Roice-Hurst Humane Society

Roice-Hurst Humane Society, which maintains it is Mesa County’s only no-kill animal shelter, has transferred vicious pets to Mesa County Animal Services to be killed, according to Mesa County records.


Fourteen pets, including 11 dogs and three cats from Roice-Hurst, have been euthanized by Mesa County animal officers from Jan. 1, 2007 to July 21.


Mesa County Animal Services Director Penny McCarty said the animals are killed because they pose a public-safety threat.


And, only animal sanctuaries such as Best Friends in Utah, which operates on a multimillion-dollar budget, truly never kill animals, she said.


“Keep in mind that there are people out there who don’t deal with animals that aren’t perfect animals. They think that no-kill is realistic,” McCarty said.


Using the “no-kill” slogan may pull away potential donations from other nonprofit agencies that rescue animals and are vying for public donations. After making public pleas for donations last week, Roice-Hurst has collected more than $200,000 from an energetic outpouring of public support.


Office manager Kathy Haack at Roice-Hurst said few pets, “about three in the past year,” were euthanized at the shelter because they were in obvious, terminal pain.


Roice-Hurst board members Georgia Holt and Claudia Jackson both said Tuesday they were unaware that animals from Roice-Hurst were sent to Mesa County’s facility to be killed.

I think the media is once again rearing it's ugly head. Royce-Hurst is for the most part a no kill shelter. There are animals out there that pose a threat to the public. It is always the way they are raised and bred and treated by people. Sadly, the animals lose. There is no perfect solution as humans are themselves a threat to society. In addition, putting down a terminally ill animal is the humane thing to do. Why it can't be regulated for terminally ill people is beyond me. It would be a shame if Royce-Hurst lost potential funding because of the tough choices they've had to make in evaluating animals for adopt ability. Many people are poor animal owners who take no responsibility for themselves or the pets they should consider a privilege to have.