on 2/14/23 to include statements from the Humane Society.
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